Can't Learn How to Be a Maverick

Image by davemc500hats via Flickr

There are a lot of things in life you can learn: you can learn how to read faster, how to be better at a particular task, how to drink coffee and walk at the same time (I still have to champion this one), etc., but I'm pretty sure that you CANNOT learn how to be a maverick: you either are or you aren't.

I'd love to be proven differently :)

During my recent trainings for Hood to Coast, I kept trying to find audio pieces that can occupy my mind during the longer runs. I stumbled upon Tim Ferriss' "The 4 Hour Work Week" audiobook. I actually agree with some of the ways of looking at work (productivity/efficiency vs. just clocking time in, and so on), but his idea that his type of lateral thinking about life is something people can learn to do themselves and can easily be applied by anyone is a bit ridiculous to me.

Story time: During my junior year of college, I took a higher level neurobiology course. A similar class was taught at the medical school quite successfully (by the same professor) and it turns out that undergrads really liked it too. The class was based on small student sessions with a professor who guided the conversation/investigation into the molecular underpinnings of a patient's problems. There were no lectures, the professor merely asked questions and students were supposed to use their knowledge/research to connect the dots. At the end of each case, we'd write a one page paper, formulating a clear hypothesis and backing it up. It sounds simple enough, but the key ingredient was the right coaching/guidance that we received from that professor.

I was later hired as teaching assistant for the medical school - they were trying to replicate the success they had with that class by copying the model and substituting other people for coaches. I don't have any hard numbers on how the experiment turned out, but I've seen the group interactions develop with the sessions not led by my professor and they never reached the depth his session acquired. Human interactions are, in many ways, like chemical reactions - people exhibit different parts of their personalities based on the catalyst/other people around them.

Western culture has this idea that anyone and anything is replaceable; that you can copy and paste people, actions, processes. For the most part, maybe you can indeed copy things, but there's a reason why people in positions like project/product management end up being great regardless where they go. Every once in a while, individuals are sometimes the secret to their own success. Much like good leaders, these people can motivate/excite everyone on a team, the super motivated and those who don't care/don't want to work that hard.

Going back to Tim Ferriss, I can see how people admire the concept of being a maverick. However, we can't all be mavericks, we simply aren't made up that way. You either have the rebellious spirit or you don't. You either see the lateral solutions to a puzzle or you don't. Even if you can learn tricks and tips for dealing with work, you can't teach someone how to "maverick their way out of life". For those who already see the world differently/have an inclination to taking the unbeaten path, the book can be a fun eye-opener. But I doubt that many of the average folk who read this book had the courage to venture into life the way he did - I think most people would think that his way just implies infinitely more energy & work :)

Yes, I'll bet 5 dollars on this.