How to Be Better at Almost Everything

How to Be Better at Almost Everything Book Cover

They Lied to You. 

Specialization—Being the Best at One Skill—Is NOT the Key to a Better Life. In Fact, It’s Complete BS. In My New Book, I Reveal the Little-Known Secret to REAL Success In (Quite Literally) All Things, From Finances to Personal Fitness to Family Life.


Avoid Specialization. Stack Skills Instead!  

Pre-order this book today to receive bonus gifts!

Dear human person (or, as the case may be, foreign lifeform…),

What if I told you—and, here, lean in, because I’m not sure I want everyone knowing about this—that there is a little known secret to success that is shared among many people who are considered to be the best in the world and most happy. 

And…what if I told you this little known secret had to do with them admitting—ironically enough—that they are really not the best in the world at anything, and it’s precisely because of that that so many people consider them successful.

Would you be interested in hearing more? Would you like to know why people who are so successful—financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually—will often and readily admit to not being nearly as good at something as so many people think they are? If so, then please pay very close attention. I am about to reveal that important secret now.

Aside from the highest level athletes, the people who are most successful in life—the people who seem to have it all, so to speak, or to live the good life, as you sometimes hear it—people who have money AND contentment—success AND a happy family—people who have many friends and are healthy and fit and spiritually fulfilled—people who just seem to be good at almost everything and to have almost everything—is that they don’t really try to be the best at anyone thing to begin with: That is precisely the point.

Rather, these people only try to be good to great at many different things, and then combine those skills to form a competitive and creative advantage. The secret (and this really is a secret) is these people are not really specialists in the sense most of us would consider them. Instead, these people are generalists. And that, my little rabbit, is the key to a happy and prosperous life. Let me now tell you why that is (and answer a few other questions you probably have).


So, what is a generalist, exactly?

The generalist is someone who acknowledges that it is mostly futile to try to be the best in the world at any one thing. Unless you get a really large head start in life (both genetically and financially), the chances of that happening are virtually nil. The generalist sees this and accepts this, and so decides to play the Game of Life another way, in a way not many people consider. That is why there are so few of these people around.

Rather than trying to be the best, the generalist is content with being just good enough, but at a wide variety of subjects and skills, so that through the combination of these subjects and skills, they can be creative and competitive in ways that clobber even the most dedicated specialist.

Pat Flynn at Dragon Gym

Avoid specialization.
Stack skills instead!

OK, I’m convinced. How do I become a generalist?

Skill stacking > specialization. That is the whole point I am here getting at. This is true not only for financial and business success, but lifelong, personal fulfillment, as well.

Think of it like this: You may not be the best writer in the world. Or, you may not be the best salesperson in the world. But if you are at least fairly good at each—and then learn to combine these skills to write advertisements or sales letters or attention grabbing articles—you now have a lot more power and advantages in life (and in business especially) than if you tirelessly endeavor to be the best at either one.

Or, take a musical instrument. Good luck being the best guitarist ever. (I tried. Didn’t quite work out). But what about being good enough at the guitar and then also knowing a thing or two about marketing and producing? Your chances of success are now magnificently increased, even if you aren’t as good at the guitar as the other guy. You’ve got other skills that, when combined, more than make up for that.

Again… in today’s age – and especially in today’s economy:

Skill stacking > Specialization
Breadth > Depth of Skill

The examples here are endless, and there is not one scenario in life that, when properly considered, a generalist will not have nearly every advantage over the specialist. And yet people continue to specialize, and they only continue to go deeper and deeper into their specializations. They keep going for depth, rather than breadth, of skill. And so everybody is competing with everybody else in a direct and inefficient way.

The generalist has reinvented the game entirely. They play by a whole new set of rules and so rush by everyone else to find their personal fulfillment and monetary success—two separate things, to be sure—but two goals the generalist is capable of achieving in ways the specialist will never be able to. Again, God bless you if that’s the path you want to take in life. All I’m saying is there is such an easier way to get ahead and find the fulfillment and happiness you’re ultimately looking for.

What does being a generalist look like?

The generalist is somebody who is good to great (or at least fairly competent) at a wide array of disciplines and subjects and skills. They can then use their diverse set of knowledge to seize opportunities totally missed out on by people who focus solely on one thing.

The generalist is the musician who knows YouTube marketing and how to network with people online. They’re the ones with millions upon millions of views, even if they aren’t the best drummer—or banjo player—in the world.

The generalist is the high-powered, new age CEO who has the people skills, persuasive abilities, and speaking talent to manage bunches of people who are a whole lot better than they are at one specific, little thing. The CEO is not somebody who is the best at anything. The CEO is somebody who is great at a lot of things. That’s what makes them effective.

Pat Flynn and his car

The generalist is the writer who can also produce their own advertisements and promotions and marketing hooks. They’re the person who sells books because they know how to get their books sold, even if they aren’t the most amazing storyteller in the world.

