The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss - Latest Comments in The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:24:43 -0000

Excellent post. Very timely in this economy.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Tim Andren — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:52:41 -0000

Further, the jack-of-all-trades mind is best served in an era where we are spending time online and a myriad of subjects is a click away. The growth in the longtail of divisions of a particular subject proves that breadth is important.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Tim Andren — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:49:17 -0000

I find that most personalities who do well in their respective niche actually have something to bring to the table from outside of the subject. They are not experts in one field. They are experts in many areas and choose one area to focus on. It's proven that great ideas are the combination of several preexisting ideas.

Take Tim for example, who's knowledge of how many different aspects of life work makes his lifestyle approach work.

This is far more interesting and effective that the standard self-help folk who churn out the same material again and again.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Armand Verspeek — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:48:09 -0000

Tim,
After reading your post I have to admit, i did recognize myself deeply, many thanks.

But lately, i do not know, i have read your book with shiploads of interest and inspiration, i found it hard to outsource duties to third parties. Maybe due lack of trust to others & feeling too important to my own duties. I feel a bit awkard to my own lifestyle.
My activities are with creative skills; I am a graphic designer, powerpointpimper, making animations, helping people out with visualizing their dreams and goals in life, i create paintings, storyboards, sell & design T-shirts & rebuilt furniture, organize events for people to share their passions, goals in life & inspirations along a bonfire, i do vj-ing at dance-parties i.e. all very nice to meet nice people and do my thing along the way.
I go on holiday three times a year and learn a lot and see interesting people and their cultures. I follow courses in kitesurfing,

The 'generalist'-thing is making me a bit chaotic and i have noticed in the years that friends of the second circle are changing rapidly, it is all dynamic. But sometimes it really is making me tired. Questions as; should i move on like this, why is there not more money coming into the pocket from all the things i undertake? I eventually would like to buy a house, at least a place for myself. ( i am living for 4 years in properties of friends or people i met along the way).

My request for your advise is; how can i outsource some of the duties within my 'jack-of-all'-trades so i 'work' less and not feeling tired of 'having a loads to do'-voice in my head & how can i make more of a living out of it (maybe more business-like, a side i have to develope probably) by doing so?
And beyond that, i have the feeling of having a lifestyle to make some jealous with but why is there not the consiousness within me that says it is all ok like it is?

My greetings from Holland
Armand

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

timferriss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:11:41 -0000

@Joel,

Thanks! I'll send this on to the designer.

Best,

Tim

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Joel — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:02:20 -0000

Just a quick thought.

I recently switched to Google Chrome as my web browser and all of your blog postings come out with a black background and gray text, barely readable. I don't know much about web design to offer specific suggestions, but you may want to look into it. Thanks.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

chucksense — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:17:36 -0000

As Robert A. Heinlein wrote, "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

I've always believed this, though my personal reasoning is most in line with the boredom argument. As soon as I understand something with any depth, I'm ready to move on. It's not the destination of knowledge but the journey of learning that I enjoy.

Seth Godin has tried to make me question that, but it's one of the few places he is short-sighted. As he writes, [paraphrased, badly] if you are looking to hire somebody, you hire the absolute best your money can afford. My retort: who then does that hiring?

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Justin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:53:37 -0000

Reason Number 6: Cross Procedure.

If you have a discovery in your main field of expertise, other fields can be improved with the same type of thinking or similar concepts. Many developments in a wide range of fields can achieved by using "cross procedure." Here is an example. Computers! They have been integrated into every facet of our lives however they certainly did not start out that way.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Doug — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:06:39 -0000

I bought the book two days ago. I've been reading this blog most of the day. this post especially rings with me. I've always wondered why we never strive to be like the great polymaths like Leonardo, Michelangelo, etc.

Why the obsession with specialising.

As such I've thrown myself into learning more and more. Some of my personal goals include ju jutsu & iai jutsu, poetry, philosophy, break dancing, yoga, Spanish and Japanese.

Since expanding my horizons like this the world and my life has become 1000 times more fulfilling. I'm re-discovering lost hobbies and interests. I love it. I love the fact I've found someone who so successfully displays this too. One hell of an inspiration.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

John Bruscato — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:54:58 -0000

questions:

What if everyone was a generalist? If everyone was a generalist, we would still have people who mastered some occupations better than others. How would one generalist give up his skills to another?

