Darren Shelton 🚢

Don't overcome it. Embrace it. Accept that you're human and if humble, sometimes unwilling to flaunt your successes, even if meager. Instead of looking at yourself as inferior or inadequate, reverse that perspective by simply seeing room to improve. - you're not lacking; you're growing - you're not dumb; you're learning - you're not odd; everyone has limits Someone once said, "You're not dumber than the rest of them!" And it's true. You're not. So use your unique story, which only you can tell, to share your successes and failures along the way. Flip the script from anything filled with doubt to focus instead on the facts which others can learn from. Authentic is to your advantage. Show the scars. You earned them and are better for it!

Increasingly finding segmented communities on LI may be the way network within your vertical. While other platforms may exist, such as an event app for an industry conference you attended, those (A) aren't generally long term or (B) don't have high participation so your success there may be limited. Of course adding valuable content within your circle of influence, which may be shared by friends to their connections, is another means of introducing yourself organically to potential new connections.

I lead over 800 maritime stakeholders across 17 verticals in the USG. Getting all the right people to the table and curating the right conversation is key to getting the right answers that can be actionable. To present, we see lots of aspirational goals that are unachievable being used to drive the industry but that is just leading to jaded skepticism by people who know better. Actionable alignment around truth is what is needed to see things change.

VR data, plugged into AR training along with actual engine mechanical measurements - all modeled together, will change workforce development and improve safety on ships. The potential to impact positive emissions goals, just off tools like this is untapped at present.

Don't give your money to everybody who says they can help. Lots of people, most well-meaning, who are "experts" in social media marketing who unfortunately can't help you achieve your goals. You need to vet them carefully and insist on a success fee model, perhaps with a base fee. If they can't work with success fees, they're not confident they can get the results you need.

Talk to people, as people, to determine if what you perceived as a problem actually frustrates them too. How so? How much? How often? Then dig deeper by asking them, "what else?" Your network is your fastest feedback cycle for determine product market fit. Use that as the base for more detailed research that affirms, at scale, what your network is telling you.