28 — Mastery (Skills & Career)
What you’re paid for today is what you practiced 3 years ago.
What Lives Here
Your professional development, career strategy, and the deliberate cultivation of your expertise and reputation.
- Skill map — what you know, what you’re building, what you want to know
- Career history — roles, companies, milestones, lessons
- Professional goals — where your career is headed and why
- Portfolio — work samples, case studies, results
- Reputation — how you want to be known, public presence strategy
- Mentors & advisors — who guides your professional growth
Suggested Folder Structure
28 Mastery (Skills & Career)/
├── career-overview.md ← Where you are, where you're going
├── skill-map.md ← Skills grid: current level + target level
├── career-history.md ← Timeline of roles and key milestones
├── professional-goals.md ← 1-year and 3-year professional targets
├── portfolio/ ← Case studies, results, work samples
├── reputation/
│ └── public-presence.md ← Bio, positioning, where you show up
└── mentors.md ← People actively shaping your growthZeus’s Note
I separate “skills” from “mastery.” Skills are what I can do. Mastery is what I’m known for — the intersection of what I’m best at and what the world needs.
My skill-map.md is a grid: skill name, current level (1–5), target level, and how I’m developing it. I review it quarterly and drop anything I’m not actively investing in. Focus beats breadth.
The reputation section is underrated. Most people don’t think about how they want to be known until someone asks. Write it down first — then build toward it.
Getting Started
- Write
career-overview.md— where you are right now and where you want to go in 3 years - Build a
skill-map.md— list 10–15 skills and rate your current level honestly - Identify your top 3 professional goals for this year
- Write a 3-sentence bio for
reputation/public-presence.md— how you’d introduce yourself professionally