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

$311151 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:40:33 -0000

I would define a generalist not as a person who knows "a little of this; a little of that" but as a person who has achieved about "mid-level" specialist abilities in more than one area and who has derived insights from the connections others (including specialists) don't see in order to solve new and complex problems and to innovate.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

flamedryad — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:49:25 -0000

this may already of been said but
how does one know what 20%
of the information they will need
(example when learning guitar there are
dozens of cords but for the sake of
idea lets say there are 10 which 2
are most used? do you really need to know
that augmented F sharp cord? but what of the g cord?)
so how does one go about finding the 20%?

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Joshua Moore — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:33:39 -0000

Being able to delegate tasks to people smarter than yourself is an important skill for the generalist. I personally think creating a list of 3-5 areas you would like to become knowledgeable in and then continually learning in those areas will improve your ability and make you become a 'specialist' in each field but a 'generalist' overall. This is even more important as an employee who does not have their own business running part-time. Being able to move from one occupation to another and having transferable skills is critical to surviving in the Information Age.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Aaron Robertson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:02:33 -0000

This post describes me to a tee! At the tender age of 25, I'm already an author, journalist, business owner, and candidate for state-level office. I have already been mocked by many people for being a "jack of all trades" and for "doing everything and nothing" with my life. But the funny thing is, is that I know many of these people aren't happy with their lives and one-track careers. On the contrary, I'm very content with my life and work.

Thanks for this post Tim!

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

rhett daniels — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:03:29 -0000

I learned the value of being a Jack; when up against an economist I would pull upon my IT background and knowledge of systems (something the economist may not be as familiar), but when up against an IT expert I would use my economics background or business (which they may not be as familiar with)...in other words, you can exploit the expert's limitations.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

John Forde — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:25:12 -0000

Thanks for posting this, Tim. I couldn't agree more. I happen to have en endless well of curiosity, it seems, and I've spent most of my life trying out the many different things I want to know how to do. For years, I was mediocre at most of them. I'm still mediocre at some. And others, I'm just getting started.

At the same time, a teenage passion for cars now has me able to lube points, change water pumps, and do all sorts of things under the hood I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. The same for computers. I was a geek then, but now I get to be the hero who can fix most people's tech problems.

I wrote for fun. Now I do it for a living (and a good one). I paint, first not so well but now not so badly. I draw (always have) and had a published weekly cartoon strip for a couple of years.

I cook, sometimes pretty well and sometimes badly. I play the guitar. I juggle. I'm learning right now about photography. I've learned how to travel and now live overseas (Paris) a good part of the year. My French is coming along. Next, my wife and I plan to tackle Spanish.

I say this not to brag (well, maybe a little... because I'm proud of how these skills piled up) but because I never would have imagined, when I had few or none of these skills under my belt, that I'd get this far. Nor did I realize how much each newly mastered and divergent skill would give me both the energy and the zeal to tackle the next thing on the list.

For instance, I'm learning Wordpress. For years, I couldn't get anyone to create a site for me that was quite right. Mostly because I didn't know the possibilities myself, and couldn't direct them. Finally I just decided, I have to learn to do this... and it's coming together. Not perfect. But a year from now, I'm guessing I'll be pretty good at it.

Anyway... great post.

You've got a quick wit and you're clearly a clever thinker.

Good stuff.

P.S. And no, at this point I haven't read your book yet. But what I've seen on this site convinces me. I'm going to go check it out right now.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

timferriss — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:21:22 -0000

@Lisa,

No problem if you want to cite a few quotations from this post, as long as you attribute it to me and provide the blog URL (www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog). I'm taking some time off of interviews, I'm afraid.

Best of luck and perhaps we'll bump into each other in Paris :)

Pura vida,

Tim

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Lisa Rothstein — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:42:39 -0000

Hey Tim
Great post
I'm writing a book on this subject, advice for people juggling many talents and passions. Can I get an interview with you? Or cite part of this post? Thanks! enjoying following you on Twitter
Lisa
P.S. I have an apartment in Paris you could use

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

$311151 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:33:10 -0000

I think generalist-specialist may be a false dichotomy anyway. My suspicion is that most talented and highly successful people are or end up being particularly capable at accomplishing some particular thing or cluster of things. The trick is that "things and clusters of things" as they exist in the real world are necessarily interdisciplinary because disciplines are arbitrary constructs. The most valuable person in most situations is the person who has the abilities and sensitivities of a specialist in the randomly combined handful of areas that are pertinent to that situation. That person is always going to look like a generalist - at least in that narrow job history.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Bobby Rio — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:37:06 -0000

Interesting to find this article. as I've been thinking a lot about whether or not I'm over extending myself by trying to learn and accomplish too much.

