There’s one thing you must be clear about: what is your strength?

Nowadays, if you look around at your peers, about half of them have received higher education. That means not having gone to college is a disadvantage. But having gone to college doesn't give you an advantage either—when everyone has it, it's no longer a differentiator.

A true advantage means: for certain roles or opportunities, are you the right person for the job?

What exactly sets you apart from this group of "scholarly" folks, allowing you to rise to a leadership position? You need an answer to this question. If you don't answer it, you won't be able to break through your current situation.

You can't just say things like "I went to middle school and college," or list a bunch of hobbies that don't produce results, or rely on various irrelevant personality analyses.

That's all nonsense.

So what does it mean to be ordinary? What does it mean to be outstanding?

Actually, it doesn't really matter whether you're ordinary or outstanding. The essence of any situation is: what specific table are you sitting at? And at that table, are you actually the one who stands out?