Jack Of All Trade: Not The Way To Go

This article I'm writing today is inspired by a new belief that those who are going to succeed in our world today are those who have their hands in everything. While it's great to have multiple skills and/or businesses, that's only partly true.

In today's world, there's immense pressure to succeed. This pressure comes from multiple sources, sometimes it's self-inflicted. You might argue that the expectations and demands for one to succeed are as old as civilization itself, I won't debate that. But it has never been like this. In my parent's time, success was a requisite for the amount of respect accorded one in society, but they understood the importance of diligent work.

Today, the pressure isn't about being successful, but about doing that as early as possible. In my country today, it's not uncommon to find kids that aren't up to 18yrs driving the latest car in town. This pressure has led a lot of people to commit suicide and the like. For some others who only know how to get their stuff legally, they've learnt to not put all their eggs in one basket, hence jumping from one basket to another as they come. This is counterproductive. Jumping on every wagon that comes by is one of the best ways to lead a life that you'll end up in regret. 

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What should You Do Then??

Start Something

If you intend to make something out of your life, you have to take a good amount of responsibility for it. You want to be rich, you want to be successful, but you're sitting on your hand doing nothing hoping for some stroke of luck or something. This is nothing other than wishing and dreaming. That's wrong. Even the Bible said ' I'll bless the work of your hand', not I'll bless your hand. The point here's that there has to be something you're doing about the success you desire, cos luck will not come to the unprepared.

Mastery

The next in line is mastery. I've come to see that the best in any business or craft hardly does any advertising. The key to being the best in any field you find yourself in is to master what you do. Mastering your work/business puts you at the forefront, a position from which success is almost a guarantee.

Diligence

This is one of the greatest virtues of successful people. The place of diligence in helping one achieve their dreams and goals cannot be overstated. Diligence is the constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken. A man who is diligent in his work will meet success. Having found that which you want to do, you must give it your all and pursue it with all your might. There can be no room for distractions or jumping on the next bandwagon. Diligence requires you to do what you do at your best every single day. 

Consistency

While it is great to be diligent in your work, it's even more important to be consistent. Let your diligent work be your default. The reason why consistency is one of the key pillars of success is that people and businesses like to deal with reliable people. You might produce the best of works, but if you can't do that consistently, your ability will be called into question. Consistency tells people that they can count on you to deliver that which you say you deliver when you say you'll deliver. Another reason why you need to be consistent in what you do is that you're not alone in it. The moment you start going on and off, someone else will simply swoop in and take your place. 

Conclusion

This article doesn't aim to dispute the fact that with our rapidly changing world, we need to have multiple skills and/or businesses. This article aims to highlight the fact that it's not necessarily about quantity but quality. It's better to hone just two skills and/or businesses and apply these things than to hone a hundred superficially. A jack of all trades, master of none, is just as doomed to fail as someone who's put all his eggs in one basket. It's not just about diversifying, but doing it well and effectively.

Thanks for reading....