How To Be Everything
You don’t have to pick just one.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
All of us have been asked this question at some point in our childhood.
At age 5, we somehow always had lofty aspirations, despite not knowing what “career” actually entails.
Come age 10, our aspirations start to change. Still ambitious though.
Then, as we progress in our lives, this question starts going from an ignorant, naive afterthought to an impending, terrifying monster.
“What do I want to be when I grow up?”
Some people might have it fortunate in this area, and manage to find a career they can pursue until they retire.
Others get lost and have absolutely no idea what to do with their lives, picking up things as they happen.
And then there is a small group like me, who has more than 1 passion and cannot bear the idea of having to drop one to do the other.
Which is frowned upon by societal norms.
“Get a degree, and specialize in your field for the next 40 years.”
A “Generalist”
I’ve always understood myself as a generalist with many interests, and find the idea of settling on one trapping. Because of that, I never came across as a specialist, and people around me tell me I should grow up, pick one and “focus”.
Going by social norms, they are right, and that gets me worried way too many times.
Until I chanced across this book: How To Be Everything.
With a view that goes against the grain, this book by Emilie Wapnick refers to us as multi-potentialities, bringing value to the team as a cross-disciplinary member with our many interests and pursuits. There is usually a mix of 4 approaches of a multi-potentialite.
Group Hug Approach
This approach is about having one multifaceted job that allows you to wear many different hats, such as:
- A film director, who has to deal with the script, storyboarding, casting, actors, videography, etc.
- A game designer like me, who has to deal with psychology, interface, architecture, physics, history, etc.
Slash Approach
This approach is about having many varied projects going on, such as an event decoration service, freelance web developing, and voluntary work, allocating each project for hours every week.
In most cases, the projects differ greatly, such as programming and music, because they activate different parts of the brain, allowing at least one side to rest. This is also usually how these people recharge.
Einstein Approach
This approach is about having a stable full-time job that is a strong interest, pays the bills, and also leaves you with enough time and energy to pursue other projects outside of work.
It’s called the Einstein Approach because Einstein used to have a job as a patent officer for the Swiss government.
Phoenix Approach
This approach is about pursuing a dedicated field for months/years, then switching interest once your personal goals for that project have been attained.
You could get a Ph.D. in Chemistry, work in that related field for a few years, and then change course to becoming a marketer.
… And Then Some More
The rest of the book then goes into detail about each approach’s characteristics, along with some examples and questions to guide a multi-potentialite into optimizing your productivity for your projects.
Other than helping you find out which ones you are, it also talks about dealing with people who don’t understand it, and also dealing with your own worries and concerns about going against conformity.
Conclusion
I was intrigued the moment I saw the title of the book, and I just had to reach out for it. This is because the self-help books regarding careers and passions I found were always geared to scenarios of people not knowing what they want in their life.
You know, the 1000 resources about finding your ONE TRUE PASSION.
Mine was the opposite; I have many things I want to pursue. How do I choose?
Of course, this is not just about careers; this is about an approach to life in general.
And multi-potentialities like me tend to get lonely at times, as it hard to find someone with a similar work model like me.
Which is why I really appreciate the big community Emilie gathered at Puttylike.com, a central for us to share about our journeys, thoughts and helpful advice. She has also introduced this concept at TedTalk.
I am a Group Hugger + Einsteiner, finding joy working on coding/art/design, and recently marketing, for my own apps while working as a full-time video game designer.
Which approach are you?
