A Jack of All Trades or a Master of One?

[hailthorn011]

I'm more of a Jack of all trades kind, but I'd much rather be a master of one. I have way too many hobbies that I try to translate into becoming a master of:

1. Guitar
2. Go
3. Story Writing
4. Poetry
5. Card Game/Board Game Development

It may not sound like a lot, but it becomes difficult knowing where to delegate your time to when you have 5 or more things you'd like to get better at. So, recently, I've made it a goal to focus on maybe 1-2 of these things. Of course Go is #1. As for #2....I haven't really worked that out yet.

[speedchase]

I feel like im the opposite of most who have voiced their opinions. I spend all me free time on go, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[Koosh]

It really depends on your target and goals in life.
People who believe that you should master one thing in life tend to say things along the lines of: "If all you have is a shallow understanding of many things, you really have nothing useful." Also: "If you truly master one thing in your lifetime, it will open your eyes and allow you to speak with authority on a large number of topics in a high level of society."
On the other hand, people believe in the concept of Jack-of-all-trades say that dedicating yourself to a large number of interests gives you a sufficient base from which to pull your true passions.

I haven't a clue which school of thought is right, or even if one of them is more likely to be right I guess we're in the same boat.

[speedchase]

I don't think ones right and one is wrong, and I am not criticizing anyone who wants to study many things, but I think that it really comes down to how you want to spend your time. I am much more likely to eventually become a high dan player (Far future) than someone who plays go and many other things, on the other hand maybe the other person enjoys the game more because they just play it for fun sometimes, I don't think there is really right or wrong.

[RBerenguel]

I believe that we (humans) can do almost whatever we want. I love learning languages, playing Go, karate and lots of other things, for example, guitar playing (one of the hardest, IMO). So far the only thing I can "say" I've mastered may be maths, in the sense that objectively, I have a degree and will soon finish my thesis for a PhD. So okay, one thing (even if I know that this is not a subject that can be mastered in ANY case, but I can't go much further in the field).

But I believe I can make to a decent dan level in my lifetime, I can learn a lot more languages and eventually get to play decently with a guitar. Already green belt (although our required learning for getting green were the katas usually found in the blue exam, our teacher is peculiar), but my dojo is too far from home and had to stop 1.5 years ago.

I'd rather learn Swedish better than taking a high level examination of English (or French, for that matter). But this is just me: there's people that would prefer having a very high level in something than a decent level in many things.

[palapiku]

To me, the most obvious and objective definition of "mastery" is when you can make money from something. For most skilled occupations this requires so much effort that it's very difficult to be "a master of two". For many occupations, like go and music, it also requires starting when you're young.

But I believe I can make to a decent dan level in my lifetime, I can learn a lot more languages and eventually get to play decently with a guitar.

Still jack. For languages I suppose full fluency counts as mastery, and it's practically impossible to get there as an adult.

[rj1]

Hi Folks, I'm new, this is my first post. I dont dare talk about Go yet as I still stink at it...

I'm not sure I ever had a choice, but I became a jack of all trades master of none. I have ambitions to do the things I love for a job. I'm realistic about it, but Ive realized most of the "hobby" things you could make money at have to totally BE your whole life or else you'll always just be the 'budget' version of the pro guy who does nothing else but said skill.

Is it worth it though? I dont think so. I'm close to being able to quit my day job. I do about 4 little things online to make money, every day, sometimes every hour, i'm doing something different. I'm not the BEST at any of these things, but I think getting to be the best would make me hate it. Its definitely best to learn with the single-minded approach, but I think it can take away from the enjoyment.

That's just my two cents!

[wjamie]

People have different characteristics and usually, you are going to choose if you would like to be an introvert or an extrovert. I still believe that if you want to relate well with people, and more of them, you have to start with being a jack of all trades. That means that you hold true to a lot of stuff you could talk with people at a rather considerable level rather than master one where you can only relate to those with the inclination.