Strengths and Weaknesses

Hey all,

It's been a busy few weeks for me. From all the work I'm doing inside and outside of class, I haven't had as much time to balance all the different things I want to do with my time at college.

As a result, I've been thinking about why I want to do the different things I want to do (like writing this blog), and I think it comes down to an idea I've had in my head for a long time:

To become incredibly successful in life, you have to break stereotypes.

Because, in my eyes, many people are incredibly good at what they do. Therefore, it isn't hard to imagine that one day, with enough effort, we'll all become highly skilled at something.

However, to me, what has always separated those who are merely highly skilled and those who are astronomically successful is an ability to break out of certain limitations or stereotypes.

Take Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Sure, they were intelligent and had good eyes for innovation, but there were many people in the world at that time who had incredible intelligence and enough knowledge of new technology to make similar decisions or products as they had.

To me, what set them that much further apart was a capacity for risk that pushed them to work on projects that had no guarantee of success. That's a characteristic that doesn't show up often among academics, which may be why these two entrepreneurs stood out so much - they didn't have that much competition from those in the same field as them.

Similarly, some of the best scientists aren't those with the highest IQs. It's those who can leverage the brains of every undergraduate, graduate student, and professor they work with the best out of anyone. Those who can communicate and run a lab better than anyone.

Even Lebron James, with all his physical gifts, became one of the greatest basketball players of all time because he worked himself out of the mold of someone who runs and dunks the ball. Instead, he's become one of the greatest passers of all time, an above-average shooter, and developed an ability to read the game like no one else.

So, to me, the lesson here is that you should try to break out of your mold. You have to be lucky to be born with the mental gifts of Albert Einstein, into money like a bunch of rich people out there, or physical tools like Lebron or Messi.

It's hard to be gifted.

But, with enough work, it's relatively easy to become a master of something. However, when you do, be different than all the masters in your field.

Just because you can get 100s on assignments doesn't mean you should stop taking creative risks to turn in better work or spend time on exciting projects or startups. Just because you've dreamed up a "perfect" work-life balance doesn't mean you stop trying new activities that allow you to make a little more money or relax a little more. Just because you seem to have perfected your craft doesn't mean it is perfect, but you may need to work on a different skill to realize that.

What I'm saying is:

Success builds complacency, but not always in the area you think. Many know they'll become complacent and look for ways to improve in the areas that have brought them success. However, most often, the areas with the most opportunities are the ones you have not yet explored.

So, keep working on your craft, whatever it is. But remember that while you do, there are other skills to learn in other disciplines that will take you to the next level.

Alright, that's all I have for today. I hope you enjoyed reading, and have a great week!

-Ethan