The generalist is the online entrepreneur who knows just enough about everything to effectively outsource and organize all the menial, specialist tasks—web design, SEO, etc—so they can focus their efforts on generating profit rather than writing Javascript. The generalist is the person who finds success exceptionally quickly, because they’re OK with not having to do any one particular thing themselves.

The generalist is the fitness coach who has more clients even if they don’t have quite so big as muscles as their competitors, because they took the time to not only get in shape, but also to study management and systems for scaling a business empire.

Generalists don’t work for specialists; they hire them. Generalists are the ones running the show. They are the modern Renaissance Man (or Woman!). They are impressive in so many ways, and because of that, garner far more attention and success than people striving to be the best at any one thing, and not quite succeeding.


Do you practice what you preach? Are you a generalist?

I can tell you this, not only because I have studied generalists, but have spent the past fifteen years doing everything I can to become one. In that time, I have learned to write, play the guitar, build businesses. I’ve studied persuasion, sales, online advertising, and networking. I’ve taken courses in logic and economics.

These skills may seem varied and diverse—and, indeed they are—but it’s precisely because of this diversity of skill that I’ve been able to build multiple, successful (million dollar +) solo-preneur businesses, while writing bestselling books, recording music albums, earning my black belt in Taekwondo, and (most importantly) raising a family with attention and love.

My speciality, in other words, is in not specializing, instead developing skill across a wide domain of subjects and interests, which has given me the freedom to create and to find fulfillment in that creation, and finding monetary success in doing so.

I am not the best in the world at anything. But I am good to great at almost everything. And it’s been through my combination of abilities that I’ve been able to build a unique message and position for myself. That I’ve been able to standout in a way that most people in my industry who specialize are simply unable to.

People have asked me how I’ve done this, asked me what skills are needed for success, and how to combine them. Even more particularly, how to develop skill in the first place, especially if you don’t feel particularly skilled at anything. These are the things that I know. These are the things that I can help with.

And that is another hidden, secret power of generalism. You don’t need an early start in life to get ahead. With this approach, you can learn just about any skill quickly, and get it to the level where you can start benefiting from it in very short order indeed, so long as you can learn to stack it atop of other skills.

Tell me where to start: How do I become a better generalist?

So, I’ve written a book about How to Be Better at Almost Everything, and why you should be. This book is about skill stacking: How to acquire and combine skill so you can foster that utter most creative and competitive quality within you. So you can find not only success, but fulfillment in that success, all the way through.


How to Be Better at Almost Everything Book Cover

“There is a moment, early in the book, where Pat discusses freedom. This insight stopped me in my tracks: it is a nuanced point that we should discuss at the table with our family, from the podiums of the classroom and from the pulpits at church. Yes, Pat includes to-do lists and discussions from Aristotle, Aquinas, and C.S. Lewis, but I like his forceful argument for appreciating and embracing generalism that springs from an understanding  of freedom. This book is an easy read/must read. So much of this book is easily adopted into one’s life, and I will be saying a small prayer/mantra each time I enter my home hoping everyone will read this book.”

Dan John, author of Never Let Go

In this book you will discover:

  • Why skill stacking > specialization and how to apply this principle for success in every area you can think of, financial, physical, mental, and spiritual
  • How to learn virtually any skill in a hurry through the same principles a person would apply in the weight room
  • What specific skills every person should have and how to get them—skills that are universal and helpful for achieving anything
  • What specific skills every person may be interested in (but might not need)—and what these specific skills (like music and martial arts) can teach us about developing skill in general
  • Why perfection is often the enemy of improvement and how to know when “good enough is good enough” so you can start getting ahead and stop obsessing over things that really don’t matter
  • How to master the fundamental skill of persuasion and why this is essential for success
  • How to practice better and learn quicker: Ways to structure a skill-building routine for maximum efficiency
  • How to make constant daily improvement at something on limited time so you can get ahead even when you feel behind
  • How to learn (or improve at) one thing every day, so you are always progressing to a higher level in life
  • Why money is important but not everything there is in life and how to make money in a way that is both fulfilling to yourself and generous to others
  • How to turn a profit from your passion (however bizarre) by surrounding what you love with skills that are attention-grabbing; skills this book will absolutely teach you. Yes, you can make money—and very good money—doing obscure things. You just need to learn the secret of skill stacking.
  • Why being a generalist (and NOT a specialist) is also the best way to get in shape fast while experience lifelong, vibrant energy and health
  • Why spirituality and faith are also a skill and how these can be developed and deployed to orient you toward a life that is altogether productive and complete
  • How to start a business around doing what you love—based on the skills we’ve developed—with a minimum of equipment and investment.

I wrote this book because I was never the best in the world at anything, and wasted a lot of time going the wrong way in life. I wrote this book because I want to show the world that specialization is no longer the way ahead, but a frantic and confused game, and ultimately a futile trap that so many people are falling into.


I wrote this book to teach you How to Be Better at Almost Everything, so you can have almost everything: A happy life, quality friendships, financial independence, and work that is at once creative and fulfilling. I want to teach you how to get paid at doing what you love, by learning to love (and get good at) many different things.


