This is the Super Power of Generalists

In this world, there are just too many interesting things happening, and we do not have enough time to explore them all. If you’re like me you can observe beauty in the world, but you have a hard time refraining from exploring it. There is a long list of forgotten interests in my past that I picked up and eventually forgot. The temptation of learning how something works is often too strong for me. There has got to be a personality type for this.

For quite some time I struggled with this reality, being a so called “jack of all trades” has not rewarded me in the ways I thought it would. The latter part of the saying is “and a master of none” which is the part that rings true more often than not. It is fitting that generalists in the modern era decided to make themselves feel better by appending “but often times better than a master of one.”

What I take from this is that I am not alone. You can master one thing, or divide your attention and develop general capability in many things. With mastery, you will struggle to fit in where your mastery isn’t the focus, and with being a generalist you will find something in common with almost anybody, but you are constantly coveting the status of a master. All people fall into the spectrum between the two.

I fall into the extreme generalist category and I used to think I was broken, but then I recognized that the “normalcy” of mastery I was coveting came with its own set of challenges too. This made it apparent that my long list of forgotten interests were useful, in fact they are more like stored treasures, waiting to be rediscovered. My past interests have left me with experiences that can be leveraged to connect with just about anybody.

Over time as I became a manager in business I found myself naturally connecting with team members over shared experiences. Whether it was art, tech, geopolitics, it did not matter, the foundations I developed in a variety of disciplines gave me genuine interest in conversations with people from every walk. It is quite enjoyable seeing someone light up when they talk about something they’re passionate about, and the conversations tend to be more fruitful when both people have genuine interest in the topic.

When I discovered this ability, I started to zero in on it, and really enjoy learning from each individual. This developed a natural trust between myself and subordinates which made management more effective, and a lot easier on me. I found myself being able to trust others to solve problems, and communication became a dream as it felt like I could change radio frequency from person to person.

I do not think that because of this discovery the hopelessly curious should not bridle their curiosity, nor do I think the master should pursue distractions from his craft. In fact, both types are important, but there is a specific factor that each side can leverage with the right strategy.

Experiencing different disciplines allows you to think differently when problem solving. It happens all the time without us acknowledging it. We draw parallels between different disciplines to solve unique problems all the time. In fact, when break through happens, the “thinking out of the box” usually involves approaching the problem with a different perspective. Learning different disciplines give you entirely different perspective.

I remember learning how to draw faces and how it changed the way I look at people, mesmerized by the features that make up the face all the way down to the pore. One of the helpful parallels I was able to draw between drawing and music composition came from learning the power of shading to shape objects instead of drawing solid lines. This gave me the idea to use ambience to shade and shape other instruments in my songs. In the same way that light is hitting an object, and shading shows the eye where the natural edges are, reverb helps illicit an idea of the size and environment of instruments which contributes to the feel of the music.

The master can push to further echelons of his craft by learning other disciplines. The generalist can leverage the variety of foundations they have to elevate the disciplines in which they possess a natural affinity toward. I’ve realized that learning new things in general is the key to becoming a high impact person.

Learning keeps you on your toes, humbling you constantly. When starting with something new you are forced to realize that there is yet another incredibly important discipline that you are not capable in. Life truly is a stage in which we all play a part, and we need each other.

With this in mind I am pushing myself to focus more of my attention on two disciplines while my other interests get the residual effort. No longer am I craving the ability of mastery because it simply is not who I am, but I have a deep appreciation for it. With two disciplines, and a well rounded roster of weekend interests, I can strategically grow into someone who has impact in the areas I care most about, while still being able to connect and learn from people over shared experiences.

If you are also a generalist with too many interests, there is a really interesting video on this strategy I have employed called the “M shaped future” from Youtube channel Unordinary Mind.

What You’re Hearing

For a month I have been wanting to sit in a car and listen to Dance X by Gesaffelstein. I finally got my chance and the creative inspiration was so dense I had to roll down the windows to let some out. I created a synth sequence on the Roland S1 and played around with octave shifts for certain notes in the sequence. I was also able to sample the S1 on to the P6 to create layering for the main synth line. It felt like I unlocked a few new tricks on the P6 when making this.