With all the media that we have access to these days, there’s no reason for not learning.
High performers understand the value of putting out their content to continue to build their brands and we, luckily, have access to that knowledge through their books, podcasts, blog, Youtube channels, and now Tik Tok videos.
“Best practice” advice abounds.
I am what the old timers call a “Jack of all trades.” I have many different interests, hobbies, and even jobs. I’m great at some of them, pretty darn good at many of them, and okay at the rest.
But, as the old timers also say about Jacks of all trades: I am a master of none.
I struggled with this often while building my career.
So much of the content I consumed was about finding that one area where we can specialize and focus on going deeper rather than wider.
But now there’s pushback.
Others like me are tired of hearing that their path is the “wrong” one. After all, many of them have become successful by both the world’s terms as well as their own. So who is to say it isn’t the right way?
Why can’t we work on different projects at the same time and have different interests?
This polarization exists in so many facets of life and business, too.
Should we work at what we aren’t good at, to become a more complete person — like a team or military regiment working on strengthening their weak points?
Or should we double down our efforts on the tasks we are great at and delegate the ones we struggle with to someone else?
Should we buy a home and build equity? Or should we rent and save ourselves from the maintenance and extra expenses?
With so much information out there supporting both sides of the perceived two options, it’s hard to decide which is best.
Whose advice should we follow?
Well, we should listen to all of it, but not blindly subscribe to any of it.
Because only we know what is best for us.
General advice from people is just that: advice. Not gospel. Not truth. It’s just meant to guide us in a general direction, but it includes no nuance, no knowledge of our specific situations or our specific audience, community, or customer base.
Instead, we need to pick certain parts and pieces of advice that make sense to our journeys.
I do believe that success leaves clues, and that we have a lot to learn from those that have come before us. We’d be negligent not to consume that information.
But we must take their ideas and lessons they learned from their journeys and use it to carve our own lanes in the world.
Something I always say to my storytelling workshop attendees to illustrate this point is that if all of us — whether 2 people or 2 million people — had access to the same resources and were asked to tell a story about the same subject matter, each one of those stories would be different.
Because we are different.
We have different perspectives on the world and unique experiences in it, so none of our stories are the same.
Just like none of our journeys to the top of the mountain are the same.
Our mountains aren’t even the same!
First we need to decide what mountain we’re trying to climb, then identify the best method for us to climb it based on our goals.
And then our unique paths to the top will reveal themselves.
Rain Bennett is a two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, writer, and competitive storyteller with over a decade of experience producing documentary films that focus on health and wellness. His mission is simple: to make the world happier and healthier by sharing stories of change.
You can read the rest of “Right as Rain” here, and check back every Wednesday on Chapelboro for a new column!
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