John W. DeFeo

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Being a Jack of All Trades

John DeFeo

I was an executive at a publishing company until last September. 

Now, I'm nine months into a long-threatened sabbatical. Taking time off is a great way to reflect on where one has been and where one would like to go. I'm not entirely sure about the latter point, but I have a clear picture about where I've been: lots of places.

I'm a "jack of all trades." 

Earlier in my career, people warned me not to describe myself that way. "Master of none" is the part that would stick out in employers' minds. Maybe it's true. I don't set out to master many things. My goal is more to become very good at as many things as I can. Almost everything is interesting to me, and if I get the bug to learn about something, I'll teach myself until it's no longer fun.

This is a choice and, like any other choice, it has consequences and benefits.

I'm going to jump right into the pitfalls for any aspiring jack-of-all-trades who may be reading this. Everyone should know what they are signing up for. Don't get me wrong: I don't regret my career choices and I'm not trying to dissuade others of theirs. I'll touch on that later. But for now:

Some People Find me Deathly Boring

I pride myself on being able to hold a conversation with just about anyone. For the most part, it works: Business, finance, sports, politics, health, science, pop culture and many other hobbies are all within my comfort zone. But, that's not always enough.

There are conversations where I can feel the boredom oozing from others. Some folks treat obsession as the ultimate form of mastery, but that’s not me. I'm passionate about many things (and about life in general), but it's unlikely that I'll be discussing achromatic doublets with a photographer or rhabdomyolysis with someone who keeps fit.

Who Knows If I’ll Ever Get “Rich”

The people I know who are wealthy and self-made have something in common: focus. They're the young men and women who went to college for business and became investment bankers or studied medicine and became doctors. They do one thing and they do it well.

On the flip side, I know plenty of people who are smart and equally driven, but not nearly as financially successful. (I put myself in this group.) They've made pivots and taken career risks rather than climbing straight up the ladder. Some of them are one break away from hitting it really big, but that break may never come. It’s a pain that I know well; only time will tell what happens next.

Luck Has Lead Me Astray

Beginner's luck is a form of bad luck. It teaches the brain that a little bit of effort will result in a big reward. But, that's not how things actually work. Just because someone is good at something and found an early success doesn't mean that continued success is guaranteed or that something is actually worth pursuing in the first place. I've made this mistake often (and continue to do so).

I’ve Unwittingly Stepped on Toes

There are many people who are employed doing something that they are not particularly good at. I’ve found myself in a couple of jobs where competence was considered a feather-ruffling activity.

Impostor Syndrome Really Sucks

Impostor syndrome is when someone feels like a fraud even though that person has a track record that proves otherwise. (I used to confuse this with the Capgras delusion, a disorder where a person believes that his or her loved ones have been replaced with impostors.)

I don't think a jack-of-all-trades is any more or less susceptible to feeling like a fraud, but the more things that someone is good at, the more chances that person has to feel like an impostor. I try to remind myself that luck is real, failure is inevitable and that I should always count my blessings.

OK, now let's move on to the benefits of being a jack of all trades:

I Can Do Things Quickly and Cheaply

Those who are both creative and technical can do pretty much anything they want to.

Robert Rodriguez is an award-winning director who made his first movie, El Mariachi, for around $7,000. He wrote, produced, directed and edited the film. Plus, he operated the camera and did the sound work, music editing and special effects. 

Rodriguez took this same approach, albeit to a lesser degree, with blockbusters like Spy Kids and Sin City. All of these films earned multiples of what they cost to produce.

Creative freedom is a by-product of being able to do many things well.

A Hobby Can Lead to an Opportunity

Years ago, one of the hobbies listed on my LinkedIn profile was "reading financial statements and annual reports." (Yes, it was true.) A recruiter who happened across my profile noticed this and sent me for an interview. I got the job, and within two years, I had gone from an entry-level marketer at a women's fashion magazine to director of business intelligence at a top-10 financial media company.

I’ve Met Lots of Cool People

I've had the pleasure to meet with TV personalities, artists, executives and even a U.N. peacekeeper from Sudan. My former boss (and perpetual friend) is an accounting major who can shred the guitar: He opened for Poison in the 1980s. Having a lot of interests is like a platonic form of speed dating.

Going With the Flow Comes Naturally

I graduated from film school with a ton of debt and no prospects for getting hired, so I took the first job that came my way (public relations). It was at a video game company and they made me a designer when they saw I had Photoshop skills. When a friend from school raised money to start a magazine, I left my design job to co-found the publication with him.

The magazine failed during the recession, so I became a marketer. Then, I started a business again.

I’ve Done Lots of Fun Stuff

Many of the coolest things that I've done haven't benefitted me financially and don't appear on my resume. If I ever created a CV that combined personal and professional accomplishments, here are some of the things it might contain:

In Conclusion

Focus, concentration and hard work are prerequisites of success, no matter if a person has one talent or many. Yet, success has many definitions.

I view success as a type of freedom: the ability to live life the way a person wishes to.

Focusing on financially-rewarding activities may seem like selling out, but I don't think it is. To do so can give a person the freedom to focus on other passions throughout life. For example, Jeff Koons worked as a commodities broker before he became an artist.

I was lucky enough to find an in-demand career that celebrates a generalist. "Search engine optimization" is a rare field that demands collaboration among creative, technical and analytical people. It's a perfect crossroads for me.

Like the brilliant Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it."