The Power of Synthesizing & How to Utilize It
Experts are all around us. But where are all the synthesizers? They're here too! In fact, they're even more prominent than the experts. Just in smaller numbers.
I have failed. Yet, I have not. No one has.
Through this journey of learning, I have learned so much about myself and other people. I’ve learned what has caught people’s attention, and what has not.
What I do know is that the synthesizing of information has helped a great deal in defining who I am, what types of content I produce and what books I read and I believe that this strategy can help you define who you are and how you go about learning and innovating.
Synthesizing is not a new idea, but not many people utilize it purposefully or properly
What does it mean to be a synthesizer? And, no, I don’t mean the musical instrument.
Being a synthesizer means that you can learn multiple topics from multiple sources. But that is such a shallow definition.
Let’s go deeper.
Being a synthesizer means that you can learn multiple (unrelated) topics from multiple sources and then be able to combine that information into something tangible and (fairly) new.
For example:
If you’re an author, you can combine multiple genres to create a unique book.
If you’re an aspiring business owner, you can combine multiple problems, models, and strategies to make a new business.
If you’re a teacher, you can combine ideas, and strategies from outside of the traditional educational pedagogy to increase engagement and ability to apply information learned in the classroom in the real world.
The Edge You Need to Go Above and Beyond in Every Field
Being a synthesizer gives you an edge to achieve more outcomes compared to anyone else around you.
It's because you have more skills than anyone else who only specializes in one area.
But a synthesizer is not to be confused with a generalist because a synthesizer is able to easily adapt a new idea into their existing specialized field.
How to Become a Synthesizer
Continuously learn
Use a second brain to organize what you learn
Keep an action journal of ideas you want to experiment with
Prioritize what you want to experiment with
Measure the results of your experiment
Refine your ideas further
Repeat the process as needed
This synthesizing process is something that I personally continue to refine and improve and as I do so I will be sharing the takeaways with you. And of course, each one of the steps above can be expanded in deeper detail which I will definitely expand on in future newsletters.