multi-passionate Archives

Top 5 Books for Multi-Passionate Creatives

Do you have stacks of books waiting to be read piled around your home? Do your stacks range wildly in subject because there are so many different things you are interested in and want to learn about? Books are a great way to expand your horizons but it’s not uncommon for multi-passionate creatives to get overwhelmed by their many interests, ideas, and passions.

If you are an overwhelmed creative, consider moving these five books to the top of your TBR pile. Written by authors who understand multi-passionate personalities, these books will give you better insight into your personality type, as well as advice and inspiration from authors who are a little further along in their journey.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.

THE RENAISSANCE SOUL by Margaret Lobenstine

Subtitled “Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One” this book defines a Renaissance Soul as someone who is constantly seeking new challenges and has expressed interest in a wide variety of areas. In other words: a multi-passionate creative! Packed full of tips, you’ll get fresh advice for those who don’t do well with standard time-management advice and career ideas to help you discover your own unique path. Plus, there are exercises to help you learn to narrow your focus and give higher quality attention to your current top interests. This book lives up to its promise to help you design a life you love!

REFUSE TO CHOOSE by Barbara Sher

Barbara Sher coined the term “Scanners”–a personality type of people who want to do it all and have trouble focusing on just one thing at a time. In this book, she walks through the nine different types of scanners, devoting a chapter to each type. The book also includes career ideas for each scanner type and practical tips and tools to help you explore your interests. If you need validation that it’s okay to have multiple interests and feel like you could use an instruction manual to live your life the way you want, this thought-provoking book should be your next read!

HOW TO BE EVERYTHING by Emilie Wapnick

Subtitled “A guide for those who (still) don’t know what they want to be when they grow up,” this is the book for those who have never been able to answer the question of what, exactly, they want to do with their life. Based on the author’s TED talk, the book is full of advice and activities to help you build a framework that allows you to design your life and career around all your skills and interests. Tackling everything from dealing with insecurity to establishing a career, this book is sure to give you a boost of confidence as you pursue your unique path.

EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE by Marie Forleo

If you are in need of a pep talk to tell you that you can figure out how to live the life you want, start reading this book immediately! Both engaging and entertaining, this book will help you shift your mindset to one of confidence. If you feel stuck, the author shares strategies to help you “retrain your brain” and get moving again. Writing prompts throughout the book will help you as you figure things out so you can start achieving your goals.

A LIFE AT WORK by Thomas Moore

This book serves as a guide to discovering your purpose and understanding how all of the work you do throughout your life shapes your journey. If you are feeling a disconnect between your job and your calling, this book will help you discover how to close that gap. If you are considering making big changes in your life, read this book first to gain perspective and find tools for uncovering what really matters to you.

Fellow multi-passionates, I’d love to know: have you read any of these? Are there any other books that should be on this list?

4 Reasons Multi-Passionate Creatives Need a Coach

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You’ve identified that you are multi-passionate. You’ve always known you are creative. And your dream is to take your varied creative interests and build a flexible life you love! What you aren’t quite sure about is exactly how a coach is going to help you make that happen.

Coaching can be an invaluable resource for multi-passionate creatives. Regular coaching sessions will help you spend less time floundering around trying to figure out what to do next, and instead help you focus on the steps you need to take to create the life you long for.

Here are four ways a coach can help:

1 / An outside perspective can help you see patterns and clarify your vision. Sometimes you are too close to a situation to see things clearly. A coach can talk you through your interests, help you identify patterns in past experiences and current interests, and guide you in developing a clear vision. Figuring out what to do next is overwhelming when there are so many things you love to do. Coaching sessions help you explore options and review patterns so you can narrow down where you want to go next.

2 / A coach will help you process and make a plan. It’s easy to have a big brainstorming session and come up with a whole list of ideas you are excited about! It’s harder to take that list and figure out what your next step is. A coach will talk you through your ideas and help you filter them. Talking through what makes sense now, for the season you are in, will help you identify which ideas are ready to be pursued and which need to be saved for later. Once you’ve narrowed down your list and picked a place to start, your coach will help you create a plan. When you are excited about a new idea, it’s tempting to run full-speed ahead with whatever you are most excited about. A coach will help you think through what needs to be done first so your idea has a solid foundation to grow on.

