I can do and I can teach and now I want to do more.
I have decided that there are way too many things gathering dust on the list I keep in the back of my mind. Today I learned how to string and tune a guitar and I have started playing scales. I have also started talking to a local artist who seems to be inclined to sit down with me and show me how to draw.
There is no end to self improvement and the only way to become a human of value is to study everything you can. If there is someone within reach who can teach you something that you didn't know before, it's a good idea to ask them if they would share their knowledge with you. It's my experience that most folks are waiting for somebody to ask them and that they would gladly spend time with you explaining and showing what they know. I've spent a whole lot of time focused on my work. Now it's time to get a little blurry and try to see if I can't expand my abilities. Oh, yeah. Did I forget to mention that I figure if I learn to play an instrument and draw a decent picture that these skills would be quite beneficial in the classroom. Hmm, still the words of Robert A. Heinlein ring in my ears
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects.
5 comments:
what an excellent post. absolutely terrific advice and testimony to following it yourself. i love how heinlein sums it all up (even though i don't possess all of those skills)
I'm so NOT an insect. But how come the recruiters are paying more for insects than renaissance women these days :(
Ah well, I had fun along the way :)
I'm bored now. I think its time to pick up again on doing 10 things at once. Work prevents that with the unpredictable hours and demands to drop your life. No. this job has gotta go. And it will...within 6 months I'll be somewhere new :) and maybe even learning how to shoot portraits.
xx
pinks
I recommend focusing on post-apocalyptic skills first - foraging, engine repair, hand-to-hand combat, etc.
yea... a human being should be a jack of all trades & master of none! :D :D
Really interesting post and quote. It might inspire me to try something new myself. But, it's more likely I'll use it to abuse the first Generation YO! member I come across today.
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