In one of my favorite conversations, bestselling author David Epstein joins the podcast to explore how to find your path in life, the problem with 10,000 hours, and why generalists triumph in a specialized world. David and I discuss why sampling different paths before specializing tends to lead to more fulfillment. David explains why feeling "behind" is actually normal for successful people who take non-linear paths, and how "fit looks like grit" when you find something that genuinely connects with your strengths and interests. We then detail how to identify good fits, a practical process for getting good at almost anything, and what helps create a breakthrough moment.
About our Guest: David Epstein is a bestselling author, science writer, and investigative reporter known for challenging conventional wisdom about peak performance. His books include Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World and The Sports Gene.
You can watch this episode on YouTube.
Key Topics:
0:00: Introduction and summary of David’s work
1:25: The benefits of generalism and an unusual background
4:15: Feeling behind, and David vs. Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours
11:40: Curiosity, transferable skills, and comfort with failure
21:40: Problems with specialization, and the value of consistent learning
27:10: Beginner’s mind and the eight lane highway
31:35: Finding what you want to do, and the value of constraint
41:35: Doing what’s in front of you, and Frances Hesselbein
45:55: How to actually get good at something
54:20: More on getting comfortable with failure
1:00:10: Autonomy, flow, and just picking something
1:04:00: What creates the “breakthrough moment”?
1:11:30: Recap
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