100 Ways to Become an Expert

The good news is that there has never been more information and analytical tools available for people to develop expertise, but becoming an expert is not only hard work, you have to work smarter and develop your own technology to grok all of the information that is being blasted from a million firehoses.

1. If you want to become an expert, you must FIRST become a better listener ... regardless of how good of a listener you already are.  Becoming an expert is fundamentally about LISTENING.  Nobody cares how much you know until you have proven how much you care -- so be quiet, prove that you are genuinely interested in really understanding the different facets of a problem and try to LISTEN.  
2. Beyond just listening to one or two people -- you must find ways to listen to millions.  That means that you must develop ways to use technology to automate your content selection process and transcend the process of reading ... the fundamental notion is there's always a LOT of someones out there who are smarter than you.  Even among the people who aren't that bright, there are more than enough good ideas.  If you can be a more effective and efficient LISTENER and if you can sift the wheat from the mountains of chaff, there will always someone out there who will give you an idea that will work well [even if they have a wild idea that will never work].  You already know what kind of stuff is just a distraction and completely unworthy of your time. 
3. Real experts are humble enough to understand there's never any such thing as a real experts ... it's all a matter of perception and influence.  The best approach to developing expertise is to network or develop relationships and connections with genuine leaders.  The true leaders in any niche are active "doers," voracious readers and deep thinkers ... they are not the people who step on others ... they assiduously cultivate relationships with leaders who make it clear that they do real things; they should also digest and read A LOT of deep content every single day.
4. There are lots of people who are trying to be experts who are worth following, because they are perceived as experts and in some cases their ideas and observations actually are valuable -- in many cases, they are good at repetitively asserting ideas until those ideas resonate and become accepted as truth.  Every commercial niche has one or more trade magazines. The editors and writers know what is the conventional wisdom for their industry. 
5. Pay close attention to success and the disruption of success.  Examine the advertisements [in industry publications.]  Look at WHO is advertising aggressively and who does not need to advertise.  Examine why and how they are advertising -- what are they selling, how are they trying to change opinions, what reputation are they trying to build or sustain.  
6. Write an article and submit it for publication in an industry magazine or peer-review journal. Become a published author in the industry. If you have trouble getting an article published, write a letter to the editor or respond to one.  Write something, start the process going. People will see your name, read your material and comment ... respond to the comments, interact with your audience ... develop a following. 
7. Develop your own authentic web presence ... develop a blog, create podcasts, post videos and photos, use social media.
8. Speak regularly.  Practice at Toastmasters or form your own club of speakers.  Offer to speak at a local college, club, association, or service organization programming chair the opportunity to have you speak on a relevant subject both at no charge. 
9. Run your own seminar. Tie in your seminar with other companies and organizations to build your credentials. Become a technical specialist speaking to businesses, business organizations, banks.  Charging for your speech at leading businesses and corporations will add to your credentials. 
10. Join a national trade organization for your industry; write a monthly column on interesting aspects of the industry for the organization’s newsletter or magazine. Give a seminar or have a booth at your industry's national or international trade show. Get on boards or committees for the organization that fit your expertise. 
11. Send out press releases. Mention your credentials, promote your speaking and seminars, share examples of your writing and content.  Be sure to mention that are a nationally recognized and published author, a lecturer at universities and colleges, and a nationally renowned expert on your area of interest.  In the end, marketing you as the expert leads to more opportunities to develop expertise.
12. I don't have 100 ways yet, but the GOAL of any expert is to develop a deeper level of expertise while maintaining a humble attitude ... but one needs to start somewhere and this is still only a START ... I must humbly submit that I am far from being an expert at this expert thing, perhaps a real expert can suggest a few items for me to add.