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13. The laser beam vs. The prism – published 26.07.2012

Published on the 26^th July 2012, I always loved this blog (it’s funny how the ones that you really like to write are often the ones that no body ever comments on).

The laser beam vs. the prison concept was definitely one that leads to disillusionment and disappointment.

People who are in prison look to laser beam and wish they were them but the grass is always greener.

There isn’t a prize for being ‘the best and most diverse person in the world’. No prize perhaps except for happiness.

You can only be brilliant at something by completely focusing on that one thing, spending all of your time and energy on it and practicing for years until you reach the point where you are exceptional or world-class.

That is the laser beam, where you laser in onto one thing. You are direct, accurate, powerful and you conquer it. That’s Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and guys like that. All these guys who are renowned for being specialists in one single area.

There is another type of guy though, who is not a laser beam, there is a guy who is more like a spectrum. When the single piece of light hits the prism and scatters into the spectrum of every colour of the rainbow. That is a different type of person. That is the person who is living the portfolio life, trying to be good as a dad, trying to be good as a dentist, trying to be good at all the things he does. The frustration in the portfolio life or the ‘spectrum character’ is that he will never be brilliant at one thing. He can’t be because he spreads his time over too many things and tries to make a difference in too many areas. In the end, when everything is added up he is no less successful than the laser beams. He has achieved as much as the laser beams just to a lesser extent in many more areas.

It has taken me a while to realise this and to realise that as much as I would like to, I will never ever be a laser beam. I get distracted too quickly, my attention span is too short and I can’t commit myself to something entirely for long enough. I can be a spectrum though and I can try and be as good as I can at all the different areas that I choose to pick.

A laser beam is so effective at its one purpose and so powerful but at the end when everything is added up a spectrum is just more beautiful.

Blog post number: 1510