Learn Like a Polymath

To be the best in the world at one thing, you need to be better than everyone else who specializes in that field. But to be great, without being the best, at three or more subjects simultaneously is not only rare, but also significantly easier than being the greatest of the great in one field.

At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work—as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’

‘But it’s nicer here…’

So you were born to feel ‘nice’? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?

‘—But we have to sleep sometime…’

Agreed. But nature set a limit on that—as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota. You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you. People who love what they do wear themselves down doing it, they even forget to wash or eat.”

Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Mind Maps

What, if anything, surprises me about this?

How difficult was it for me to grasp this?

Where else have I come across this idea?

● Does this subject connect well to another domain of knowledge that is related or unrelated?

How would I explain this to a child?

Can I break this down into smaller parts?

Why is this important to know?