To Be a Generalist
Walk in to any job interview, casual gathering or networking event and one of the first questions that will be asked of you is: “What’s your specialty?” I think this is a terrible question. Don’t get me wrong, I think having something you’re really great at is a good thing, but why stop there? Why be satisfied with being a great salesperson and a decent couch potato? To me, a much better question would be “What are some of the things you do best?” which should be followed immediately with “What do you hope to learn how to do soon?” These days, us Americans set the bar much too low. We need to start striving to learn new skills, especially those useful to building up the bonds of family and community as well as those to ward off tyranny and ignorance. I’m not talking about ‘resume builders’ here, I’m talking about hard-core skills that generations before us took for granted. Below is an excellent and famous quote that describes what I’m talking about:
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
This is a great quote because it inspires each of us to continue to learn throughout life and to never be satisfied with our current skill set. Building a broad range of skills throughout life is useful not only for you but it positively impacts those around you. Perhaps we could even build a new definition of ‘job security’ here. In fact, why don’t we throw out the idea of ‘job security’ (which implies that one must always strive to be impressive at one thing to avoid being laid off) and replace it with an idea of ‘multicompetency’ which would make an individual employable in many settings. Below is the New Oxford American Dictionary entry for generalist:
generalist |ˈjenərəlist|
noun
a person competent in several different fields or activities : with a generalist’s education and some specific skills.
adjective ||
able to carry out a range of activities, or adapt to different situations : a generalist doctor.
While it is true that generalists may be more confident in the job market and better members of their communities and families, I feel like the most important skills of all are those that are useful in defending freedom. This includes being able to run for office, campaign, petition, sue the government, protest, speak out, fire a rifle, vote and everything else that makes a true patriot. We need more people like this in these trying times if we don’t want to loose this country to the New World Order once and for all.
Perhaps in a future post I can write about some of the things I know how to do and some of the things that I would like to learn how to do, but for now I will leave my argument unfinished. How do you feel about striving to be a generalist? Do any of you feel like you can do more things well than most people? I sure know that since I stopped watching TV I’ve started having a lot more time to learn more about the world. I have even learned some great skills along the way.
In conclusion, I understand that generalists can’t be good at everything, just many things at once. A few of the things that they should not be competent in are:
- Blindly waving flags
- Trusting the words of politicians over their voting record
- Watching TV
- Reading their history textbooks in high school
- Engaging in the false left-right paradigm
- Drinking fluoridated water
- Having any knowledge whatsoever of Sitcoms or Reality TV shows
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