The Value of Non-Experts or Beginners

You don’t have to be an expert to teach somebody something. You just have to know a little more than the person you’re teaching. Some people even prefer to get advice from someone who is a step or a few steps above them rather than going to someone who is much further along.

Think about someone who wants to lose weight. Let’s say they don’t really exercise and they tend to order out frequently. Rather than going to a personal trainer or an athlete right away, they might ask their friend who recently lost a few pounds what they’ve been doing differently. It can be sometimes intimidating to go to an expert right away, especially if they suggest steps that you are not yet ready to take (e.g. go from no exercise at all to 5 30-minute sessions of working out a week).

So, there is some value in knowing just a little more than someone else. Don’t feel as if you have to gain tons of knowledge to help someone else. Just teaching what you know could help someone reach the next step.

This doesn’t apply to just teaching too. You could apply this concept to the execution of an idea. When I first started producing music and sharing it online, I didn’t know too much. I didn’t have the best singing voice, the best equipment, the best marketing, etc. But still, I was able to share songs that people enjoyed listening to. One of my earlier songs to this day has thousands and thousands of listens and likes.

Even now, sometimes when I am trying to figure out how to produce music in a particular way, I will look up beginner tutorials. I won’t look up anything too advanced, or I’ll just have trouble understanding and get frustrated. I’ll look up the most basic video I can find and replicate it.

I have a friend who enjoys cooking. She’s better than me at it, but not so far ahead that I can’t follow what she’s doing. So sometimes, we cook together. Sometimes, she teaches me how to cook something new. I remember thinking that I didn’t have much to teach her myself, but one time I made guacamole and she asked me how I made it. Sometimes even when someone else may be ahead of you, they might be able to learn something from you too.

Can you think of anything you know that someone else mind find useful? Is it something that a lot of beginners had to deal with when diving into that particular subject?

I can think of many examples for myself. I find a lot of these things to be pretty simple and for beginners, but I’m sure many people would find it helpful:

– Create a simple WordPress website with a registered domain
– Produce a song using GarageBand or Logic Pro
– Create a short video using iMovie or Final Cut Pro to post on YouTube
– Make a transparent image using a program like Seashore (and I could figure this out on Adobe Photoshop too)
– Create a vision board
– Self-publish an eBook using Amazon
– Distribute music (originals and song covers) through Spotify and other streaming platforms/services
– Publish blog posts on your own websites
– Do arithmetic
– Do basic algebra
– Speak/write/read basic Korean
– Spin a weighted hula hoop
– Make guacamole

Try to come up with your own list of things you know that you could teach others or somehow use. You might be able to find something not only that could be useful, but could be of interest to you. It might even be something you enjoy.

I’ve been blogging for many years on and off. My first blog was either on Xanga or Blogspot, read only by friends, starting in middle school. Now, I feel like an intermediate, but I don’t quite consider myself as an expert. My blog posts aren’t planned out meticulously. I just kind of free write and loosely reorganize it. But, people still find value in my writing. Even though I’m not the greatest blogger, I still enjoy doing it. I also enjoy seeing the progress I’ve made.

Blogging has also helped me to dive into other interests, such as publishing eBooks. All my old eBooks are now retired, but I am planning to write another book on personal experiences with psychosis and hearing voices. My beginner experiences with blogging and publishing previous books will help me with this goal of mine. I also think that I’ll find it helpful to seek out advice from first-time published authors.

Also, remember that experts were once beginners too. They started from somewhere. And while I do believe that you could accelerate the learning process by working with a master at the field, I also believe that there is value in learning from non-experts. Sometimes when you’re in class for example, a peer can teach you a concept better than the actual teacher, because they’re able to break it down at the same level as you. Sometimes as an expert, you forget what it’s like to be a beginner.

So, don’t discount yourself for being a beginner. Just knowing a little bit about something is enough to be useful.