A serial 80 percenter

I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me. Once I reach that 80 percent level, I like to go off and do something totally different; that probably explains the diversity of the Patagonia product line — and why our versatile, multifaceted clothes are the most successful.

From Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, the founder and owner of Patagonia. Reminds me of David Epstein’s book Range and the compounding value of exposure to different problem types for innovation.

Probably a good habit to ask “What new skill have I reached 80% proficiency at recently?”