Skill Acquisition Archives

How to Become a Modern Day Polymath

Here's the thing- Becoming a polymath is all about balance and relativity. Figuring out the exact best path for yourself is a journey that only you yourself can undertake. Pursue too many things at one time and you'll spread yourself too thin, only developing a cursory knowledge of subjects. Focus too narrowly and you'll lack the breadth of knowledge that is so characteristic of the renaissance person.

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March 20, 2024

Character Traits / Digital Polymath / Inspiration Locker! / Making / Motivation / Online Business / Productivity / Skill Acquisition / Solopreneur / The Mechanic

Make Your Own

Maybe you've always wanted to be creative. Perhaps you've felt like someone standing on the outside looking in, wishing you were a "creative person." Or maybe you've done something creative in the past, but you've gotten busy or distracted and you've put those old projects and skills on the back burner. If you find yourself resonating with either one of these scenarios then this post is for YOU.

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November 13, 2023

Book Reviews / Books / Knowledge / Life Advice / Productivity / Productivity and Self-Improvement / Skill Acquisition / The Library

Generalist vs Specialist: Range by David Epstein, Book Review

David Epstein's book is solidly grounded in the non-fantastical real world. It makes the case that people who have experience in a number of different areas (generalists) have some advantage(s) over those with deep expertise in a single field (specialists). This is the case even as many career fields insist that their professionals get ever more and more hyper-specialized. This can cause those specialists to miss new ideas or connections to other fields which would have been beneficial.

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August 28, 2023

Environment Design / Garage Gym / Knowledge / Making / Skill Acquisition / The Lab / The Mechanic

Why You Should Build Your Own Bumper Plate Toaster Rack

You can do it, yes YOU! Build a DIY Toaster Rack!

I recently read Adam Savage’s book, Every Tool’s a Hammer, and it absolutely reinforced a notion I have that is one of the founding beliefs of this site. As we go through life, we build beliefs about who we are, what we do, and what we’re capable of. We’re usually wrong. What I mean, is that through these beliefs about who we are, we also decide, sometimes falsely, who we’re not. We end up needlessly placing self-limiting beliefs on ourselves.

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May 31, 2020

Character Traits / Knowledge / Motivation / Skill Acquisition

Just Start Already!

When I was in college and just starting to write music of my own, a professor at the university gave me some sage advice. “Usually when people start writing they write a bunch of bad charts. And It’s best just to get that out of the way as soon as possible.” Lol. I love that! But what the heck did he mean? Was he telling me I was going to be a bad composer!? Don’t try because you’re going to write a bunch of bad music??

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May 1, 2020

Discipline / Habits / Skill Acquisition

Plans n’ Processes for 2020

What’s up everyone? I hope everybody had a warm and restorative holiday break. This article is somewhat of a follow up to my 2019 Year in Review. I honestly had a great 2019 and I hope to build on my successes from last year. In this piece, I lay out my overall thoughts for moving forward in the new year, as well as my specific goals for 2020. Let’s talk about that word, goal, a little, shall we?

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January 8, 2020

Discipline / Habits / Skill Acquisition

2019 Year in Review

As the year draws to a close, I am reflecting on the goals and habits that were important to me in 2019. Like many of you, I see the end of the year as a chance to look back and see what went right, what slipped through my grasp, and what I can improve as I go into the new year. Of course, my brain is already exploding with ideas of goals to strive for in 2020, but I know I have a better chance of success if I pause to take note of an obstacle here, a tweak there, and formulate my plans with this important context in mind.

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December 30, 2019

Skill Acquisition

Getting Started

Last Friday we had our new piano delivered to the house. I say new but really it’s just new to us. It’s a Kawai upright from the 1990’s that’s been refurbished and it’s waaaay more piano than my playing warrants. It’s also a much nicer instrument than I thought I’d ever be able to afford. I’ve been a professional musician (saxophone) most of my adult life and while in college and afterwards, I’ve always enjoyed playing through chord changes and the odd part. I never really developed any worthwhile facility though, and now that we finally have a nice quality instrument in the house that’s a joy to play, I plan to make some serious progress.

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September 21, 2018