The “ball bearings” philosophy is something that I first heard about from Tim Ferriss’ podcast. He was interviewing Adam Robinson, a world-renowned advisor to many of the world’s largest hedge funds (and co-founder of the Princeton Review), and Robinson was asked about what advice he had for people trying to make an impact. Almost immediately — and to the audience’s delight — Robinson responded, “ball bearings.”
Adam’s point was not that everyone should actually go devote their lives to ball bearings, but rather, that innovation often comes when people explore topics that no one (or relatively few people) have ever looked at. He gave the examples of Uber and Airbnb: who ever thought that two of the most valuable companies in human history would come from studying the problems revolving taxis and hotels?
The “ball bearings” philosophy: look into places where most people have never looked at (and therefore there are the most opportunities), hone and apply your skills in the subject, and innovate.