Mastery vs. Familiarity
Mastery vs. Familiarity
Episode 29 ft. Benji Bear | Founder of Covidopoly and Benji Bear Photography
Happy Hump Day Pals đđżââď¸đŞđđżââď¸,
My gf just came back from Dubai so I felt that the camel emoji was relevant ya know.
But tbh⌠I donât even know if she reads the newsletter.
Preview:
Watch/Listen Now
Pal Quote
Polâs Takeaways
Time Management Is Key
Covidopoly
Coming SoonâŚ
Watch/Listen Now
On episode 29, I have a #CreativeConversation with my pal, Benji Bear, Founder of Covidopoly: an online multiplayer card game (based off Monopoly Deal) that's been played over 1 MILLION times and in 150+ Countries!
Benji is also the founder of Benji Bear Photography, and his work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, Newsweek, and the Detroit Free Press.
In this episode, Benji talks about:
- why he's currently in Alaska (1:36)
- why the Empire State Building was lit up just for him (5:34)
- why he didn't continue pursuing pre-med (22:03)
- how Covidopoly came to be (27:42)
- why he hasn't quit his job at Youtube (42:46)
- how his family has influenced him (54:45)
- his words of advice (59:31)Â
Pal Quote
Polâs Takeaways
Because my interviews are focused on my guests telling their story, I try to give them as much Talking Time as possible.
âPolâs Takeawaysâ is a space for me to share my thoughts on the interview.
Jack of All Trades. Master of None.
After recording this interview with Benji, I asked Juan what he thought about the interview and he was like âHe reminds me of Kevin Hart.â
Iâm not sure about Benjiâs standup skills, but I agree with Juanâs comparison due to both of them having such a high-level work ethic and devotion to their interests as youâll hear in the interview.
Benji literally moved to Utah just to learn how to skii!
At (48:00), Benji explains that although heâs interested in learning many things, one of the most important skills heâs learned is the ability to know when heâs mastered something versus just being familiar with it.
This resonated with me because I consider myself a jack of many trades, but a master of none. I tend to get really interested in things, and when I feel like Iâm âaightâ at it, I tend to fall off with keeping the skill up or getting it to an expert level.
Benji suggests that:
when you feel that youâve gotten to a skill level where you consider yourself competent, find an advanced or rigorous course or book about that skill to see just how competent you really are.
Now you might say, âwhy do I need to get my skill to an EXPERT level, Pol, hmmm?đ¤â
And to that, I say, âitâs a personal preference bro relaxđâ
I, for one, currently have interests in creating engaging content, video editing, and podcasting. Although I know how to do all of these things at a pretty decent level (imo đĽşđđżđđż), I also care enough about these skills that I truly want to master them.
Itâs one of the reasons Iâve started joining Reddit groups aligned with these skills, purchased a book thatâs considered the holy grail for podcasters, and lowkey considering purchasing a Masterclass membership because this is a second episode in a row that my guest has mentioned ~mastery~.
If any of my pals have or have tried Masterclass, please respond and let me know if itâs worth it!
tl;dr
Donât waste your time trying to master a skill that you donât care about.
But if you DO care about a certain skill and you think youâre ĂąĂçÍ at it⌠ask yourself if youâve truly MASTERED it.
Time Management Is Key
The previous episodeâs newsletter received a lot of clicks on the article I shared, so I thought it would be cool to make it a thing where I share a resource that relates to the episode topic or just whatever caught my fancyâď¸đ¤
My pal Janel Loi writes the BrainPint newsletter which is âA Curated Weekly Newsletter For The Curious.â
Itâs one of my favorite newsletters because Iâm always curious to learn about things, and Janel does a great job of scouring the internet each week to provide interesting articles, digital tools, games, distractions, đŁYOU NAME IT!
Her newsletter today included an interesting article written by a Startup CEO who breaks down his day in 15-minute blocks.
Felt it was relevant since mastery of a skill is mostly powered by your ability to set aside time to actually improve that skill.
Covidopoly
I also definitely encourage you guys to play at least one game of Covidopoly!
Iâll be honest and say when I first learned about its predecessor, Monopoly Deal, from the boy Juan, it took me a minute to understand.
But once you get the hang of it, it becomes one of those games that you want to keep playing, or in my case: winningđ.
Coming SoonâŚ
On the next episode of Pol and Pals, my pal and I will have a #CreativeConversation about growing up as a child star, the difficulty pursuing other interests, and what it means to S.E.R.V.E.
I love hearing from all the Pals whether itâs critique or compliments, so let me know what you think of the podcast and/or newsletter by replying to this email or leaving a review.