3 / A coach keeps you accountable and on track. When you are reporting back to someone, it’s a higher level of accountability than when you just tell yourself you are going to do something. If you promise yourself you are going to set up your new website this week and then don’t—you are the only one that knows. If you know your coach is going to check in with you about your progress, it gives you the accountability (and support) you need to make it happen. Regular coaching sessions give you benchmarks for reporting on your progress, plus a place to talk through what’s working and what isn’t, so you can adjust course as needed.

4 / A coach challenges you to take things to the next level. You are brilliant and capable, but an outside force will push you in a different way than relying just on yourself. Your coach will have a different perspective and experiences than you do, which will require you to stretch your imagination—always a beneficial exercise. Bouncing ideas off of someone else is often more productive (and more fun) than thinking alone. Having a coach to brainstorm, process, and plan with will take you from a list in your notebook (or ideas floating around your brain) to someone who is putting things into action and making visible progress.

A bonus tip: a coach is on your side, cheering you on. Never underestimate the power of having someone in your corner, committed to seeing you make progress on your dreams.

If you’d like more information about coaching, you can find the guides here.

Feeling Scattered? Try These 3 Simple Tricks To Get Clarity

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We all have days (or weeks) where we are scattered and overwhelmed, where we feel pulled in too many directions. Maybe you have a million ideas and don’t know which one to start with. Maybe you feel like you are sinking under the weight of undone tasks. Or maybe, every time you find a minute to start on an important project you get interrupted, and finding focus seems impossible.

Whatever the reason, here are three simple tricks to try when you are feeling scattered.

GO FOR A WALK

Whether you can only squeeze in a quick walk around the block, or you are able to head to a local trail for a longer stroll, getting outside and moving your body will help clear the fog. Leave your phone at home (or put it on do not disturb). Resist the temptation to turn on music or a podcast. Just let your mind wander. See what pops to the surface. You might be surprised by the solutions to nagging problems that your brain comes up with during a walk. Did you know there is a link between walking and creative thinking? Sometimes a brief change of scenery and a little fresh air is all you need to regain focus.

MAKE A LIST

You can turn this into an experience by lighting a candle and sitting down with your favorite notepad, fanciest pen, and drink of choice—or you can just grab a sheet of printer paper and the nearest pen. Though there are lots of list-making apps out there, consider doing this the old-fashioned way: research shows that writing by hand improves your memory.

Once you’ve collected your supplies, start writing — write anything that comes to mind, no matter how big or small. Flip through your planner, scroll through your emails and texts, and get every single to-do down on paper. Nothing is too small to add to the list. Don’t worry about it looking pretty—just focus on getting everything floating around in your head down on paper.

Once you have your list drafted, you might want to break it down into a few categories. Grab your highlighters to color code, or get out a new sheet of paper to make a clean copy. You can organize by category (work, home, project) or by type of task (email, phone call, errand).

Then start small. What on this list can be done in five minutes or less? Set a timer for twenty minutes and knock off as many as you can.

Next, prioritize what’s left. Decide what’s urgent and what can wait. Break down the bigger projects into smaller steps, make a plan—and don’t forget to write your plan down!

QUIET THE DISTRACTIONS

Both physical and digital clutter can make you feel scattered, and calming the chaos will help you find clarity.

Is your overflowing inbox keeping you from seeing the emails you really need? Unsubscribe is your friend.
Have emails you don’t need to see every day but want to keep for reference? Set up folders and file them away.
Is social media too much for you right now? Constantly consuming others’ content can make it difficult to figure out what direction you need to go. Think about who you are following and consider how they make you feel. It might be time to unfollow or mute accounts that aren’t serving you.

If you are feeling especially overwhelmed every time you open social media, think about taking a break—a week off is a great place to start—or setting a dedicated time away from those apps each week. Think about logging off during the weekends or choosing to stay offline for a certain time block during the day.

