How to get better at (almost) anything
Sure, we all know the typical mantras: work hard, learn the skills, practice,... But until we are tested, we don't know our strengths, weaknesses, and our level of skills. One essential ingredient is to surround oneself with smart people, people who are better than us, not just in terms of mentorship, but also to challenge us in ways that will improve ourselves.
When people get together, there inevitably will be politics, which is just part of the life of a social creature. Those who shrink from interacting with people will lead a very boring mundane life. In order to be successful, not only do we must surround ourselves with people who succeed, but friends / colleagues who will challenge us, who expect more from us, and in turn, we all improve by helping each other.
People often surround themselves with those who agree with them, especially those in leadership roles, they have their groupies of yes-men. Eventually, they will lose touch with reality, because they don't have to face the daily grind that helps others improve. In order to be play those political games well, we have to be smooth, like pebbles. Where do we find those? Among other pebbles, usually immersed within a body of water that jostles and grinds rocks together. So don't be among the lonely jagged rock, be among pebbles.
1 comment:
makes sense in general.
there's a dude i've been reading lately named "charles sanders peirce," who was a philosopher who was a first rate scientist before he wrote philosophy. one of the key things that he noted was that an intellectual COMMUNITY is essential to intellectual development. ironically, he was quite isolated in his philosophy career and couldn't hold down a position in any university for long.
in any case, i'm guessing you've seen the same thing in your line of work, that there's always an intellectual community that you must communicate and thrive with in order to get anything done?
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