What is a Hobby Stack?

A hobby stack is a stack of hobbies that work well together. For example, you may be able to sit on the handlebars of your bike and pedal while facing backwards with no hands. You may also be able to play the ukulele. What if you could combine those two? Don't ask me why this was my example. Probably the most cliche example of this is a clown riding a unicycle while juggling. Most people can't do either of these things so when they saw the clown juggling on the unicycle they were impressed. In current year, it's become so common that people are no longer impressed by it. While I can juggle and ride a unicycle, I can't do them at the same time...yet. Feel my pain.

How I got a Hobby Stack

Really, I guess I got one from pursuing my passions. I also would say that I got one by pursuing these things over a career early in life. I worked 15-20 hrs a week in the service industry and probably did my hobbies full-time, if not more. These are things I would say I'm better than 90% of the population at, so I guess you could call it a Hobby Skill Stack:

• BMX

• MTB

• uni-cycling

• piano

• ukulele

• soccer

• Ultimate

• snowboarding

• skiing

• wake-boarding

• table tennis

• Foosball

I would say this is a conservative list. I played just about every sport growing up, many quite competitively on a team (hockey, baseball, soccer, etc) I was also on the tennis team. I'll launch a quad, dirt-bike (I spent hrs on my KX80 back in the day), or snowmobile into the stratosphere. And I was a decent drawer and painter back in the day. I'm a good swimmer, can ride a horse, and have even done some rudimentary free-diving. I also can surf and skim-board. I'm probably leaving a few out that escape me at the moment( I just remembered I was on the golf team for two years in Middle School and play occasionally still).

Would I recommend it?

People who know all the things I'm capable of doing are fairly impressed. Sure, that may make you feel good but I'm not sure it's the best course of action, especially if you're reading this and you're younger. I didn't just write this to brag about myself. The thing about pursuing all these things is the trade-offs.

For one, there are the hobby trade-offs. If you're doing one, you're not doing the other (my example in the first paragraph not withstanding). Would I rather by riding my BMX or playing the piano? I'd choose BMX 98% of the time. However, if I'm tired, or the weather is bad, playing the piano can be enjoyable or relaxing. Having grown up in Minnesota, I usually did all the outdoor activities when it wasn't super cold. I'd then do more of the winter stuff when it was cold (playing music, writing, drawing, etc). And of course I'd go skating, snowmobiling, and snowboarding in the winter. But when it's really cold you don't even do that. You just hibernate inside and drink hot chocolate...and dream of a warmer tomorrow.

More importantly, while I was building a World-Class Hobby Skill Stack, I wasn't building a Talent Stack. I learned the concept of a talent stack from Scott Adams. While I can play just about any sport or engage in nearly any hobby you can imagine, I didn't know much about skills that would help me in my career. I didn't know much about accounting, marketing, sales, cold-calling, building a network, financial investing, etc.

While I still do some of the aforementioned hobbies (and weightlifting and running/biking to stay in shape), I've really focused the last 5+ years on improving my talent stack. Not only has it helped me land great jobs (and will hopefully help me land some dream Crypto Jobs in the future), I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed increasing my talent stack. My interpersonal skills, writing, public speaking, acquisition of a foreign language, computer and programming skills, and just general business knowledge and a better conceptualization of how the world actually works are leaps and bounds above what they were before.

Like Scott Adams mentions in his book, it's no surprise why I'm better (or him in his examples) at certain things: I've been doing them consistently for years. Likewise, with your talent stack: if you put in the work and hours, you'll be better than almost everyone who doesn't put in the work. So put in the work.

I hope you found this helpful and encouraging, especially if you're younger and just starting your career(this advice is helpful for all ages in my opinion). So put down the video game controller (or limit your time behind it) and work on your talent stack. I think you'll find it rewarding not only for your career and finances. You'll also find it personally fulfilling. I know I have.
Cheers,
₿locKade

P.S. I highly recommend these books, regardless of age. These include concepts like mindset, talent stack, entrepreneurship, and "LoserThink." Cheers and HODL for a brighter tomorrow.