Featured TED Talk: APB’s David Epstein Shares Why Specializing Early Doesn't Always Mean Career Success
28 Aug 2020
APB speaker David Epstein has made it his mission to uncover the keys to achieving high performance in any domain, and to debunk popular myths along the way. In his recent speech at TEDxManchester, he discussed why specializing early doesn't always mean career success. Be sure to check out the video on TED.com!
In his TED Talk, Epstein explains how in a society centered on getting ahead, we are told to choose our paths early, focus narrowly, and start racking up our 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. However, through extensive research, the bestselling author of Range has found that when early specialization leads to fulfillment and success, this is the exception, not the rule. Instead, similarly to his own journey, Epstein encourages winding paths and mental wanderings as sources of power, not disadvantages.
An expert on the science of high performance, Epstein has examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex, unpredictable, and difficult to automate—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Epstein shares with audiences what it takes to create teams with the diverse skills and experience to drive success in any field.