Physical clutter can make you feel scattered too. Is your kitchen counter piled with bills? Set a timer for twenty minutes and see what you can sort through. Stand right by the trash can while you sort so you can get rid of the junk immediately. Is there an area of your house that stresses you out the most when it’s a mess? Because the kitchen is a hub of activity, people often find that keeping the kitchen clean and clutter-free is more impactful than any other area of the home. Take a few minutes to tackle the clutter and get ready to find clarity!

Next time you are feeling scattered, don’t let yourself spin further out into chaos. Instead, take a deep breath and pick one of these simple tricks to start regaining control of your day.

Are You Multi-Passionate? Here’s How to Tell

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Let’s see if any of these statements sounds familiar to you:

I can never stick to anything
I know I should focus on one thing, but which one?
I keep going off on a tangent!
I lose interest in things I thought would interest me forever
I get bored as soon as I know how to do something
I keep changing my mind about what I want to do & end up doing nothing
I work at low-paying jobs because there’s nothing I’m willing to commit to
I won’t choose a career because it might be the wrong one
I pull away from what I’m doing because I’m afraid I’ll miss something better
I’m too busy, but when I do find time, I can’t remember what I wanted to do!

You are genetically wired to be interested in many things, and that’s exactly what you’ve been trying to do! [But] because your behavior is unfamiliar & unsettling to the people around you, you’ve been taught that you’re doing something wrong, and you must try to change. . . And, unless you know who you are, you’re going to agree with them!
Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher

I recall when I first learned about being multi-passionate, back in 2012, when I came across the book, “The Renaissance Soul” by Margaret Lobenstine. As I read, I remember feeling such relief — there wasn’t something “wrong” with me, after all … and better yet, there were lots of others out there, just like me!

Over the years, as I’ve learned more about being multi-passionate, and as I’ve seen more and more people writing about these personality traits, I’ve come to recognize that we really aren’t all that “odd”. In fact, I’d even venture to say that it’s the “Specialists” (those who’ve always known what they wanted to do and could stick with something for a lifetime) who are the rarity.

Think about it: How many people in your sphere of friends, family, and acquaintances have always stuck with ONE thing? I’d bet they are few and far between!

So, if you read through the list above and could see yourself as a multi-passionate individual, congratulations … you are completely normal! 😛

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Finding Your Way As a Multi-Passionate Creative

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As a multi-passionate creative, it can be extremely tough to narrow down what you want to do. How do you choose which idea to pursue when you have so many, and when they all sound so interesting?

Since we obviously can’t pursue every idea all at once, we need to practice patience. Then, I believe, we need to follow our curiosity.

In my eight years (thus far) of self-employment, I’ve done just that — followed my curiosity.

I originally started with what I knew: I’d gone to school for office administration, and had worked as a secretary for several years. I’d also been a book blogger and independent book reviewer for the previous eight years. So, my first business idea was to be a Virtual Assistant for authors.

Yet, as I spoke to the various authors I met, I discovered that what they most needed help with was marketing and promotion. So, I shifted my business to help these authors get their books seen.

After about a year, I was restless. I knew that doing this kind of work wasn’t the best fit for me, so I questioned what I’d rather be doing. And, with some journaling and self-reflection, I decided to try being a professional blogger.

This didn’t really take off, though, as I would’ve needed a larger audience in order for the ads and affiliate programs to even be available to me, or for them to produce a worthwhile income. So, it was back to the drawing board.

After more self-reflection and journaling, I realized that I had always felt drawn to things like coaching, advising, and mentoring. So, I figured I would try coaching, especially since people seemed to be able to get started in this fairly easily.

Much to my surprise, I landed my first client within the same week! (I had made mention of my new services on Facebook, inside of a group, during one of their promo days, and found someone from that).

Turns out, I had found a piece of my puzzle (the bigger picture of how I was created to serve, using my innate gifts). Coaching felt like what I was meant to do.

Part way through my first year of coaching, however, I got distracted when a friend (re-)introduced me to network marketing (NWM). [I’d been an independent consultant with The Pampered Chef years before, but hadn’t realized it was part of the larger industry known as network marketing].

