Ordinary Skills Mixed Together Can Produce Great Things / by Chris Foley

Even though we might be only decently above average at doing certain things, if we combine them with other skills that we’re decent at, we have the potential to do something new and unique. Morgan Housel on mixing skills to create great things:

A couple ordinary things you don’t notice on their own create something spectacular when they mix together at the right time.

Morgan’s list of possible examples is worth a look. Here are a few of his:

- Curiosity across disciplines, most of which are outside your profession.

- A sensitive bullshit detector.

- Identifying what game you’re playing and not being persuaded by people playing different games.

What are some corollaries for musicians? Even before the pandemic, many of learned that putting together different skills can often lead to new career possibilities.

- combining the skills of teaching music with the skills of teaching online
- combining instrumental skill, pedagogical grounding, marketing savvy, and administrative proficiency in order to be successful, as well as discovering how to upgrade your abilities or find services in order to fill these gaps

What are some other possibilities? Leave a comment below.

(Image courtesy of Pathum Danthanarayana on Unsplash)