I am not promising that being a generalist is easy. There is work involved. No skill develops by itself. But I am promising that I can give you a way to get better at anything that interests you and everything that’s important and interesting to others, through a minimum effective dose of practice habits. Just one hour a day, that’s all you’ll need.

And I further promise to teach you everything I know about stacking and combining skills to find success in every which way; particularly business, but even beyond business: In friendships, health, fitness, and the spiritual life, as well. Only a specialist cares about one thing, like money. A generalist is somebody who wants it all and can have it all.

This book is a personal mission of mine, a statement to everybody who has ever been mislead (as I was mislead) by thinking the way ahead is by focusing and getting good at just one thing. My goal is to shake the system up, to show that we’ve been thinking about success—and life, in general—in completely the wrong way for at least a hundred or more years.

Because of that, I’m doing everything I can to get as many copies of this book out there. This, of course, means that I am asking for your help. Part of that request is for you to read this book and practice it and implement what I say, so you can find the happiness and success and creative fulfillment you’re looking for. For you to personally experience just how powerful being a generalist can be.

The other part of that request is for you to help get the word out to others. The world needs more generalists and the more generalists the world has, the better off everybody will be. Unlike specialization, generalism is not cannibalizing. One generalist is never in competition with another generalist, since every passion and stack of skills is unique. Generalists only benefit other generalists, and because of that, I’m asking for your help there, as well. We need to get this message out.

This is why I am giving away everything I can to get this message (and this book) into the world. I am even willing to “bribe” people in order to do it!

Which means I am giving away a fairly ridiculous amount of free training, bonuses, and resources to anybody who purchases one or more copies of How to Be Better at Almost Everything. This training not only includes additional material about skill stacking, but also courses on how to develop certain types of businesses and skills — everything from fitness to persuasion and more.

Check out the bonuses below! 

Once you’ve pre-ordered How to Be Better at Almost Everything from one of the booksellers linked below, complete the following form to access your free resources.

Order 1 Copy, and Get – The Generalist Fitness Package
  • How to Be Fitter Than Almost Anybody (The Ultimate Guide to General Physical Preparedness) ($27/value)
  • How to Lose Up To 10lbs in 2 Weeks Without Counting Calories (The Ultimate Cheatsheet to Controlled Fasting) ($27/value)
  • 10 Energizing, “Strategic Meal Replacement” Ideas for Faster, More Sustainable Fat Loss ($20/value)
  • Total value: $74
Order 3 Copies, and Get – The Generalist Business AND Fitness Package
  • Everything in Package 1, PLUS
  • 101 Bodyweight-Only, At-Home Workouts for Blasting Fat, Boosting Muscle, and Strengthening the Flesh! ($40/value)
  • The 300 Swings Kettlebell Challenge – 1 Exercise + 300 Reps a Day = Fast, Impressive Fitness Results  ($40/value)
  • How to Gain Your First 10,000 Instagram Followers… within 60 – 90 Days! ($40/value)
  • How to Build a RESPONSIVE, FAN-FILLED Email List in 30 Days WITHOUT Advertising ($40/value)
  • How to Be Better at Almost Anything Print Newsletter ($99/value)
  • Total value: $333
Order 10 Copies, and Get – The Expert-Generalist Package
  • Everything in the Packages Below, PLUS
  • The Ultimate Email Marketing Swipe File – My All-Time, Best Promotions, Explained and Handed Over! ($300/value)
  • Group Fitness Coaching Q&A Call with Pat ($299/value)
  • Group Business Coaching Q&A Call with Pat ($499/value)
  • Total value: $1,431
Order 30 Copies, and Get – The Super-Generalist Package
  • Everything in the Packages Below, PLUS
  • 20 minute private coaching or consulting call with Pat ($997/value)
  • Total value: $2,428
Order 100 Copies, and Get – The Ultra-Generalist Package
  • Everything in Packages Below, PLUS
  • 1 Ticket to Strong ON! Fitness and Business Certification with Pat ($1,499/value)
  • 2 Hour Hosted Workshop/Training at YOUR Facility (travel expenses must also be considered) – $5,000/value.
  • 60 Minutes Private Consulting Call with Pat – $2,997/value
  • Total value: $7424
Order 1,000 Copies – The Master-Generalist Package

Select this option for bulk orders over 1,000. Options for doing so include:

  • Pat as a keynote speaker at your event
  • Corporate training conducted with Pat
  • Pat hosting a weekend workshop at your facility
  • Weekend business mastermind get away with Pat (in Italy or somewhere cool!)

These options are available on a very limited basis, so please reach out right away discuss how we can best serve you and/or your organization.

Now that you’ve pre-ordered the book, fill out this form to receive your gifts.

Please note: These bonuses are available ONLY to those who pre-order How to Be Better at Almost Everything and will be delivered to all those who do, according to the number of pre-ordered copies, on February 4.

  • Drop files here or
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.