I’m a firm believer that mastery of skills is at the foundation of career success. I don’t believe you can truly fake it ’till you make it.
Even the people who claim they faked it until they succeeded at something had something to offer. They either had a particular skill set or other valuable assets.
But at the same time, I also don’t believe you can succeed in the marketplace if you only rely on your qualities. We live in a world filled with personal development books that focus on skills, habits, discipline, work ethic, getting more done, being less distracted, and so forth.
I’ve written about these topics too. But these things, I call “qualities of substance.”
The definition of “qualities of substance” is: The skills, habits, and mindsets that determine the way a person works and behaves when they are alone. These are qualities that change the inner world of a person.