Somebody told me a long time ago–and I hated hearing it then, and I hate hearing it now, and I hate knowing it’s true–is that you can never stop proving yourself.
You never “win.” It’s never over. You prove yourself, you establish credibility, you maintain it, you recover it, you prove new skills in new areas with new people and new groups, and you do it constantly, and continuously, and pretty much forever.
Some of it is about knowing. A lot of it is about proving that you know it. I guess there are some shortcuts, but they only save you so much time. Maybe, you avoid proving it to people that don’t matter? But how do you know they don’t matter?
I don’t like it, but it’s true. I know what I know, and I wish everybody knew it. You never get to rest on your laurels.
I’d highlight the importance of truly knowing what you think you know. The BS can only get you so far and being overconfident will eventually make you look like an ass. However, I agree that the ability to prove is equally important. Think Ken Jennings from the Jeopardy streak from a few years ago. He knew it and he proved it.