What to do when you don't fit into the professional boxes ?
Here's how I see other people's professional lives
Here's how I see mine
I have the impression that others have a linear career, know where they're going and progress. As for me, I take twists and turns, sidestep and refuse obstacles.
In short, I'm lost.
Am I not normal?
Other questions I ask myself regularly:
Am I crazy?
Am I immature?
Am I spoiled rotten?
Am I from another planet?
There's certainly some truth in all these questions, but recently I've added a new question that I feel is more constructive:
am I multipotential?
If you've read my article on the subject (What if you're multipotential without knowing it?) you'll know that multi people hate boxes, that they have lots of passions, a ton of different desires and advanced abilities in several fields.
So when the question “What do you want to do in life?” is asked, it inevitably leads to cold sweats, tightened throats and knotted stomachs.
This question, which all grandparents like to ask at family dinners as soon as the child turns 3, puts enormous pressure on the child. It locks them into a box, as if there were only one possible answer. For life😨
Asking a multi person this question is like taking a child to a toy store and saying, “You can only have one toy. Choose.” Impossible. Or rather, yes, it is possible but at the expense of the mental health of the child/multi person who will spend her time brooding over the idea that she didn't make the right choice and that there were plenty of other toys/carriages to try out.
What career path(s) for multis?
So what do you do when you're multipotential? Do you resign yourself to fitting into the mold by choosing a well-defined career?
I tried it for you as an English teacher for 15 years. I had a burnout. I wouldn't recommend it.
So what do you do?
That's where the savior of multis, the wonderwoman of generalists, comes in. Emilie Wapnick.
Her book How To Be Everything is a practical guide for people who don't fit into any box.
Step 1: find out what kind of multipotential you are
There are 2 main types of multipotentialists:
sequential: prefer to do things one after the other
simultaneous: like to do several things at once
Be careful, it's not one or the other. That would be too simple. You need to imagine a spectrum on which to place yourself, and which may evolve over the course of your life.
Here's where I fit in:
To find out where you stand, you can take the test by clicking here.
I can relate to this diagnosis. I need variety in my daily life, otherwise I get bored very quickly.
Step 2: Identify the type of career that's right for you
After talking to hundreds of multipotentialists, Emilie Wapnick has identified 4 main families.
🌟The Group Hug
The idea is to have a job that brings together all or many of your passions or interests.
Questions to ask yourself to find out if it's right for you:
do you like multidisciplinary projects that allow you to use several of your skills?
Do you feel overwhelmed when you're working on several projects at the same time?
Do you prefer to concentrate on one project at a time, so as not to spread yourself too thin?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, this may be the right approach for you.
Here are several strategies for achieving this type of career:
work in an interdisciplinary field. Example: architecture, game designer...
work for a company that entrusts you with multidisciplinary projects.
become an entrepreneur (if you like wearing several hats at once, you're in luck 😉 )
🌟being a slasher
Or the art of having several professional activities at the same time. These careers are also known as portfolio careers.
Please note: we're not talking here about people who have to hold down several odd jobs to make ends meet. Here, we're talking about a deliberate choice.
You can be a wedding photographer by day and DJ by night, or do consulting and community management. The difficulty with this type of career is finding a balance between all the different activities, whether financial or logistical.
That's the kind of career I'm trying to set up right now (book writing coach, writer, trainer/mentor for female entrepreneurs and mom - but that's not paid 😉 ). Ideally, I'd like to find an interesting part-time job, but it's not easy...
🌟The Einstein approach
For around ten years, Einstein worked as a patent officer for the Swiss government. This fairly quiet job gave him time to produce some of his greatest works, including his theory of relativity.
The idea here, then, is to find a job that's interesting enough but not too time-consuming, leaving you free to pursue other projects and cultivate your passions.
Personally, this approach doesn't suit me at all, as I tend to get too involved in the work I'm given.
🌟The Phoenix approach
Emilie doesn't encourage burnout, don't worry. This approach will speak more to people on the sequential side of the spectrum. If you prefer to concentrate on a subject, study it thoroughly before moving on to something else, this type of career may be for you.
The difficulty here is to change jobs before you burn out or bore out (when you're bored to death).
Step 3: Accept the difficulties
Yes, you can imagine that all this isn't easy.
❌Society's view
I've already talked about this in my previous article on multipotentiality, society (at least French society) still has a hard time with generalists. It likes to highlight people with a real vocation (the writer who wrote her first book at the age of 7), those who are focused on one thing at a time (the hyper-niche entrepreneur). Doing several things at once is at best suspect, at worst suicidal. So make sure you work on and reinforce your self-esteem.
❌Finding the right balance
Who says several activities at the same time inevitably says risk of imbalance. If you do too much, you can have a burnout. I've done one, I wouldn't wish it on anyone... Be vigilant about your abilities and resources so you don't risk burning out.
❌Earning enough money
This is a point I really liked in Emilie Wapnick's book: she draws attention to the 3 vital needs of multis to lead a fulfilling life:
To have a fulfilling professional life, it's not enough to do a variety of things that you enjoy, you also have to earn enough* money.
*Enough means according to your needs and desires.
That's why the question we often hear, “What would you do if you didn't have money problems? I know what I'd be doing, and believe me, I wouldn't be bored. But life isn't that simple, and in reality, the difficulty lies in finding that famous balance Emilie Wapnick talks about.
Finding that balance is precisely my current quest, the one I want to document here, in my newsletter/blog.
Does this quest speak to you? Have you found your balance? Come and share it with me and let me know where you stand.
Speaking of which...
I realize that I don't often tell you about one of my activities (😉 ) which is that of book writing coach.
My mission
To help entrepreneurs write their own non-fiction book. Not a novel, but it could be
a “how to” book to show your coaching method and help even more people
a inspirational book (à la Jen Sincero, for example)
a more personal book, like a memoir, to talk about something and pass on your experience.
My recipe
—> Kindness + listening + practical advice from a writer and a marketing expert to help you sell and distribute your book.
My packages
🌟Good Start: 1 month to find and validate the theme/angle/concept of your book + create the perfect plan + set up the foundations of your sales strategy (self-publishing or publishing house, marketing plan...)
🌟Full On: Good Start + 5-month follow-up (possibility + or -) with writing and editorial advice and a ton of motivation to get you to the end of your manuscript.
Do you dream of writing your own book? Let's talk about it. I'll give you my first tips on how to make your project a success. Book your free 30' call. We look forward to discussing your project!
My favourites ❤️️
🌟A series: Finding Ola on Netflix. After an unexpected divorce, Ola sets out to discover herself while trying to raise two children and make ends meet. This Egyptian series is about a woman's reinvention, but also about the place of 40-year-old women in society. It's touching, it shakes up a few preconceived ideas, and even if we see differences between Egyptian and Western society, the themes remain universal.
🌟A book: Good Work by
. I'll tell you more about it very soon. This book is a nugget! I already loved Paul Millerd's first book (The Pathless Path), which talks about the place of work in our lives and traditional career patterns. Inevitably, it resonates strongly with me at the moment.
Thank you for reading. My name is Anne Bezon. I am a writer and a book coach for entrepreneurs. My mission with this newsletter is to inspire and encourage you to write the life that's right for you, without worrying about society's diktats.
To follow me on social networks -> Instagram and LinkedIn
To become a partner of this newsletter -> hello@annebezon.com