The Jack-Of-All-Trades

Have you heard the quote, “Jack of all trades master of none.”? 

Is this the whole quote. Some say there was another line added.  

But, before I tell you the whole quote that may or may not be real I’m going to explain why being a Jack-Of-All-Trades is actually a good thing, and that the people who tell you otherwise are wrong. 

(If you want to see the whole quote without reading all of this it’s at the very bottom.)

We are going to look at this from a sports perspective of course.

Look at the top athletes in all of pro sports right now.

LeBron James (NBA) — Excelent high school wide receiver. After his sophomore season he was named first team all-state on Ohio. He was even recruited to play college football. He didn’t play his senior year becasue of a wrist injury. Jack-of-all-trades.

Patrick Mahomes (NFL) — Played high school football, baseball, and basketball. He can still hoop today. There are some videos out there of him playing pickup basketball, and hes good. He was drafted out of high school to play Major League baseball for the Detroit Tigers. He was drafted in a later round, because he was already comitted to play football at Texas Tech University. Jack-of-all-trades

Aaron Judge (MLB) — Judge was also a three-sport star in high school. He played Baseball, basketball, and football. In football he set the school record for most touchdowns while playing wide receiver. In basketball he played center and led the team in scoring, averaging 18.2 points a game. Jack-of-all-trades

Patrick Kane (NHL) — One of the top 5 American born players playing today. Growing up he played baseball, lacrosse, soccer, and basketball. Jack-of-all-trades

Do you see where I’m going with this? 

It’s the same for business. A Jack-Of-All-Trades can fit in anywhere with just a little bit of training and learning. Being versatile is a great thing, not a bad thing. 

Are there negatives to this character trait? Of course, just like with anything. Can a Jack-Of-All-Trades compete with an expert in a certain field? Probably not to the full extent. 

I’m a Jack-Of-All-Trades. Like any characteristics it has its negatives and its positives, but can we stop saying its a bad thing. I’ve heard this a lot in my career. I will say, it does make the job search a little more challenging than if I was an expert in something specific.

If LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Judge, and Patrick Kane can all be Jacks-Of-All-Trades, then so can you and I.

So, the rest of the quote that has been touted as being the second line of the original goes like this, “Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than a master of one.”

Is that the whole quote? I’m not sure, but I know I like that version better.