The point about knowing 20% of a language and being able to communicate with 80% of the people is really true.. not just figuratively speaking of language.

I follow all sports just enough to have an intelligent conversation about them, same with politics, stocks, and music.

I'm not a fanatic of any of these... and wouldn't miss them if you took them away.. but by taking a half hour every day to read up on these 4 topics, I can talk to just about anyone.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

David Payne — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:08:27 -0000

I checked out Alfred Loomis on Wikipedia. According that source, he was the original inspiration for Bruce Wayne and Batman!

Do you think that someone will soon base a comic book character on your lifestyle and persona?

What's your own personal opinion on wearing your underwear outside of your pants?

Seriously though, your achievements are amazing, inspiring and very possible for those willing to adopt them. I've done intensive training and gotten excellent results in such a short time that you get the inevitable, "You're so lucky" or "You're so gifted" comments. All nonsense of course, it's just dedication, a few street smarts and effective leverage of time and resources that does it. I have to say that you do all of this with a great amount of style. Hats off to you!

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Joshua Enfield — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:12:43 -0000

One other thing to note. I can't recall the exact references (though I am sure there are many beyond a couple), but there has been more than a few inventions and cunning edge discoveries discovered simply because of knowledge in another field. The one I am thinking of is a discovery made in a field of science due to the founder drawing something from the knowledge of violin playing. Great post! It is very inspiring.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Daniel C. Young — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:21:54 -0000

Specialization does make sense for branding.

When your aim is to establish a unique position in the minds of your audience, being "the ONLY _____ that _____" (read 'ZAG' by by Marty Neumeier) gives you a distinct competitive advantage. "Being the best in the world is seriously underrated" (Seth Godin), because your message cuts through clutter and gets noticed quickly.

But there two primary functions of business: innovation and marketing.

Being *perceived* as a specialist makes sense for marketing.
Being a generalist is crucial for innovation.

Specialists who only know how to market fail to innovate.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

John — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:30:08 -0000

I love the Heinlein quote, it sums life up for me!

As someone who's been called a Renaissance Man more than once, I feel like I've just found a second home!
I've only just started the book and I'm loving it.

As a kid, I thought I'd like to be James Bond, able to draw on whatever skill is required to handle any situation. I wanted to be McGyver, to solve problems logically and instead of shooting them or blowing them up. Leonardo Da Vinci became my idol. Learn the art of science and the science of art. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on since the age of four in pretty much every field imaginable. Martial arts, basic military training (I'm Irish so no danger of going to war!), playing the guitar, singing, working as a potter, a stint in McDonalds, an IT Diploma and 9 years and counting living in Paris, France married to the love of my life.

Yet something's missing.

And I'm still trying to find it. How do you tie it all together? How can you use that generalist non-specialist mindset to get ahead?

Too complex to categorise.......I love that. And I'd rather be familiar to competent in a dozen fields than a world leader in one single area with little or no knowledge in any other.

Re: The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades

Braden Loader — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:45:30 -0000

Hello Tim,

My name is Braden Loader. I'm currently a commerce student at the University of Manitoba, and to be frank, I'm tired of being 21 and not sailing my own boat off the coast of Costa Rica!

I have a prospective business idea in the form of a self-guided adventure travel company, yet feel my business plan and concept are loose and undeveloped. I believe some serious strategic aid is to be sought if I'm not to be one of the several thousand internet sites that bite the dirt immediately. Realizing this may be an atypical request, I can only hope you'd humour me, as a newcomer such as myself could learn a lot from your business savvy. Where and when may we meet?

As urgency is a matter of opinion, I'll leave it up to you!

Regards (I just can't do the "cheers" thing),

Braden Loader

P.S. Apologies to those with intellectually stimulating comments, all I can do is try!