Jack of Many Trades 🤔
Mar 13, 2023 8:01 am
An old saying goes thus: “ A jack of all trades is a master of none.” The funny thing is, this is an incomplete version of the original saying which goes: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Many successful people in various fields who we admire, like Tony Elumelu, Jack Ma, Oprah, and Elon Musk started out as serial entrepreneurs — running multiple businesses and ventures simultaneously. Alas, one of those ventures would kick off and go big, and they would be known as giants in that field. It’s just like the popular iceberg analogy which shows how years of work are buried under the sea and all that the world can see is your success.
I don’t know who needs to hear this but, there’s nothing wrong with being a Jack of many trades. You can be a baker studying medicine, who writes a fashion blog. Or someone who works in HR, studying civil engineering, and runs a web and brand design business. 😉 It’s a completely normal lifestyle for a future successful person.
Studies have shown that people who try multiple things early enough often find their paths in life much faster than people who stick to a single thing. This does not in any way negate the law of Mastery. Mastery is gained by repeating the same thing over and over again until you cannot get it wrong. Even Tiger Woods — who is the perfect example of someone who gained success through mastery — later turned out to be a Jack of many trades. He owns multiple businesses alongside his sports career.
With all these in mind, the fear of being tagged a “Jack of all trades” should not even exist. Do not dim your light in certain areas for fear of appearing to be indecisive or without direction. While you’re young, explore as many of your talents and potentials as possible, because one or two of those talents is going to set you before kings one day. It might be the one you least expect.
Not many people are brave enough to be tagged “Jack of many trades” but those few who wear it like a crown are most likely to live very fulfilled lives and excel.
"It is unlikely that your actual path through life will match the exact journey you had in mind when you set out. It makes no sense to restrict your satisfaction to one scenario when there are many paths to success." — James Clear
I hope this helps someone find clarity.
Talk soon,
Viki
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