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Renaissance Man
My father once said to me, “Choose one thing to do, and do it
well.“ For the longest time I wondered if he was right, since
I have so many interests that go in so many different
directions. I would say my father was a sort of Renaissance man
-- he was great in sports, extremely talented in music, involved in
politics, knowledgeable in theology, an architect and engineer, and a
deep thinker. His pursuits covered many different areas of life
-- why couldn’t mine?
Now, older and hopefully wiser myself, I understand what he
meant. He learned from his experience, and he was passing off his
wisdom to me. To be really good at something, even great, you
must devote time to it; if your spend your time going in varying
directions, each would receive only a small fraction of your time, and
your skills would show just a small fraction of improvement.
Success in reaching a goal is proportionate to the amount of time
pursuing that goal, whether it is becoming a concert pianist, a
baseball player, a business owner, or a gardener. Martha Stuart
is good at crafts/home entertaining, Julia Roberts is good at acting,
and J.K. Rowling is good at writing.
Is there really such a thing as a Renaissance man (or
woman)? Perhaps five hundred years ago, when popes and kings paid
for living expenses, allowing people to pursue many different
avenues. Until they start that again, however, I think we’ll have
to specialize.
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