Multipotenialites Rejoice! The Path to Success Doesn’t Require Specialization

Everyone wants to be on the path to success. It’s exhilarating that we each get to identify what success means for ourselves, and then we get to create the path we travel to get there. That means we have endless possibilities. And if you’re like me, you’re excited to try all of them! But that can lead to problems…

Unless we’re independently wealthy, we need to make a living to support ourselves. So that brings us crashing back to earth. We have to narrow our focus and specialize or master one craft/job/skill, so we become indispensable and in demand for life, right? That’s what we’ve been told.

If, at this point, you’re feeling a bit frustrated, keep reading, because this article will break wide open that stereotypical way of thinking about the path to success.

Many of my clients come to me and say something like this:

“I hear so many times that I need to find my passion. Other coaches have told me to find the one thing that fuels me because I’m good at it, and I love doing it. Once I find that thing, then everything I ever desire will follow. But Maria, I have so many interests! 

I’m not happy just pursuing one thing. I’m an Arts Major, and after college, I worked in a Studio before I moved to Oregon and started my family. Since then, I’ve worked in a lot of unrelated fields. I was a bookkeeper for a while. I became a teacher’s assistant at the school while my children attended. Then I helped a friend launch her online business and fell into digital marketing for a few years. But I wanted something more physically active, so I started growing vegetables for the local Farmer’s Market. Now I want to become a life coach on the side. 

What’s wrong with me that I can’t settle on anything?”

And I tell them, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you!” I get that not everyone understands you. Perhaps you’ve heard comments like these from friends or relatives:

• “You’re a Jill-of-all-trades-and-master-of-none” (as if it were a bad thing).
• “You’re trying to do too many things at once. That’s why you’re so disorganized and can’t get ahead!”
• You’re flighty, unfocused, scatter-brained; you never stick with one thing.”
• “You’re afraid of commitment.”
• “You’re self-sabotaging, afraid of your own success.”
• “What’s wrong with you? It’s like you’ve got ADHD or something.”

But you know that’s not true. You are a modern-day Renaissance woman! What characterizes a Renaissance woman? She’s noted for her:

• Openness, 
• Curiosity, 
• Thirst for learning,
• Adaptability,
• Creativity,
• Resourcefulness,
• Innovative,
• High energy,
• Ability to connect the dots easily,
• Skilfulness, and
• Acceptance of change.

Think about the Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci. He was a genius, mastering many skills in very unrelated fields. That made him a polymath.

But many of us today can’t say that we’ve mastered all of our unrelated skills. So if we’re not modern-day da Vincis, what are we? We are multipotentialites!

Multipotentialites are people who have and pursue a wide range of unrelated interests. Rather than specializing in one area of study/career, many of us are Renaissance women who want to do many different things.

Some people do have a burning passion to do one thing. That’s how they’re wired. But this model of work doesn’t fit the way multipotenialites are wired. Neither way is wrong or abnormal. It’s just one of those differences that add spice to life.

The path to success for Renaissance women is not in a straight line.

There’s a flaw in “needing” to be just one thing if that’s not the way you’re wired. Many interests make us more useful. We are multidimensional people, which is a good thing since we live in a time when multidimensional problems need innovative solutions. Rejoice in the way you’re wired. You’re needed in this world just as you are.

My clients also come to this realization:

“So if there’s nothing wrong with being a Renaissance woman, why do I still feel scattered and disorganized? I’m having such a struggle with transitions and I don’t feel like I have a clear identity.”

The challenge is to learn how to channel your energy into all of your interests in a coherent manner.

If you’re sacrificing some parts of yourself to get ahead on the path to success, then please contact me for one-on-one coaching. I can help you develop a way to harmonize your diverse interests into a fulfilling life.

If you’ve done all you can do practically, I can help you create a clear identity through a creative metaphor. We can also develop a supportive creative flow and a coherent vision that makes you feel whole. And I will help you relate to the fear, so you can accomplish the things you want. If you want to start today, please download my free report, The Introduction to Stepping Forward.

Thank you for the photo Nick Fewings