If you want to get ahead in life, specialize. Don’t generalize.
Take it from me – I’m jack of all trades, master of none.
I do fairly good pencil portraits. I used to freelance doing graphic design. I also used to play in a college rock band, fronting the vocals and rhythm guitars. I founded a college newsletter when I was 18. I’m quite good at resume writing. I absolutely love writing and I maintain 2 blogs. I’m a software engineer by profession, but I also am a certified project manager from PMI. I have experience in more than 2 dozen software languages. Now I’m thinking of building a social network. And writing an e-book. And offering resume writing services. On top of that, I think I’m pretty okay in husband-wife relationships. And in children education. And cars. Oh, and I scuba dive.
I’ve never had a problem thinking about ideas. The problem is getting them to work. There are only a few ideas that have really taken off the floor, and that only happened because the conditions were appropriate. One of them was the college newsletter I founded, Taylor’s College ADP’s “Flipside”. As far as I know, it is still in operation today. By my time with college newsletters is far gone.
Everything else I’ve started hasn’t gone very far. Some are still standing, but getting it to the next level requires real dedication, and I’m too interested in too many things to pursue one thing for a long period of time. A lot of this has led to burn-outs. I’m making a decision today to make the change.
If you’re young, and you want to get ahead in life, generalize enough to get the job done, and spend more time specializing. Choose ONE thing that is close to your heart, and defines you best as a person. It could be something that’s related to your current job, or not. It doesn’t matter. In the course of time, this is that ONE thing that will remain part of you no matter what.
For me, it really has to do with computers. And the Internet. And design. These three things put together are really all I have really cared about in my life, from the very start.
It’s not about service to the world. It’s not about earning big bucks. But it’s something people should know you for, and something you’ll feel confident being associated with, for better or for worse. It’s like marriage, but it’s a profession, not a relationship.
If you’ve already started asking yourself HOW you should be generalizing, don’t worry – it’s really simple.
Just choose not to do anything that’s not related to that ONE thing you want to specialize in.
If you want to specialize in art, forget being an expert chef. If you want to be the world’s best pet enthusiast, forget about being the world’s best accountant.
I’m not trying to dumb down your strengths. I’m sure, with the proper dedication and time, you’ll get to be all that you can be. But there’s not enough time in the world to do everything.
My aunt used to say, “anything, but not everything”. And she’s right. You’ve got the passion, but you don’t have time.
Don’t get sidetracked. You have only one life. Choose the right battles. Make the memories count.
Don’t waste it by diluting the experience with too many things.
Resources:
- Expand your opportunities by finding a specialty
- Take the risk of specializing in order to stand out
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Hi Boon – I stumbled upon your blog and read about you being an ideas person.
To get your ideas going, you may want to read the book “Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Ideas Rolling (In an Uphill World)” I’ve just reviewed at http://rightreads.com
True in some ways, but if you can manage everything and “still” be successful, why not ;)
fallen angel, you got that right. Apparently the author isn’t aware of the meaning of being a “versatilist” :)
Lays, of course I know what it means to be a versatilist. It means nothing, unless that’s what you define success to be – success in different areas.
I’ve been a versatilist all my life. College newsletter founder. Web application specialist. Blogger. Photographer. Maybe more.
A versatilist is just a more successful generalist, that’s all. And generalists don’t get as far compared to specialists. It’s time vs. effort.
I have been burned out after more than 20 years of “versatiling”. It hasn’t gotten me where I want to be. And even if you can “manage everything”, the advice will apply to only a few. It’s not as easy as it seems.
You’re right. It took me some times to figure it out, but I’m happy and content now. You can specialize and be great in one thing, but still be good in others. To each its own I guess. :)