Spiky or broad

I was talking recently with someone who spends time in the orbit of a hyper-successful, hyper-wealthy person. They described the schedule: back-to-back conferences and events, meeting the who’s who of the business world, closing deals, getting things done. A fantastic operator. The kind of person others in their orbit describe as walking on water. It got me wondering what a life like that is actually like to live. Nobody optimizes a single dimension. We’re all balancing some mix of health, career, wealth, family, friendships, community. What separates people is how they weight them. Hyper-wealthy people usually get there by putting enormous weight on one component. They’re spiky. The ability to pour yourself into one domain and let the rest slide is exactly what makes you formidable in it. The other option is to be broad. You spread your energy across work, family, health, and relationships, and you can end up with good results across many of them. Good, but probably a champion in…