A giant dream fills your mind every day.That ball in your stomach telling you to want more. But this is immediately followed by the thought:"I've never done anything like that." So you do nothing.You don't act on this dream because you haven't done it before.

Whether you are anentrepreneur looking to kickstart your first business or someone who wants to leverage skills outside of your current role, here is how you make yourself more valuable than any experience ever could.

When I vet out mentees, I seek to understand how much research they have done before reaching out to me--andhow good they are at listening. Because as a mentee, or any business professional, if all you want to do is talk about yourself and your ideas, you're ultimately limiting your potential to learn.

Surround yourself with people who can teach you,then actively listen to their words of advice. Put yourself in the positionwhere you are the least experienced person in the room and soak up every piece of information possible. Engagement is the source of experience and fortune favors those who put themselves out there.

When it comes to learning, don't take yourself for granted. Sure you can learn from books, mentors, and those you admire, but don't forget to learn from yourself along the way. Spend intentional time reflecting on your experiences to extract powerful lessons from the wins and the losses. Use your past to power your sailsforward. The quicker you learn, the faster you will go.

"Every person you meet knows something you don't.Learn from them." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Humility is a trait that portrays self-confidence.While everyone else is running around preaching how great they are, use humility to stand firmwith unwavering confidence.The important thing to note here is that the most humble person in a room is often the most approachable. This approachability creates thebyproduct of gaining supporters, partners, and knowledge.

Eliminate the need to portray something that you are not. When you speak honestly about your experience, or lack thereof, do so from a humble place and maintain your confidence.Remember, humility listens. When you step into being humble you are more receptive to feedback from others, feedback that could help you take leaps forward. When you respectfully solicit feedback, you boost their internal value while giving yourself insights that would have been glossed over otherwise.

"Humility will open more doors than arrogance ever will."- Zig Ziglar

It no longer matters who has the most experience. What matters is who can gain the knowledge the fastest. If you don't have the experience you want, learn how to get it.This can be creating a network of people to turn to for support, reading blogs and timely articles, ortaking courses. Build a library ofresourcesat your fingertips for reference when needed.

In today's world, you no longer need to know how to do calculus. You simply need to know how to use a calculator.Given the endless amount of resources available today, there are no excuses for lacking the knowledge you need. Those who are willing to go the extra mileand get knee-deep in the situation at handare the ones who will step out ahead.

"It's not the lack of resources that causes failure;it's the lack of resourcefulness." - Tony Robbins

Published on: Apr 16, 2020

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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3 Must-Have Traits to Start Business (Experience is Not One of Them) - Inc.