Mastering one specific skill set might have been the key to success 20 years ago . . . but being the best at a single thing just doesn't cut it in today's global economy. Think about those people who somehow manage to be amazing at everything they do—the multimillionaire CEO with the bodybuilder physique or the rock star with legions of adoring fans. How do they manage to be so great at life? By acquiring and applying multiple skills to make themselves more valuable to others, they've become generalists, able to "stack" their varied skills for a unique competitive edge. In How to Be Better at Almost Everything , bestselling author, fitness expert, entrepreneur, and professional business coach Pat Flynn shares the secrets to learning (almost) every skill, from marketing and music to relationships and martial arts, teaching how to combine interests to achieve greatness in any field. Discover how to:    • Learn any skill with only an hour of practice a day through repetition and resistance    • Package all your passions into a single tool kit for success with skill stacking    • Turn those passions into paychecks by transforming yourself into a person of interest To really get ahead in today's fast-paced, constantly evolving world, you need a diverse portfolio of hidden talents you can pull from your back pocket at a moment's notice. The good news? You don't need to be a genius or a prodigy to get there—you just have to be willing to learn. How to Be Better at Almost Everything will teach you how to make your personal and professional goals a reality, starting today. "What Pat presents in this book represents a paradigm shift in the way we all should be approaching our businesses and lives. It's not about killing yourself trying to be the best. It's about putting the puzzle pieces together, getting better at what you need to get better at, and offering something valuable and unique to the marketplace. This book is the ultimate handbook on how to do just that." —Som Sikdar, CEO of Dragon Gym Martial Arts and Fitness "This book is an easy read and a must-read. So much of this book is easily adopted into one's life." —Dan John, author of Never Let Go “What Pat presents in this book represents a paradigm shift in the way we all should be approaching our businesses and lives. It’s not about killing yourself trying to be the best. It’s about putting the puzzle pieces together, getting better at what you need to get better at, and offering something valuable and unique to the marketplace. This book is the ultimate handbook on how to do just that.” —Som Sikdar, CEO of Dragon Gym Martial Arts and Fitness “This book is an easy read and a must-read. So much of this book is easily adopted into one's life.” —Dan John, author of Never Let Go Pat Flynn is a generalist: Great at many things, not the best at any one. A writer, entrepreneur, musician, and fitness and meditation try-hard, Pat runs multiple six- and seven-figure businesses around his various interests and skills. How to be Better at Almost Everything Learn Anything Quickly, Stack Your Skills, Dominate By Pat Flynn BenBella Books, Inc. Copyright © 2019 Pat Flynn All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-946885-41-8 Contents Introduction: Why Skill Stacking > Specialization, 1, CHAPTER 1: When Great Is the Enemy of Good, 9, CHAPTER 2: Gaining Your Freedom for Excellence (And the Right to Choose ... Wrongly If Necessary), 21, CHAPTER 3: Becoming an Expert Generalist: Five Key Principles, 33, CHAPTER 4: How to Practice Better and Improve Faster, 57, CHAPTER 5: Where to Begin: Metaskills, 85, CHAPTER 6: Skills You May Be Interested In (But May Not Need), 149, CHAPTER 7: Skills You May Need (But May Not Be Interested In), 167, Conclusion: Remember, Life Is Best with a Sense of Perspective, 183, Acknowledgments, 195, Appendix: Profiles in Generalism, 197, About the Author, 217, CHAPTER 1 WHEN GREAT IS THE ENEMY OF GOOD It's not like the idea of generalism just occurred to me. It's something I had to figure out after going a long time in the opposite direction. Like many of us, when I was a kid, I thought I should grow up to be the best at something — and for me that something was the guitar. I wanted to be the fastest and most virtuosic guitarist around, so I could become famous, get tattoos, and do drugs and all that. Obviously, this isn't how things turned out. Here's why. First, I have maintained a healthy paranoia regarding substance abuse, because with a family history of addiction problems, I know very well what I might end up like. I also maintain an unhealthy fear of needles in general and have way too much of an indecision problem to settle on something as permanent as a tattoo. Plus, I don't care all that much about becoming famous anymore, for reasons we'll later get into. Those, ahem, lofty goals aside, I realized about five years into playing guitar that specialization wasn't getting me