The question about choosing between a single focus and multiple hit very close to home as someone self-managing their entire education. I think the answer both Stan and Marshall settled on-- that what works best is a case-by-case thing and is reliant on one assessing what they wish to work on-- very much hits the nail on the head, but is in the same breath something many people in my position don't come naturally to as far as I've noticed. There is so much to learn from the beginner's perspective, and time and time again I see those technical constraints freezing folks out from ever just jumping in to their studies. Time weighs incredibly heavy early on, and even if you're passionate about progressing, it can be a struggle to figure out how best to divide and devote it in order to achieve the mastery you see in works around you. For me, it's caused massive burnout. What I've come to discover is that it takes making the conscious decision to just... start... in order to begin reaching those heights. The type of work you want to create will influence what may be most enriching to start studying-- if you're wanting to be or presently are a character designer, anatomy and form are probably things you'll get a ton of mileage from-- but there isn't a wrong place to begin or a wrong amount of subjects to study, so long as you're not bogging yourself down with so much information it doesn't stick. All the topics you narrow down as goals and study-points will all generally get you where you want to go; it really takes just starting and fine-tuning to your personal wants/needs/interests as you go along.

OMGosh! @Marshall Vandruff !!! I can’t believe you just asked a variation of the G-pen question I just asked you a few days ago in an email - Tachikawa, Nikko, Zebra, Zebra hard, or Zebra titanium 😂! Which was first 😲? Probably the podcast recording, but freaky coincidence here. Okay, wait. Perhaps you get asked that all the time? and since I’m immersing in Proko 2.0, maybe not surprising at all 🤷‍♀️. Would love it if you and @Stan Prokopenko could discuss Survivorship Bias on the podcast at some point. It feels like every personal growth expert and every person at the top of their game give some variation of the advice “work harder than everyone else, be better than everyone else, etc.” I’ve heard you guys talk about it, I’ve heard Bobby Chiu talk about it. Not to disparage hard work and consistently giving it your all, but with 7.8 billion people on earth, everyone can’t be number one. Most can’t. So what are the things we need to learn from the people who haven’t been able to be successful (whatever that means) through no lack of determination and hard work on their part? Your discussions about needing two of three qualities is a great start (great work, being on time, being delightful to work with). Thank you! Really love the work you and the entire Proko team are doing here, making so much information available to everyone who speaks English with a wifi connection. We’re so lucky! You give access to a wealth of info and knowledge for free, and I’m grateful for the work you are doing. 🥰