‼️ Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World ‼️

 21/∞

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

👉 Buy this book! 👈 through my link and help me build this website! 😊

English call them jacks of all trades, Germans call them Alleskönners (or allrounders) and Czechs call them Renaissance men. Who they are? 

People with “range…” 😏

First of all a special thanks belongs to Jaakko Mäntynen. Thanks to him I was able to discover this book. He listed it at his Goodreads account and it immediately spared my interest. 

In my case, I’m calling this book a game changer. I studied law. Got two law degrees (in two different countries, who the fuck cares anyway), but by the time I got opportunity to sample a work lawyers normally do I realised I do not enjoy it. As the matter of fact, I hated it. Which is a bit scary. I spent studying law for so many years (in my case, I went to law school by the age on 19 and spend there 8 long years). Looking back, this carrier was sucking life out of me. Financially, mentally and overall!

...

I do remember my very first working experience as a law student very clearly. It was in the UK. I wanted to get “a proper job” and a job with some status. As in your early 20’ the only care about is the how the things look form the outside, instead focusing on the real substance. Anyway, I was working many menial jobs in the UK to stay afloat and I thought it would be great to work in the office. But when I fist got into a legal firm I realised that all those people are silent all the time. They sat all day on their computers and did not say a shit… I felt that it is a bit … autistic. Anyway, I did not enjoy the work. Since I was a little boy my parents were telling me that they also have to do loads of thing they do not like (in order to force me to do homework, chores and other shit I did not like). Obviously, they were lying to be, because there are two types of people as I see now:

(1) People who genuinely enjoy their work and life. They are fucking happy.

(2) People who fucking hate what they do. They are constantly unhappy and you really do not want to hang out with such people… 😆 

After this scary and autistic work experience I was determined not to give up (I have already put in so much time and effort). It cannot be that bad I thought. Maybe there is something wrong with me. There surely cannot be anything wrong with the environment I just experienced. 

So I went on to study my second law degree (there was Brexit in the UK, so it was pointless to stay anyway) and I found “other jobs” working as a lawyer. To my surprise, the environment looked precisely the same. People were silent all the time. Nobody was cracking jokes… They were glued to their computers all day. But again, I thought there must be something wrong with me. I asked myself stupid questions as: 

“How it is possible I do not like this job?” 

“I should feel lucky, I’m educated, poorly paid and totally unhappy…” 😆

Cut… It took me many years to figure out what was going on. I was not meant to become a lawyer. I did not like the work I was doing. I was scared to leave (like when you are in toxic relationship which is not bringing you anything at all, but you still hope to fix it somehow). But you cannot fix. What we love and hate is given by our nature. We cannot change what we are like.

So what would have I done, if I have read this book earlier in my life? I would have abandoned my law career straight away! I would have said: “FUCK THIS SHIT MATE! I’M OFF!”

Now to the content of this book. The scenario I have described above is due to “sunken cost” syndrom. Once you have invested so much time and effort in your carrier path, you do not want to abandon it. Epstein has researched this area and suggests the otherwise. In the book he compares “early starter” and “late developers.” Although, many people think (esp. parents) that the earlier you start the better head start you will have, it is just not the case. Actually, many early starters are likely to abandon the career paths they have chosen early in the life as they figure out they like something else. Because of their enthusiasm, they are quickly to outperform the early starters in the new fields and become ultimate prodigies… Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? 😉

This is could be shown on the differences between English and Scottish educational systems. English are early specialisers compare to Scots who are late developers. The Scottish educational system is therefore more efficient, because it provides students enough time to find a career path they truly like and helps to avoid “sunken tuition fees.”

Sample as much as you can

Why is this book Called “Range” on the first place? Well, the more you sample (beer, wine, career paths, universities, business and life partners, kinky sex stuff etc.), the more you are getting to know yourself. Epstein suggests that the most creative inventors do get their ideas from some random environments totally unrelated to their field. Epstein even suggest that YOU should read every day something totally unrelated to your field. Because it will help you to expand your “range”.

Experience is rather crippling

So you have seen all those people who sit at universities (especially the Czech ones, they are the worst universities in the world). Those lecturers have “experience.” They teach one thing all over again for 1.000 years or so. Interestingly enough, Epstein has proven that experience has no direct correlation to contribution. You can be the most experienced person in the world and have extremely deep knowledge of one particular area, but it does not mean that you are going make some breakthrough. Actually, deep knowledge of one particular area is related to autists. People with autism have extremely deep knowledge of one area, but they lack “rage” and sometimes social skills. In the other words, their deep knowledge is not much of a use.

Every generation is smarter that the previous one

Epstein has proven that every 100 years or so, people get smarter (according to some IQ tests conducted in the USA). Which also means that every generation is smarter that the previous one. Congratulation, you are smarter that your teachers were. 🥳 (Who is the daft fuck now, heh?) What does it mean? That teachers should not limit their students and pass on them some communist traumas they have experienced during 1950.’ It occurred to me and I would be rather happy, if somebody would be able to stop this “communist meandering” at Czech universities, because I’m not sending my kids there until the system changes. Also, teachers should be something like “gurus.” They should gently guide, give their students the tools, but let them to do the work by themselves. Amen…

What matters by learning?

Instant feedback and questions. I would like to make a few remarks here. As I went into school in post-communist country, to ask questions was not perceived as a smart way to get through school. Especially, at elementary school in math classes, if you asked a question, you were likely to get scolded for how daft fuck you are. “How you dare to not know!?” I suggest the opposite. To ask questions is not daft, it is smart.

Specialisation

Also, when I was about to become a lawyer. People often asked me another daft question. “What area of law you want to specialise in?” I alway said I do not know. People looked at me again as on some daft scum tinker and told me that the only good area of law to specialise in is “commercial” or “criminal,” because there is “money.” As the matter of fact, those people did not know a shit about law. They also did not know where are the money in law. But they wanted to look like they know something I did not. Please, do not listen to such people. If you encounter some, tell them to go and fuck themselves. 🥲

As a kid I always had broad area of interests. I bulit airplanes out of balsa wood (some of those actually flew), I assembled plastic models (I actually won a cup for the best plastic model in my category in Slovakia). I did pottery, arts and later in my life yoga. I studied many languages (English, German and French) and lived in many foreign countries. Even nowadays I keep developing my interest in cars and motorcycles. The way they work. The electronics and so on. Thanks to my handiness I’m capable of doing many things other “specialist” cannot. Nothing gets me more upset than a man, who is an expert on something, but cannot change a lightbulb. I consider those people daft fucks, regardless of how deep their expertise in one area is.

Since now on, I’m not going to ask what is wrong with me. I’m going to cherish my range and keep broadening it up.

Conclusion:

Fuckin’ loved it. I’m going to improve my life based on this book. I really want to start a start-up. I’m reluctant to work for anybody. I hate authorities (the state authorities, the school authorities, the actual authorities like police) and I hate to work for others not being able to get my “cream.” This book truly empowered me, because I know that I can and I will. 💪😉

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

👉 Buy this book! 👈 through my link and help me build this website! 😊

Feel free to like, share and comment or recommend books/courses you find inspirational yourself. I’m keen to hear about them.

Coming Up Next: Masterclass Sara Blakely Teaches Self-Made Entrepreneurship

Peace 🧘‍♂️✌️🌱