Thus began three (3) years of trying to continue building my own coaching business, while also chasing the network marketing opportunity. And, in that same time frame, I ended up testing out seven different NWM companies, looking for one that fit me best… to no avail. (I have since come to realize that it’s because marketing isn’t one of my core strengths.)

My time spent pursuing that industry did teach me a lot about running an online business, mind you. And it helped me to learn more about what does and doesn’t work for me. Plus, as an added bonus, I met a lot of amazing people through NWM — including my own coach, Crystal!

As of 2020, I finally stopped trying to force myself to fit an ideal I’d held in my mind’s eye, and I admitted to myself that NWM wasn’t where I was supposed to be. I also realized that I couldn’t properly build 2 separate businesses at the same time — especially not if I wanted to do things well. Instead, I needed to devote all of my time, energy, and attention to growing just one of them, first. And once that business was running successfully, then I could choose to take on something else, if I still wished to do so.

Sure enough, once I began to give all of myself to my coaching business, I started to make progress, again.

Now, has it been completely easy? No.

Have I decided on a single idea to pursue, at the expense of all the others? Also no.

I still get new ideas all the time! And some do seriously tempt me to change my course.

However, I have done so much self-reflection, searching, and journaling in the past eight years, in order to understand who I am and how I am wired to best use my gifts to make an impact & income, that most of the new ideas that cross my path, now, just aren’t appealing enough to pull me away from the business model I am currently focused on pursuing.

If you need help getting that same level of clarity, so that you can be content with the path that best fits you, check out my “My Unique Blueprint” mini-course. It will walk you through the same process I went through, and help you to find your best-fit path to making an impact and an income (but it won’t take you seven years, like it took me!).

Ever Shifting

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As a multi-passionate creative, it can be really hard to stay consistent. All of the entrepreneurial (or, marketing) “gurus” will tell you that you must be consistent, or you will lose your audience’s attention. (Heck, I can’t even keep hold of my own attention! LOL — Squirrel!)

But, here’s the thing. . .

Once you understand who you are at your core, and what makes you come alive — once you know what does and does not work for you — consistency becomes so much easier. You begin to see ways you can work with your tendencies, instead of trying to fight against them in some wild attempt to conform to the “shoulds”.

As an example . . .

Not long ago, I discovered that the thread that ties everything I love together is GROWTH. I used to think it was “freedom”, or maybe “possibility”. But, now I’m clear (and Growth actually encompasses both freedom & possibility!).

Knowing that “Growth” is my overarching theme, I’m now able to understand what does and does not fit with this, and it enables me to make decisions about my work far more easily. It’s like my North Star.

Recently, when –once again– thinking about changing up my content, I had an “aha”. I realized that my own topics will forever be shifting and changing, because I am constantly in the process of learning new things, and upgrading my mindset and knowledge. This –in essence– is what GROWTH is . . . forever evolving.

So, instead of fighting it in the name of “consistency”, I’m now relieved to see that I am still being consistent by remaining true to my overarching theme of growth… even if my content under that umbrella may shift and change, as I go along.

Now, how can you find that same freedom to work with your tendencies instead of against them? Here are 3 simple steps to get started:

01. LIST ALL THE THINGS YOU LOVE

These don’t have to be all work-related. If you love it, write it down. Write down things you’re currently into, and things you used to be enthralled by. Everything goes on this list.

02. REVIEW IT AND LOOK FOR COMMONALITIES

Once you’re done making your list, look it over and see if you find any patterns or commonalities. For example, maybe you love freedom, and possibilities, and personal development, and personality types, like me. In that case, you might say “growth” is a commonality between it all.

03. KEEP DIGGING UNTIL IT FEELS RIGHT

It may take some time, or a few tries, to figure out your own “North Star”. Like I said, my own switched up a couple of times before I found the one that best fit who I really am.

And, if you need help, I’m here to walk you through this discovery process. My Unique Blueprint self-coaching guide does just that, so feel free to have a look.

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