We've Got This "Jack of All Trades” Thing Wrong

Welcome to Creatives Anonymous, a weekly newsletter that explores what it means to be a modern-day creative. It inspires, encourages, and empowers readers to take back their creative power.

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We’re all familiar with the phrase, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” 

But that’s not actually the whole quote. 

The full quote reads, “Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one.”

Especially in the online business world, there is so much emphasis on being a specialist instead of a generalist, on honing in on one skill set instead of diversifying. As someone who’s always leaned more towards “generalist” than “specialist,” I’ve always disagreed with this advice.

While you want to be known for one skill, there is also power in holding multiple skill sets or areas of knowledge. 

For one, it makes you more versatile and flexible. Several fields and jobs require a more generalist skillset—a virtual assistant, the sole marketer at a startup, or a Chief of Staff. You have to know how to do some of everything to succeed at the job. 

Having multiple skill sets grants you the ability to wear multiple hats. And while many people look at it as a bad thing, it’s a unique ability to have because not everyone can do it. 

Secondly, having multiple skill sets helps you have a more well-rounded knowledge base. When we focus so much on being specialists, we lose sight of the rest of the world around us. 

We put our blinders on, getting so sucked into consuming content and resources that are only related to that skill we have that we don’t pay attention to anything else. We think that if we diversify, we hinder our knowledge of our chosen skill set. If anything, we improve our chosen skill set by learning about skills and subjects outside of it. 

A while back, I wrote about how having the power of outside knowledge helps you better understand the subject matter you’re trying to master. Hence, being a generalist makes you a better specialist. You better understand how adjacent fields, industries, and roles work. And in many cases, you gather inspiration from different areas that you can infuse into your work.

Thirdly, when we focus only on honing one skill set, we become bored and burned out. I can’t tell you how many specialists I follow share how burned out they feel, how they want to do something else, and how uncertain they feel about their work as we navigate the economy. 

Multiple skill sets allow us to pivot as our interests and the market change. When you’ve spent your whole career honing one skill, it’s harder to pivot to something else than if you’ve spent time dabbling in different areas.

Plus, it gives us more freedom to focus on our skill sets differently. If you’re a freelance writer who wants to be a novelist, you could pivot your “day job” away from freelance writing so you can use your writing skills to work on your book.

Most of us are multi-passionate or multipotentialite. We are multidimensional people who hold multiple interests and truths. For most of us, the dream is to bring our passions and skills together in our professional lives to do work that we’re excited about and that’s impactful. 

We aren’t meant to do the same thing for the rest of our lives. How we start our careers in our 20s shouldn’t be how we finish them when we retire. What we do professionally should take twists and turns as we chase our curiosity and what interests us. It’s why we’ve seen a rise in the idea of the “portfolio career,” a way for us to monetize our skills in different ways and bring in multiple sources of income rather than just working one 9-5. 

Adapting a generalist mindset opens us up to so many more possibilities than locking ourselves into being specialists. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be known for one thing, but don’t let yourself think you don’t have permission to explore and pursue the other areas you’re interested in. 

So, as a rebel against the “generalist versus specialist” debate, I’ve created my own mantra: “Embrace the ‘&.“ 

To me, “embracing the ‘&’ means leaning into all your skill sets. You can be an artist AND a musician AND a writer—you don’t just have to pick one as the core of your identity. You can—and should—hold multiple truths. It keeps things interesting, keeps you well-rounded, and fosters a life of learning and creativity.

For anyone who tells you that you have to be a specialist, I say you don’t. You can do and be more than one thing. And you should. You should build your knowledge and interest base because you never know when you’ll need it. 

CREATIVE CORNER

• 🎞️ What I’m Consuming: Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking on Max. It is SO good and reminds me of the old baking competitions on the Food Network.

• 💡 What I’m Loving: I signed up for an in-person drawing class starting in January and am SO excited.

• 🎨 What I’m Working On: Finishing up my memory keeping and starting on Christmas cards and gifts 👀

• 💭 Weekly Musing:

Thank you 💕

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I’m so grateful for all of your support!

Alexa Phillips is a writer, brand strategist, and multi-passionate creative. She is the founder and Chief Brand Architect at Bright Eyes Creative, a Seattle-based creative studio that helps creative entrepreneurs build media-first brands to lead conversations and deeply connect with their audience. Her mission is to teach creatives how to monetize their zones of genius and creativity to build self-sustaining creative businesses.  

Where to find me:

• Join my Brand Realignment Challenge, happening December 9-13.

• Listen to my recent podcast episodes here.

• Subscribe to my other business newsletter, The Underground, where I teach bold brands how to break through the noise and leave their mark through media, marketing & brand strategy.

• Grab my Brand Realignment Workbook to help realign your brand to build your dream business.