Mindful Hustling

Range by David Epstein is a book that I’d recommend for students and professionals in planning for their career journeys.

The book digs into nuances between generalists vs specialists. Some readers may feel that Epstein is arguing against specialization. But that’s not his point.

Epstein is okay with specialization. He’s just showing that specializing too early and/or not experimenting at all (which a lot of people do these days) are both ineffective in making substantial progress. Epstein advocates for more wandering and experimenting rather than specializing early. In some parts of the book, his examples can feel repetitive. But if you can push through them, you can get his valid points and tactical advice for your personal life and work life.

The author core’s messages are clear: Experimenting with different paths and approaches can create more success and progress in business, sports, research, arts, and other fields. Societies today (both Eastern and Western countries) incentivize specialization too early and discourage experimentation. If you are not sure what you want to do, experiment with different interests and activities. Don’t feel like you are falling behind if you don’t know what exactly you want to do for your career or relationship. There’s no shortcut to success. At the same time, specialization is not bad. If you love a particular field (or a few different fields), focus on it as much as you want. You can consider experimenting with something new every once in a while for a new spark of idea and inspiration.