Knowledge and technique used to be closely guarded secrets. Admission to the guild was reserved for a few, and crafts like typesetting, plumbing and medicine were off limits to most folks.

One of the reasons for the explosion in productivity and innovation in the last century is that more tools and leverage are available to more people than ever before.

But, along the way, we began to prize tools that were convenient, easy to engage with and flat. Flat in that more experience didn’t always lead to better results. Five minutes with a kazoo sounds a lot like five hours with one.

We can find more upside when we choose to lean into something worth leaning into.

Just because it feels easy at first doesn’t mean that it’s a worthwhile career path.

July 8, 2024