Avoid the "domesticated middle"

I think people work on a spectrum from doing what they love to work for income. A very few don't have to compromise, but most of us do at least some of the time.

It shows in our work. I'm writing a book on the modern artisan and as part of that reading a lot. The styles fall into a spectrum; at one end, people write to be read and at the other people who write to inform on a subject they love. The first tends to go wide and shallow, covering a wide range to make the content interesting and attractive, whilst the second goes narrow and deep to explore the furthest reaches of their topic. Both are enormously valuable, and the lessons for me essential.

Dan Pink and Malcolm Gladwell are examples of the first category. They take complex subjects across a wide range, make them accessible and enjoyable and add enormous value. The second category includes Robin Dunbar (on relationships) and Joseph Campbell (on myth and legend), masters of their subject domains.

I believe the same is true of us a…