Jack of All Trades, Master of …
Whatever the hell I want to be!!! How’s that for an answer?
In a conversation with my cousin I remember feeling like I was scattered about a bunch of stuff and she was just like, “Be a jack of all trades.” But they say a jack of all trades is the master of none. She put me on that it was a pretty dumb way for a multi-talented person to live. With that guidance I figured I should look up the quote. Of course the piece we have been given is not even the full quote. The complete saying …
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
While many people associate the term “jack of all trades” with negativity, it was never meant to be a negative. It was actually a compliment. Quick history lesson, the quote was used to describe William Shakespeare. He worked on sets of plays and learned all of the jobs and roles that he could and would fill in wherever he was needed. He used the area as his learning ground and became one of the most well-known playwrights in history.
Being the jack of all trades allows you to be able to pivot. When you have more than one skill, you can pivot when you have more than one passion. When you are tired of talking about or doing one thing, you can easily move on to the next thing. You are able to make more connections, about how all the things go together, because you are multiskilled, impassioned and can pivot.
There are multiple pillars that make up the “mind of Donna.” Which means I have multiple things and topics that I can speak about and it won’t be completely random or left field thoughts. In training to become a therapist, you learn about the entire spectrum of things related to human development and mental health, you choose a specialty based on what piques your interest most. As time evolves your interests may change so you learn a new area and add that to your repertoire. Why has it become a negative to learn more and know more? Why do we shame people for being able to do multiple things in competent ways?
We diminish how masterful a jack really is. A jack is able to see the various connections between so many different things and be able to use all those skills. For example, if the only thing I know is the printing press, what happens when print is no longer a thriving medium? Then what? Pivot became a buzzword for 2020 for many people. In the realm of business those who were able to pivot were able to sustain. Many small businesses had to close because they were unable to make those shifts and changes. Back to the printing press example, if I know a little about social media marketing, a little about content writing, then I can reapply what I know about the printing press industry to make transitions.
This can be true of your personal life as well. As Black women, we are often the jack of all trades and really the master of most of them. It’s how we were raised, it’s what we’ve learned to be, it has become a necessity of life in many regards. We learn life lessons as “on the job” training with very little instruction or time to grasp the concepts at times. The point of it all is that we don’t have to know just one thing. The jack of all trades is not a negative. It is your welcome mat to transformation whenever you choose to do something different.
