Why People Who Have “Multiple Skills” Are More Likely to be Successful

1. Become the best at one specific thing.

2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try.

The second strategy is fairly easy. Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort. In my case, I can draw better than most people, but I’m hardly an artist. And I’m not any funnier than the average standup comedian who never makes it big, but I’m funnier than most people.

In the 21st century, careers are no longer narrowly defined by core skills, but through complementary skills and learning agility. Complementary skills include the ability to work effortlessly with others, the ability to apply knowledge across disciplines, the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you, and an understanding of fields outside your area of expertise. Simply learning a new skill opens up so many options.

Learn something totally different from your expertise. Develop a wide range of skills that complement and support your main skill. Ask yourself, what do I want to achieve? What’s my goal, vision, or target after isolation? And then ask yourself what are the most important skills I need to have to achieve those? After you find out, start learning them.

Pay attention to the trajectory of your industry and stay on the forefront by learning new applicable skills. Transforming into a polymath professional could be just what you need to take your career to the next level.