Polymath here, who has seen a good deal of success in a wide degree of skills. Some more developed than others. I hesitate to use the term "mastered" as there is always more ground to break, but I am happy to say that there are a number of skills I excel at. For the other skills I have studied, I have a thorough enough grasp of the fundamental principles, that I have solid grounds to stand on from which I can develop each skill further, as well as practically apply my skills in dynamic ways.
While your personal journey will certainly vary from mine given your own personal disposition, I am happy to share some personal insights I have learned (about learning), along the way.
Long Game
Becoming proficient, or even mastering, multiple skill sets is a long-game strategy. While it is absolutely possible/important to build a decent foundation to build from in the short term, understand that real proficiency happens over years, decades, and your whole life. The learning never stops. Knowing this, it is important to both embrace your ambitions by having a north-star vision but also temper your ambitions by being practical with the here and now.
Don't lose sight of the big picture, but also don't bang your head on the same wall over and over when you are not getting the results you want right away.
It just takes longer to master multiple disciplines than it does to put the same energy toward one.
With enough patience, discipline, consistency, flexibility, and strategy, you will one day find yourself thinking to yourself "Wow I have actually accomplished a good deal of what I set out to accomplish." Even if the reality doesn't look quite like the dream you once had. Even if you are still yet to accomplish the most ambitious vision you know you are meant to one day accomplish, I assure you, the pieces will begin to click into place.
Cycles
In my experience, learning multiple skills has happened in cycles where one skill gets more focus than the others. There are a number of factors that have determined the movement of these cycles. The two major factors I can consistently see looking back: What has really captured my inspiration during a given season in life, what opportunities have presented themselves (or I co-created) to me during a given season in life.
I will touch on these two factors more in a moment, but for now I implore you to see this process as one that is non-linear. The way that elements come and go from our lives can often feel mysterious or elusive. Things we thought were clear and present fade from view, and things we thought were long gone come back in new dynamic ways. Understand that the path isn't always straightforward, though it may appear that way for some time.
Personal Gravity
Understand that you are at the center of all the skills you wish to acquire. It is your will and character that gives cohesion to somewhat disparate disciplines. As long as they remain within orbit of your personal cosmology, each skill will remain a relevant piece of who you are. The inspiration to practice, and the opportunity to do so will find it's way into your life, time and again, simply because it is a piece of who you are.
Inspiration
Inspiration is a fickle mistress, revel in her presence when she is near. Seduce her to reveal deeper dimensions of your practice. But never rely on her beyond that. For she can change far quicker than summer to winter.
She will put a gust in your sails, then disappear. Be prepared to row when she vanishes, or you may never reach solid ground.
Also, when learning multiple disciplines be prepared to have her come knocking at your door at inopportune moments. For example: You will be deep in a project that is currently requiring that you really push through a sticking point, when all of a sudden you are inspired towards other pursuits. Following her may be a distraction, but neglecting her might scare her off and you can lose valuable insight or opportunity, or she may not visit as frequently.
It is a balancing act, that requires you to follow inspiration yet remain centered and disciplined.
Such is the nature of following multiple passions
Foundational period
When learning a new skillset, give yourself a period of study that is largely focused on acquiring the fundamentals of the craft. This will be a period of time where you deep dive into the more technical aspects that comprise the field of study. A period of focused discipline. Total immersion. Into the tradition, practice, community, and culture.
6 months is an ideal minimum, but you can also accomplish a good deal in less time as long as you structure your practice well. I'd say give yourself at least 6 months though.
This foundational period is like drilling a well from which you will drink for the rest of your life. You will keep building on this knowledge and deepening the reservoir you can draw from.
Pivoting
I'd say it is reasonable to be practicing about three skill sets during any given season of life. One as the main focus, and the other two as way more secondary practices.
The two secondary practices are more like hobbies you engage with in a slightly more casual manner for that period of time. Things you do for fun during downtime from focusing on the primary field of study. If you chose two skill sets that are adjacent to one another (pick up, and sales for example) then you can get more form both of them, while still keeping them secondary at the moment.
Once you hit a milestone with the main focus, you can decide whether to keep it in the foreground, or phase in another field of study as your main focus. If you phase in another study, you and slot the previous one as a secondary study, or phase in a third entirely new study and back burner one of the previous primary or secondary ones.
One thing I will do is practice a secondary skill when I am taking a break from studying a primary one. So, say I have been drawing all day. Every hour or so I take a quick 10-15 minute break and study some martial arts. Studying during your study break can actually be rather refreshing if the skillset requires a very different part of your mind.
