I have rarely met anyone who effectively manages to excel at more than three things at an elite level. The issue here is time and its finiteness. Skill increases the more time we spend on a craft, but because our most precious resource is limited, so is our skill acquisition. The rare individual who achieves this anomaly often does so at the expense of mental, physical, or social well-being.
Then there is the quality guru. This individual does not lack focus, but it becomes so laser-like that he drowns in a pool of competition. It is all the eggs in one basket. For number one, he counts his lucky stars; but the rest, well, they become “the rest.”
At one high-level skill, we have near limitless competition. Our odds of success here are effectively 0% when rounded. As we attempt to juggle four or five skills, time becomes our enemy. We are stretched thin, and the quality of our output suffers, often affecting our well-being first.
The sweet spot exists when we balance quality and quantity. Be strategic. Identify the two to three things in which we excel and that we enjoy doing. Get creative and synergize these skills. By expanding our focus without overburdening ourselves, we find that special area where we differentiate ourselves from the rest of the competition.
