tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525161379578984040.post6654797136623537754..comments2023-12-15T00:45:21.381-05:00Comments on Unmapped Country: Can a Dilettante Be Successful?Hope Perlmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10599511890390199730noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525161379578984040.post-40684082157492879172012-02-25T10:54:11.681-05:002012-02-25T10:54:11.681-05:00I hear it all the time from my female friends--tho...I hear it all the time from my female friends--those self-deprecating comments about their talents. I do it, too. It's a hard habit to break.Hope Perlmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10599511890390199730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525161379578984040.post-78774810618628134882012-02-23T10:06:59.074-05:002012-02-23T10:06:59.074-05:00A wise person once told me, "Your talents are...A wise person once told me, "Your talents are a gift, don't waste them." Women, in particular, seem to view what they are good at as "no big deal," but someone else's talents -- ah, they are really valuable. We do need to learn to respect what we are good at and not undervalue those special attributes at the expense of what others excel at.Ellennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525161379578984040.post-14993856231121351472012-02-23T07:49:30.837-05:002012-02-23T07:49:30.837-05:00Good points, Scrollwork. There is a risk with spec...Good points, Scrollwork. There is a risk with specialization. You can be rendered obsolete. On the other hand, playing to your strengths seems like it would get you "farther" in life than always shoring up your weaknesses and never really developing that area of native strength. <br /><br />I'm not sure where I fall on this question. I think life is more interesting when you're a generalist, because you've always got new ideas to work with. But you're spending your 10,000 hours of practice on several things, not just one.Hope Perlmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10599511890390199730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6525161379578984040.post-39788655601224251442012-02-22T15:05:53.181-05:002012-02-22T15:05:53.181-05:00To specialize or generalize, that is the question....To specialize or generalize, that is the question. I'll set aside the gender factor for now, because it is a variable that deserves its own treatment.<br /><br />From spending 20 years specializing in written communication, specifically ghostwriting speeches, I've learned that one can easily be replaced. Maybe it's the skill, not the fact of specialization, that killed off my career before retirement. Everybody thinks anybody can write, except those of us who do. I suppose if I'd been gifted in the science field and spent two decades building on it, it would've turned out quite differently.<br /><br />Still, I've read enough hollow-inside life stories to know that if you don't pursue what you already know to be your passion, in 20 years, maybe fewer, regret will be your constant companion. Success might be there as well, but only as perceived by others.Scrollworkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09761198237613139398noreply@blogger.com