Our lives exist at the intersection of all our identities, passions, skills, relationships, interests, careers, and hobbies. Trying to present only one aspect of yourself to the world denies others the opportunity to know all facets of who you are.
If you are like me, you might be described as a multi-talented, multi-interested, or multi-passionate person—a multipotentialite. We have many skills, passions, and creative pursuits. Historically, such people were called polymaths or Renaissance people.
As multipotentialites, we also have multiple potentials. Pursuing or using all our skills, interests, and passions creates opportunities to fulfill our potential.
One Lane, One Trade
Society encourages us to be anything but multifaceted. We are told to focus on one interest, skill, or passion, because experts say that is how you succeed.
Since the 1700s, we’ve heard the advice to avoid being “a jack of all trades” because then you are “a master of none.” Later, someone decided to add a second part to his adage: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” This last clause was an attempt to present a more positive take on having a diverse range of skills.
In general, though, so-called experts encourage us to focus on one interest or skill, to be a specific type of expert, to “stick to one lane.” As a result, we often don’t reveal all of who we are or all the paths down which we travel. We are then perceived as being single-focused, single-skilled, single-passionate, and single-laned.
We become masters of one trade, or we become only mediocre at them, and leave the other potentialities behind.
Yet, most of us have more than one focus, expertise, skill, passion, or interest. And we spend our lives navigating between our many chosen lanes.
At least, I know I do.
I live at the intersection of all of the roads that make me who I am.
My Multi-Laned History
When I was in grade school, my friends and classmates knew me as a reader, writer, and equestrian. I was also interested in psychology and metaphysics. I don’t recall hiding any of my passions or interests.
In college, my major—magazine journalism—required a “concentration” in another topic or field. This ensured we could become experts in writing about a single subject. I focused on psychology, though I didn’t write about it until I was in my late fifties and early sixties. I did blog about psychology and spirituality prior to that time.
In 2015, I became a Certified High Performance Coach and launched a personal growth group coaching program. I later combined that with my passion for esoteric, musical, and metaphysical topics, which I had been teaching about for a number of years.
Yet, I continued to be a writer and author; in fact, I never stopped. I simply added to my interests and skills. I allowed myself to pursue my passions. I even combined them by writing about personal and spiritual growth (here on this blog).
I also love to garden—my home was on our community garden tour this past year. I still love horses and hope to start riding again. I adore animals, learning, crystals, and all things “woo-woo.”
All of these lanes intersect into the person known as “Nina.” I live at this intersection. I am all this…and more.
Finding Your Intersection
If you, like me, want to let people see and know all of who you are… to invite them to travel with you down all your lanes and experience the intersection of those roads…you can accomplish that. (And it can feel like a feat…)
Of course, you can simply share all your skills, interests, and passions. You can post about them on social media or the like. Go down one lane, then another, and ask people to come along.
But there is another way that might prove more helpful: find the common thread in all you do. Or find the intersection of all your lanes, and share that.
I teach the “common thread” concept to authors who write across a variety of topics or genres. I tell them to list all the books they have written or plan to write; then, find a common thread that runs through them. That thread becomes their brand—a through line that describes who they are as an author.
The same exercise helps multipotentialites share who they are cohesively. Instead of trying to present each of your skills, interests, or passions separately, identify what ties them together. Discover an underlying theme.
You might even find this through-line at the point where they intersect.
Then lead with your through-line, not your list of passions, interests, and skills. Articulate the core thread that weaves everything about you together. Maybe that comes down to your values, mission, or purpose.
When you describe yourself, share about the intersection, the place where you are the most “whole.”
Your Intersection = Your Personal Brand
You can look at this exercise as a way to develop a “brand statement” about yourself. Your brand is found at the intersection of all your lanes.
My branding as the “Inspiration to Creation Coach” speaks to my through-line—moving people toward creation of what matters to them. They might value a published book, a better relationship with their partner, or improved health or income. I help them change so they become people able to take the actions that get them the results they desire.
My purpose is to help people become creators. What they create is up to them. When people understand my core intention or purpose, all my different pursuits make sense as parts of one bigger story.
For instance, my work as a Certified High Performance Coach and Transformational Coach melds perfectly with my work as a nonfiction writer, author, and Author Coach. Why? Because I use personal and spiritual growth coaching coupled with my expertise as an author to help other nonfiction writers get out of their own way and write and publish.
My through line or intersection is apparent in my newest book, Change the World One Book at a Time: Make a Positive and Meaningful Difference with Your Words. It is about writing and about change. It provides a clear picture of where my primary lanes intersect.
Be Multi-Passionate
Rather than explaining or justifying your multi-passionate nature, embody it. Tell stories that show how your diverse skills and interests inform your perspective, decisions, and results. When people see the integration in action, they trust the wholeness.
And don’t let anyone tell you to stick to one lane. Maybe you choose to do so some of the time. But all your lanes intersect, and that is the place where you are most authentic.
When you exist at that intersection, you become a fully embodied expression of yourself. And when you are fully embodied and expressed, your ability to fulfill your potential grows exponentially. You allow yourself to step into and take advantage of multiple potentials…not just one.
Are you a multipotentialite who struggles to share all of who you are? Tell me why in a comment below. And please share this post with those who may benefit from reading it.
Image courtesy scusi.
