WHAT IS A MULTI-PASSIONATE INDIVIDUAL?

You know, these days, more and more of us millennials are being called “multi-passionate.” It’s like we can’t just stick to one thing – we’ve got all these different interests and talents. They call us “multi-talented,” “multipotentialites,” “scanners,” “polymaths,” “renaissance people,” or “generalists.” Basically, we’re the kind of folks who have a hard time choosing just one career path because we’re into so many different things.

ARE YOU A MULTI-PASSIONATE PERSON?

It often begins with pursuing a diverse array of interests and then being criticized for not narrowing your focus.

If you feel adrift when listening to others speak passionately about their singular pursuits, or the idea of a highly specialized role bores you to tears, then you can confidently identify as a multi-passionate individual.

Juggling multiple hats and roles is what ignites a deep sense of joy and fulfillment within you. As a multi-passionate or multipotentialite person, you find it immensely challenging to answer questions about your future goals or dream career – there are simply too many fascinating paths that captivate your curiosity.

Embracing your wide-ranging passions, hobbies, and talents makes it difficult to prioritize just one and let go of the others. There is just so much in this world that piques your interest!
SO ARE YOU A MULTI-PASSIONATE PERSON?
Take the free assessment below to know if you really are one.

SOME OF KNOWN MULTI-PASSIONATE INDIVIDUALS.

ELON MUSK, MARIE FORLEO, EMILLIE WAPNIC, Dr. DEEPAK DAKSH, MELYSSA GRIFFIN, OPRAH WINFREY, STEVE JOBS, and RICHARD BRANSON are good examples of multi-passionate people in today’s business environment. In history there were GALILEO GALILEI, ISAAC NEWTON, LEONARDO DA VINCI, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ALBERT EINSTEIN, NIKOLA TESLA, ARCHIMEDES, ARYA BHATTA, RAMANUJAN, THE RAVANA, DARWIN. I would go so far as to say that almost every successful entrepreneur or inventor is a multi-passionate… I even would dare to say that to be an effective entrepreneur, you need to be multi-passionate.

So, if you are multi-passionate, why do you not step into your full potential and finally start your own business or begin taking your career seriously?

WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK AS A MULTI-PASSIONATE?

These days, society is set up for and around people who are experts in one field or skill. They build their careers around that one thing.

This all started with industrialization. Companies wanted to optimize their processes, so they gave each worker one specific task. At the time, this seemed like a great idea. But now, in modern times, it has been shown to cause a lot of anxiety, depression, and the feeling of not being able to contribute fully. Many companies didn’t focus much on people’s mental well-being and their sense of purpose.

However, just as experts have their strengths that can make the workplace stronger, people who are passionate about many things also have their own strengths!

YOU HAVE SUPERPOWERS YOU ARE NOT EVEN AWARE OF.

You are someone who is interested in many things, you’re great at seeing the big picture and making connections. You can take the skills you have and apply them in different situations. You’re also really good at coming up with new and innovative ideas, which specialists might not be as strong at.

Just because you have a lot of different interests, doesn’t mean you’re not good at logical thinking or math. In fact, that’s what makes you so unique! You’re skilled in all sorts of areas.

The process stops for you when you’ve understood how to become good at a specific skill and how to connect it to other fields. Your interest isn’t in becoming the absolute best in one area. Your interest and desire is to figure out how you can make the world better. Multi-passionate superpowers are beyond the limits of neurotypical people.

Isn’t it amazing to be someone who is passionate about so many different things?

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME.

Sadly, many multi-passionates are also troubled by low self-esteem. Distracted by the belief that they are ‘supposed to’ find that one thing that they will then do for the rest of their life, and driven by outside pressure to become a version of themselves that makes sense to others, they frequently suffer from an innate lack of confidence. But you know better: if it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right. Unfortunately, the emotional side of learning has been widely left out of the school system.

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL MULTI-PASSIONATE?

