One thing I often think about is the difference between the person that is all-in focusing on one particular thing, versus the person who knows a little about a lot of things.
When we look at these two different types of people from the outside, I think both have strengths and both have weaknesses.
Let's look at the person who focuses all-in on one thing to become hyper-successful.
The kinds of people who focus all-in on one thing to become successful become obsessed with that one particular thing, and that obsession drives them to become the best at whatever the thing is.
The person that becomes obsessed with one thing to become successful is never looking to cut corners, and they are always the one's putting in the extra work and extra practice when nobody is looking.
You can look at guys like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Albert Einstein, Sylvester Stallone etc. who are all people who became obsessed with one particular thing that drove them to be the best at what they did.
For the person who is hyper-obsessed with becoming successful at one thing, their competition level becomes incomprehensible to the average everyday person.
These are people that are driven to be everything but average - they are driven to be the best and not give up until they are the best.
As I stated above, there are strengths and weaknesses to becoming this type of individual because while you might be driven to become hyper-successful professionally, they also tend to lack in other areas of life.
I remember reading in Einstein's autobiography that he was so immersed in his work and trying to solve his theory of gravity, that his personal life was a little bit out in left field.
Due to Einstein's professional career, his personal life suffered - he wasn't there for the birth of his children, he moved around a lot, and not to mention, he ended up marrying his own cousin after divorcing his first wife.
Like I said, completely out in left field, but hey, at least he is a legend in his own right.
So there are weaknesses to being hyper-obsessed with being the best at one particular thing.
When we look at the person who is driven to be good at a lot of different things, we see a different kind of mindset.
The person who focuses on knowing a little about a lot brings a different level of skills and knowledge to the table, and is capable of bringing different kinds of value in their own right.
You can look at a guy like Joe Rogan who has become extremely successful by being the kind of guy that knows a little about a lot of things.
Whether it is MMA, comedy, or his podcast where he has had some of the world's most profoundly operating individuals, he has cultivated a successful life by being good at many different things.
This does not go without mentioning that when it comes to competition, it is not even close in terms of the guy who is obsessed with the thing, versus the guy who focuses on versatility.
The guy who is obsessed is going to out-compete the versatile guy every time because the drive to be the best at whatever they are competing in is going to carry the obsessed individual to victory.
However, when we look at teaming up these two different kinds of individuals, now you have an unstoppable force.
Think about it, when you have the head of major company who is obsessed with being the best, teaming up with the guy that has the ability to go out and be versatile and learn new things with efficiency - that becomes one unstoppable force.
I look at it in terms of a team dynamic given my background playing ice hockey for 15 years.
When you have a hockey team, you have guys that are strictly offensive who know how to put the puck in the net, guys that are strictly defensive who know how to keep the puck out of their own net, and guys who are efficient at playing both sides of the puck.
All three of these types of players have their strengths and weaknesses within the team and making a great team is a matter of figuring out where these players fit, especially in key situations.
When the game is on the line, you obviously want to have your top goal scorers on the ice, as well as your top defensemen to keep the other team from scoring.
But what about the versatile player?
When the game is on the line, the versatile player is both able to score, but also sacrifice his body to make a play if need be.
You often wont see your top goal scorers sacrificing their bodies to make plays because their job is to score.
But for the versatile player who still has the ability to score but also play physical and sacrifice his body, becomes an entirely different asset to the group.
The versatile player might not be as skilled as the goal scorer, but he knows the game and knows how to not be a liability.
If your goal is to be a billionaire and have an extremely successful business, then I would argue that the person who becomes hyper-obsessed with building a successful business will out-compete the guy focused on knowing a little about a lot.
However, if your goal is to be successful in other areas of your life, then learning how to be the most interesting guy in the room can be played to your advantage.
It is a matter of your mindset and your mission in life.
Both are going to require endless amounts of hard work - it is a matter of figuring out which kind of person you really want to be, to have the life that you want.