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From Productive Flourishing, I was led to Seth Godin’s Blog: Chai Wallah, which says
It’s so tempting to do a little bit of everything. All the tools are there, a click away. You can be the designer, the copywriter, the head of customer service. Hey, you can even do the manufacturing or easily outsource it to a commodity producer. One benefit of diversification is that you can average out your risk.
Or you can be a wallah. Someone who does only that one thing.
And that led me to Chris Guillebeau’s blog, The Art of Non-Conformity, which writes
I think that the “say no to almost everything” advice is good for masters. If you’re at the height of your career or skill, it makes sense to be highly selective. If Tiger Woods says no to everything but practicing his swing every day, I get it. If Serena Williams never wants to leave the court, I understand.
But most of us are not Tigers or Serenas yet. Not all of us know what we want to do; not everyone is single-minded towards the pursuit of only one goal. Some of us have more than one passion.
So who is right? What should we do? Focus or diversify?
Both gentlemen talk about passion. The Chai Wallah’s are passionate about their drink and, if you have that much passion, go for it. Many of us have many passions, some you can make a living at, and some you can’t.
As a serial wallah, I find that I can be passionate and focused on one path, and that path can lead to another cool path. Being masterful of one thing does not limit you, if perfects you.
It is possible to experiment with your passions: is it better to add a dash of instant coffee or cardamon on your chai? Once you decide, master it. Marcus Buckingham, of The One Thing You Need To Know, states that you should stop doing the things that you don’t like doing, so that you can focus more of your time on the activities you are passionate about. Find out what gets your juice running and focus.