1. BUILD TRUST
   You need to trust yourself and trust that all of your detours will make sense in the end. You go through life collecting knowledge and experiences, often not knowing how they fit together. Yet you have to trust the process. Because if you stop, you will not find your why and your purpose. The last thing that you need is to look back at your life with regret and open questions.
2. BUILD CONFIDENCE
   Building confidence is the second pillar of a successful life as a multi-passionate. That means you need to start recognizing your achievements, your individual talents, and the accumulation of skills and interests that constitute your full potential. Defining a career or business (I rather prefer that path – more about it later) as the one that you are meant to create for yourself.
3. BUILD A COMMUNITY
   I know it sometimes feels like the entire world fails to understand you. That includes those who know and love you. But please, don’t give up. Instead of dwelling on the fact that you are not understood, start extending your community to ensure you do not lose your multi-passionate magic. You are not alone – there are plenty of us out here. This is your big advantage. And being among others who are also not following set structures will help you stand out in the crowd. This is your key to reaching your dreams, the ones you were born to turn into reality. Only you can do it.
4. COMPLETE YOUR GOALS
   Ok, this is the hardest part: the time to take one idea and run with it.

To date, you may have worked in many different roles in many different industries, but now it is up to you – and only you – to take an inventory of your experiences and skills and pull all your courage together to take the next step.

• Allow yourself to remember your crazy big dream.
• Draw up a strategy around it and visualize how a career or business that allows you to achieve these goals will look like.
• Stop questioning your ability.
• And, because nothing feels better than success, GO FOR IT!

Because nothing feels better than succeeding and proving everyone wrong.

LET’S BREAK SOME MYTHS

Stereotypes and stigmatizations, often used as political weapons, hold most societies back from developing. Because multipotentialites are like sponges, myths and stereotypes affect us even more. It can take years to undo this damage (sometimes also necessitating help from a professional), but you can do it.

I remember my godmother telling me once that I have always been different and I will never be normal. It did hurt at the time, but it also strengthened the rebel in me. In truth, I had never intended to be normal or live a regular life, so why not embrace her endorsement?

HANDY RESPONSES FOR A MULTIPOTENTIALITE PERSON!
In case you are still working on dismantling every belief that is holding you back or trying to come up with clever responses next time someone tells you that you are a lost cause, please present them with these fascinating facts:

Multi-passionates learn skills that transfer across various areas, including different trades. Such broad experience means you know how to apply your skills to whatever project you’re assigned to. Even if you must use your talents in a drastically different way for each project. You have the ability to transfer knowledge like no other.

Being indecisive or having issues focusing isn’t your problem. You like to simply know and are not indecisive or have issues focusing. You just like to expand your knowledge more than a specialist. And experiences such as travel and extreme sports are an extension and a way for you to push the boundaries of your mental capacity. Basically, you want to know and try everything and to live wide.

You are not lost or confused. Society has been just pressuring you to become someone that you are not. Allowing yourself to embrace who you are is the first step towards healing and reaching your full potential. There is nothing wrong with you. Society has been pressuring you to become someone that you are not. Allowing yourself to embrace who you really are is the first step towards healing and towards finally stepping into your full potential. Being a multipotential is a positive part of your character: a trait and the way your brain works. (By the way, yes, I believe that more women are multi-passionates, but more on that later).

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU FINALLY EMBRACE YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL?

Once I made the calculated decision of living life my way, it took me some time to put all the pieces together. It’s not a quick process and patience is certainly something that you will need.

But once you make the decision to not care about other people’s opinions and just do what you feel you want to, your life will be filled with so much more happiness and joy. You will be truly impacting the world in a positive way.

Don’t give up. Keep on moving forward!

RESOURCES FOR MULTI-PASSIONATE:

• Emilie Wapnick’s amazing TED talk for “multipotentialites” (about how some of us don’t have just “one true calling,” but many callings).
• Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher (Barbara calls us “scanners” and her book is full of helpful definitions and actionable techniques).
• Liz Gilbert’s talk on Oprah is about how you don’t have to have one single passion, but follow your curiosities (she calls us “hummingbirds”).

TAKE ACTION AND EMBRACE YOUR MULTI-POTENTIALITE NATURE:

• 1. Make a list with everything that you have achieved.
• 2. Make another list with everything that you still want to do.
• 3. Explore what values in life matter to you
• 4. And start stitching your talents together. Which skills have you been using the most in all these different areas of your life?
• 5. Start allowing yourself to rediscover your crazy big dream again!

IN CONCLUSION.

I really hope that this article gives you hope and motivates you. Remember, you’re not alone, there are many multi-passionates out there, and I work with many of them and helping them achieving their true potential. You have one of the greatest gifts and it is up to you to show it to the world. 

If you know someone who needs to read this, please share it to them.