Why Generalists Beat Specialists | David Epstein
Good Life Project
Jonathan Fields / Acast
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 July 2019
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
David Epstein (https://www.davidepstein.com/) is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene and his new blockbuster book, Range (https://amzn.to/2K449m6), which makes a powerful, science-backed argument about success. Contrary to those who say "find your thing as early as possible, then focus on becoming the best at it," it turns out those who succeed at the highest levels and stay there longest do not specialize early or become world-class experts in one narrow domain. They actually do the exact opposite. They stay generalists for as long as possible. Early specializers often rise fast, then burn out, leaving those playing a longer, more generalized game to eventually lap them, rise higher and stay successful longer. We dive into the eye-opening research, along with Epstein's remarkable personal journey in today's conversation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So maybe you're familiar with the, quote, 10,000 hour rule or the concept of deliberate practice |
| 0:10.8 | or maybe you've heard the advice that you've got to specialize as quickly as you can and |
| 0:16.3 | just become completely and utterly amazing at one thing if you want to succeed in business |
| 0:21.7 | and career and life. |
| 0:23.6 | Well, my guest today, David Epstein is the author of a really provocative new book called Range |
| 0:30.9 | and he's making a powerful research-backed argument that in fact early specialization, |
| 0:37.4 | diving deep into one thing, maybe the worst thing that you can do, at least for a lot |
| 0:43.4 | of the areas of life that really matter. |
| 0:45.7 | In fact, maybe breath, maybe range, maybe going wide intentionally and staying wide is |
| 0:52.7 | the thing that will allow us to flourish the most. |
| 0:56.4 | Really fascinating conversation. |
| 0:58.0 | We talk about this idea. |
| 0:59.3 | We go deep into some of the research, some of the being awakenings. |
| 1:02.6 | We also explore his multifaceted career that ranges from environmental studies living |
| 1:09.3 | out in Arizona to being in New York City to being in the Arctic Circle and living on |
| 1:14.8 | a research vessel in the middle of the ocean. |
| 1:17.4 | Lots of really fun places that we stop. |
| 1:19.9 | So excited to share this conversation with you. |
| 1:22.2 | I'm Jonathan Fields and this is Good Life Project. |
| 1:33.4 | I came to Columbia. |
| 1:35.0 | Okay. |
| 1:36.0 | Thought I was going to study. |
... |
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