One thing I’ve always had trouble with is focusing on just one thing: one major course of study, one profession, one thing to eat at a buffet. My RSS reader overflows daily with posts on topics ranging various topics, and I have stacks of books that I’ve bought but still have to read…all these on topics ranging from news & current events, business, theology, music & worship, and more.

For example, I’m currently exhibiting at the Mid-America Trucking Show for Layover.com and The Truckers Helper. At the same time I registered for the Worship God Conference hosted by Sovereign Grace Ministries. In the past few months I’ve played symphony concerts and even attended one on the complete other end of the spectrum (my ears are still recovering from that one). I may be building a great new tool help Truckers one minute and building pages about championship tennis the next. In my day job I don’t have the luxury of occupying a single role because we’re a small company, but it can be nice to do something different from time to time.

Whether it’s in music by performing with various organizations in different venues or in business by working and interacting with companies in a number of industries, I have been blessed to experience many different things and am very grateful for those opportunities.

It has had its good and bad points. For example, I have to be ever-conscious of burnout and not focusing enough. I often think of myself as the servant in the parable of the talents who was given three talents…which on the surface seems great, but then remember that he was expected to take those and earn three more. On the other hand, I have found that experiences in one area of my life have always seemed to inform and improve myself in another area. There’s always a risk of being, as the cliche goes, a jack of all trades and master of none. Although some have suggested that this isn’t always such a bad thing.

There’s much to be said for focusing on one thing, especially if you want to reach the pinnacle of a career or industry, and the world absolutely needs people that can do that. I may not play for a major professional orchestra or hold a prominent position in a large company, but I can be content with the continued learning and experiences that come my way wherever they may be and whatever shape they take. I’ll just continue to take it all in and see where it leads me.