You can be successful in life if you do one thing better than most.  Do one thing well and you can potentially write your ticket to greatness.  Even in a world where jobs are consolidated and many of us are asked to do more, people continue to find ways to excel by just doing one thing better than the rest.  

What's your one thing?  

I always preach to others the need to be more than just a one trick pony, but as I look at the entire career playing field, the people who do one thing really well still find a place in the system.  It's that one thing that opens the doors.  That one thing that gets you noticed or  "on the radar".  That one thing that gets you drafted in the first round. 

Professional athletes make tons of money on the ability to do one thing better than most. What can this guy do?  He's a kick return guy who runs a 4.2 40 yard dash.  It doesn't matter what else he can do, since the one thing he can do can't be taught and its better than everyone else.  That guy gets drafted, plays 4-5 times a football game and makes millions of dollars because God blessed him with this tremendous speed. Nobody cares that he might be a terrible person and never calls him mom on Sundays.  He runs a 4.2 40!  He has that one thing (and a bigger house than you).

Take a look at the people around you and I bet you can identify the one thing people from the rest of the group.  They are not "better" than anyone, they just have the ability to focus on one thing while others have to juggle many tasks.  Because they can focus, depending in their work ethic, they can make a tremendous impact in the workplace doing that same thing over and over again. 

I once worked with someone who had very basic skill sets for his title.  As far as his job was concerned, there wasn't anything that he brought to the table that several other people in the building couldn't do or possibly do better. Yet, the one thing he did very well was motivate people.  He climbed the career ladder based on his ability to convince people that they could take over the world.  People believed in him because he made them believe in themselves.   He made a very good living off of motivating others.  That was his one thing. Great military generals do this  same thing every day.  

I am certainly not suggesting that you find your one strength and ride off into the sunset doing that same one thing for the rest of your career.  There are people who read this blog who know that they fall into this one thing group.  All of us have one skill or characteristic that stands out.  Sometimes they stand out for the right reasons and sometimes they stand out because, quite frankly,  we suck at everything else. 

Identify your one thing.  Make sure it is a positive and put it forefront in what you do.  Showcase this skill/characteristic and make sure, without coming across as bragging, that your employer or customers are aware of it.  This is the door opener for you and most likely the thing that will get you noticed. Just keep this in mind, depending on your source for stats, the average playing career of an NFL player is 6 years.  What will happen to the guy, who only knows how to run fast, after his career is done?  What other skills did he add to his arsenal in his 6 years in the NFL?  Maybe he learned how to catch passes or tackle others?  Maybe he learned to call his mom on Sundays?  

Identify your one thing.  Make it kick ass and stand out.  Share it with the people you deem important enough to know what skills/characteristics you posses.  Use it to climb the ladder and lean on it when you need it.  Also, take the time to pick up a few other helpful skills along the way so that your one thing doesn't become a crutch.  Above all, make sure you don't become obsolete because of your one thing.  

Be known for something...and call your mom on Sundays.