三百六十行，行行出状元

' ‘I do what I do because it is the one and only thing that I can do at all well. ... ’
I am not suggesting that this is a defence which can be made by most people, since most people can do nothing at all well ... It is a tiny minority who can do something really well, and the number of men who can do two things well is negligible. If a man has any genuine talent he should be ready to make almost any sacrifice in order to cultivate it to the full.
This view was endorsed by Dr Johnson --

When I told him that I had been to see [his namesake] Johnson ride upon three
horses, he said ‘Such a man, sir, should be encouraged, for his performances
show the extent of the human powers ...’—

and similarly he would have applauded mountain climbers, channel swimmers, and blindfold chess-players. For my own part, I am entirely in sympathy with all such attempts at remarkable achievement. I feel some sympathy even with conjurors and ventriloquists and when Alekhine and Bradman set out to beat records, I am quite bitterly disappointed if they fail. And here both Dr Johnson and I find ourselves in agreement with the public. As W. J. Turner has said so truly, it is only the ‘highbrows’ (in the unpleasant sense) who do not admire the ‘real swells’. ' (GHH 67-9)