EP. 817

07/01/19

David Epstein

YOU DONโ€™T HAVE TO BE THE BEST.

How to Find Your Highest Potential

So often we feel behind.

Other people have already figured out what they want.

Other people got started earlier.

Theyโ€™re sure of the path theyโ€™re on.

But thatโ€™s not necessarily a good thing.

I would have never thought Iโ€™d end up where I am now. My whole life Iโ€™ve been a generalist.

Iโ€™ve never been the best at anything.

There was always someone bigger, faster, and stronger.

But I had heart and vision, and I was willing to work just as hard. This allowed me to collect a lot of different skills.

Those skills, even though they seem random, make me successful on the path Iโ€™m on now.

If you take your time and follow your inspiration, youโ€™ll end up somewhere you couldnโ€™t have even imagined.

On todayโ€™s episode of The School of Greatness, I talk about finding your perfect career path with an expert on fulfilling work: David Epstein.

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โ€œIf careers were dating, we wouldnโ€™t pressure people to specialize when theyโ€™re 15 years old.โ€ – @DavidEpstein
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David Epstein is a New York Times bestselling author and a science and investigative reporter. He co-authored the story for Sports Illustrator that revealed Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had used steroids. His writing has been honored by an array of organizations, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, to the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Center on Disability and Journalism, and has been included in the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. 

David gives example after example of people who had diverse backgrounds that seemed unrelated to the thing they ended up being famous for.

He says that his most important projects are things he never could have planned.

So get ready to learn why setting rigid long term goals may actually hold you back on Episode 817.

Some Questions I Ask:

  • How do we know what our best skills are? (22:30)
  • What advice would you give your son about figuring out his career? (26:00)
  • How do we do the matching process for ourselves? (43:00)
  • Why do we have an obsession with being the best? (57:00)
  • How do we know when weโ€™ve found fulfillment? (1:04:00)

In this episode, you will learn:

  • About the concept โ€œskill stackingโ€ (10:00)
  • Why David wrote his book on generalists (11:00)
  • About The Dark Horse Project (13:30)
  • Why โ€œself-regulatory learningโ€ is the most beneficial (16:00)
  • About the โ€œend of history allusionโ€ (25:00)
  • How David uses a โ€œbook of experimentsโ€ (48:00)
  • Why we get stuck in the rut of competence (52:00)
  • Plus much more…
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David Epstein

The School of Greatness Podcast
The School of Greatness Podcast

The School of Greatness Show

The School of Greatness shares inspiring interviews from the most successful people on the planetโ€”world-renowned leaders in business, entertainment, sports, science, health, and literatureโ€”to inspire YOU to unlock your inner greatness and live your best life.