“The choices we make dictate the lives we lead. To thine own self be true.” – William Shakespeare, ‘Hamlet’.
pic: istock
(This is a series of posts on how to create and rock a multi-passionate life and business by Stephenie Zamora of StephenieZamora.com. Want to write for Your Life YOUR Way? Get the deets here. – Tia.)
As a multi-passionate individual, it’s common to feel like you’re not “living up” to your potential because you can’t seem to find a way to integrate all of your interests and passions into one meaningful life path.
When you put energy into one area… you start to feel as if you’re missing out on or neglecting your other passions. They’re all equally exciting, energizing and inspiring, how are you supposed to choose?
The good news is that you don’t have to choose!
Being multi-passionate is a rare gift in this world. It really, truly is. Think about it… there are millions of people on this planet and only so many professions. Most people specialize in a certain area of expertise and go on to fight for a place in their industry.
But a multi-passionate sparkler like you?
You have a unique (and varying) set of passions, skills, knowledge and drive. You have experience in a range of different areas that make you more creative. You’re innately curious, open minded and excited by new things.
This doesn’t make you scattered or less than… it makes you unique and amazing.
The key to utilizing this gift is to find your life path as a multi-passionate person. It’s not going to look anything like you’d expect.
It’s not about mastering or completing one thing at a time… it’s about finding the core values and beliefs that drive each and every one of your passions. When you find that core idea, concept or theme, you also find the path to creating a unique, beautiful, creative and awe-inspiring life.
Designed by you.
JUST FOR YOU.
Here’s the first step in designing your unique, multi-passionate life path: laying the foundation.
Figure out what drives each of your passions.
Make a list of all your current passions.
It’s okay that they may change, let’s just start where you are right now. One by one, write out what specifically you LOVE about that passion. Is it that you get to use your hands? Connect with other people? Express or communicate a message?
Which of your top values in life drive these passions? Are you passionate about the environment or animal cruelty? Do you value self-expression? Integrity? Giving back?
List out everything that comes to mind.
Narrow down to 3 – 4 core values that drive you.
Once you’ve listed out all of the ideas, values and beliefs that drive your passions, look back through your lists and find the commonalities. You want to create 3 – 4 core values that drive you in everything you do. Any more than that and you’ll muddy things up!
Take a look at everything and really look for words that sum up related items.
Do you love creating art, writing music and poetry? These could all fall under self-expression. Things like journalism, learning new languages and that website project you want to complete could all fall under communication.
Work to find words that combine several of the ideas and values from the previous step.
Explore the possibilities based on your values.
Figuring out your unique path is a whole topic in and of itself… for now, start exploring the possibilities based on this new found knowledge.
What are some professions that would allow you to create a life around your values? Does such a job exist? If not, could you create it? How do your talents and passions play together? Is there a way to bring in more of the artistic side to the tech loving side of you?
It’s important to remember that not EVERYTHING you love will fit into this life path… that’s okay.
It’s okay to treat some projects as personal or hobbies. You don’t have to find a magical way to combine everything you love into a lifestyle or profession. Sometimes you just want to salsa dance or learn to knit!
Take action now! Take out a sheet of paper and follow the steps above. Then share with me in the comments below, what are your core values? Ps: If you enjoyed this post hit the like/tweet/stumble/G+/pin it button, thanks!
Stephenie Zamora is the founder of StephenieZamora.com, a full-service, life-purpose development, design and branding boutique. Here she merges the worlds of personal development + branding to help young women build passion-based businesses.
Her articles have been featured in Yahoo Shine, Positively Positive & Brian Tracy International. Click here to download her free guide, “The Unexpected Trick to Transforming Your Life With ONE Single Question.”
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** Want MORE BLISS and less stress in your life? Inner Sparkle: The 21 Day eCourse is made for you. Click here to get inspired. Happy. Sparkly. **
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SPARKLE FLIGHT CLUB: WHERE DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT & FEARS GET GROUNDED. 30 day purpose + passion finding digital experience. Starts October 1st, 2012. CLICK FOR DEETS.
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About Tia & Your Life YOUR Way: Life Coach, Awesomeness Inciter + Inner Sparkle Activator Tia Sparkles encourages you to ignite your Inner Sparkle — that shimmery part of your spirit that says YES to courage + connection, and NO WAY to ‘shoulds’ + restrictions.
She’s the creator of YLYW, a personal development + self empowerment site offering fun, relevant advice for work, love, and life. And very glad that you’re here.
I am definitely a multi-passionate person, and I have bee running into a lot of sparklers lately too. I love how you gave the examples of self-expression and communication because that pretty much sums me up! I have noticed a big challenge for me is productivity, efficiency, distraction and decisiveness. Every time I see an opportunity to pursue a passion, I take it on, then my plate is full and I become overwhelmed. This post was great to read, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Jadah, I’m sure Stephenie will have some tips for you, and I’d suggest getting really clear on your top values and priorities (share them here when you do!) and looking at everything you do in that light – is this aligned with my values? Is this taking me towards or away from my priorities?
Personally, I now pick 2-3 main things to focus on and a few others that come and go.
Also, get the book Wishcraft by Barbara Sher – it’s got great strategies for just the overwhelm you talk about!
Thanks for sharing 🙂 xo, Tia
Hey Jadah,
I hear you, when you’re multi-passionate there’s always something new that catches your attention that you just HAVE to follow! I’ll be sharing tips on how to move forward AND indulge the never ending passions that pop up in the next post. 🙂
Looking forward to seeing your 3 – 4 values!!
xo
This is absolutely terrific! Thank you.
Glad to hear it resonates with you Jennifer! 🙂
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Oh my gosh, I can totally relate to this!
I am a super multi-passionate person and only recently I’ve been able to hone in, manage and allow myself the time to do each of them in a structured way that’s not gonna tire me out or make me feel guilty for not giving them enough attention!
There are still productivity avenues I could totally work on though, HA!
Wonderful article!
Elise xx
Drop all guilt and embrace the heck out of that sparkler spirit, girl! Glad to see you’re on your way 🙂
Thanks Elise, so glad to hear that you already have some practices in place. There’s always room for improvement, best not to dwell on it, but rather, celebrate where you’re at and the fact that you’ve created something that works! 🙂
Great post! I am passionate about so many things that I do sometimes feel scattered. I am going to take your advice and put it on paper. Glad I stumbled across your site.
That’s fab, Katie! Do come back and share with us when done. And as for feeling scattered, once you learn to harness that multi-pash energy, you’ll feel more energised and lit up, less scattery and lost. Rock on!
Awesome Katie! So glad to hear that this was helpful for you. Definitely let us know what you discovered after doing the exercise and be sure to check back in for the rest of the series! 🙂
I really enjoyed this post. I have lots of interests but nothing that I’m great at. I’m having difficulty finding what my value is for me to move forward and create my own thing. What I do know is that I like learning new things, travel, reading and researching. Not sure how this fits into a career/lifestyle though. Is there a post relating to this that I’ve missed? I’d love to read it! 🙂 xxx
Hi Alana, so glad you enjoyed the post. I totally understand the feeling of lots of interests but not being great at something, but I promise you, there are things you’re amazing at that other people are in awe of! This whole series is about creating and rocking your multi-passionate life, including how to step into a career and lifestyle that fits with your passions. Definitely stay tuned!