What do preparing for the future of work and sculpting clay have in common? 3 Steps for Knowledge Workers to Get Ready for the Future of Work.

If you want to be equipped to face the future of work, you’ve got to know how to cultivate your unique set of skills as a knowledge worker.

Honing your skills every single day is truly the most fundamental habit required to prepare for the coming new world of work.

Think of your preparation for the future of work as working on a wet piece of clay.

In order for that mushy lump to turn into a ceramic bowl, you're going to have to do a few things.

First, get your wheel spinning. Only once the wheel spins can you wrap your hands around the clay.

Think of your wheel as the daily habit of cultivating your skills. If you're not learning on a daily basis, your wheel isn't spinning—and if the wheel isn't spinning, the sculpting process just got a whole lot harder.

You have a unique background and strengths—the killer combination of which has the power to propel you to the next level.

But first you must examine and reflect on what makes you unique. Then search for the newest trends and where you need to go. Follow influencers, blogs and build a network online and offline with people who have the same interests as you. Understand what is happening in your field.

Examine, reflect, learn, repeat—make this your daily habit. Get your wheel spinning.

Second, get your hands wet. This is what keeps the clay soft and malleable.

What I mean is you have to read, and you have to train. Reading is what fills your head with words and ideas. Reading is what shows you what’s been done before, how it was done and what is possible.

Reading is food for your thoughts. It nurtures you.

Training gives you the tools you need to develop new skills or build on existing ones. Find training opportunities.

Apart from traditional learning options, there are numerous online resources. For technology professions, hands-on learning is super critical, and companies like KnowledgeHut, which bring you an immersive learning experience can open up a world of opportunities. Watch for new technologies that bring you new forms of learning.

Read every day, practice your skill every day and train often. Get your hands wet.

Third, remain still. This is what enables the clay to transform.

Ever watched someone sculpt a piece of clay into a bowl on a wheel? It appears that they’re doing nothing at all—the bowl is creating itself.

They just keep the wheel spinning and their hands clasped around the clay, enabling the rotating wheel to do all the work for them.

This is the process of preparing for the future of work.

The future of work is for lifelong learners.

Organizations should encourage self-development of their own workforce and governments should enable the environment to make it possible. But each of us can play a big role in preparing ourselves for the future of work and take responsibility for upgrading our skills.

Keep your wheel spinning. And keep your hands wet. It's in doing these two things consistently that you will be able to remain still.

Trust the process, and sure enough the ceramic bowl will create itself.