Eventually, you will start to find a rhythm to how you phase practices in and out of your life. Building and expanding each go around.
The power of people
The lone wolf thing only goes so far. If you really want to get good at something quickly, surround yourself with like-minded people pursuing similar skills.
A great deal of success in a field is about the relationships you build, no matter what skill set.
Generate social environments that support your pursuits. If you can't find ones that already exist, create them yourself.
Throw events around your fields of interest. Host community meet-ups. Have regular (daily, weekly) practice sessions. And so on
One of the many things I have done in this regard was to have monthly hiking/painting meet-ups. It was a great way to kill three birds with one stone. Socializing, outdoor exercise, and painting practice.
Every great success involves other people to one degree or another. Every star player is supported by a team. Every art movement has come from a community. Every successful seduction involves at least two people.
When you surround yourself with people who have similar ambitions you grow tenfold from the support, feedback, and opportunity that arises.
Be a supporting member
You don't have to be the best at every skill you practice. Find ways you can support other people/groups. You will grow tenfold just by contributing your skills to someone else's vision. You can then take what you learn and apply it to other meaningful pursuits in your life.
Study/Apply
Any successful endeavor is founded on a great deal of study/research, but you have to also learn how to apply what you learn. I'd say on average it is about a 70% study, 30% apply ratio. Even with the masters.
Look at how many sketches an artist does before they start in on their masterpiece. Look at how much time a sports team trains before a big game.
Be sure to put in the hours of training, but don't get caught in an endless cycle of learning without applying. Application is the true test of your knowledge and where it all becomes clear.
Take it to the real world
Create external incentives for you to practice. You want to get really good at music, book a show in 2 months. You want to get good at fighting, apply for a competition in two months. And so on.
Even if the goal is just to meet an application date. Anything outside of yourself that will push you to grow.
Chose reasonable targets that will also push you just a bit beyond your scope.
Opportunity shapes us
Many people who are talented at multiple pursuits often become exceptional at one of those pursuits not because they straight up chose that one thing, but because opportunity lead them there. They saw a great opportunity and they took it. Then another opportunity arose and they took it. One thing leads to another and the next thing you know they are in another league.
Learning to recognize what opportunities are in front of you and chose them wisely is something that comes from just taking what opportunities you can. Sometimes learning that you don't want to do a skill full-time is a great opportunity. But you would have never learned that if you didn't take the opportunity to do it in the first place.
Also, opportunity doesn't always appear how we think it might. Be flexible in how you view opportunity and be aware that success doesn't always happen in a linear fashion.
Start with what you have
There is opportunity all around you, but you will most likely have to start small. Use whatever materials are available to you, no matter how humble.
Make an album with a thrift store keyboard and a cell phone if you have to. Can't get any venues to book you? Throw a house show and perform as the opening act for your friends' band.
The more you use what you already have available, the more what you have available will become more plentiful. Life is already abundant with opportunity.
Juggle with your non-dominant hand
This is a rule of thumb when learning juggling. Basically, the idea is that if you learn first with your non-dominant hand, when you then practice with your dominant hand it will just come naturally. This is to say, learn by focusing on your sticking points
While it is important to do what comes naturally because that is often where the joy and inspiration of practice come from, it is important that a large portion of your time is spent hammering out the kinks in your less-developed areas. Identify your blind spots and focus on those first.
Learn to love the process
A huge portion of getting good at something is repetitive training drills or challenging problem-solving. You have to learn how to get excited about these aspects of learning. Something that has helped me with this is just tracking my progress and getting hyped that I am just investing in myself by practicing. Even if I am not immediately getting the results I would like, I am stoked to see myself growing in small ways each time I approach my practice.
Overlap
A great deal of skillsets overlap. Identify where these overlaps occur and structure what skills you are learning at a given moment around this. Leveling up in one skill can also mean leveling up in another.
For example, learning anatomy has helped me level up in art, physical fitness, the healing arts, and bonus points on running seduction gambits
The sooner you identify skill overlap you can identify foundational skills that will help you progress across multiple fields, and focus on those.
It is all connected, and you are the center.
Embrace your limitations
You cannot do it all. You just can't. With time, however, you will learn what your strengths are and be able to play to them. You will be able to narrow your scope and vision to more concise and refined expressions. By understanding the limits of your abilities you will be able to trim the fat off and eliminate aspects of a given skillset that are not useful to your model of success.
