I think I must be an Einstein or a Phoenix

I must be an Einstein or a Phoenix. And I’m definitely a “Multipotentialite” trying to do everything in a career-track world. And therefore, basically, doing nothing… or so it may seem.

These terms (an Einstein, a Phoenix, a Multipotentialite) come from Emilie Wapnick’s book How to Be Everything: A Guide For Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up.

Here’s her Ted Talk to give you some context without reading this book.

Here’s also another blog with a nice summary linking to other books and resources.

Also, Wapnick often sites Barbara Sher’s book Refuse to Choose which might be worth checking out according to some reviews of the two books.

In Wapnick’s book she outlines what a Multipotentialite is:

A person who has many different interests and creative pursuits in life. Multipotentialites have no “one true calling” the way specialists do. Being a multipotentialite is our destiny. We have many paths and we pursue all of them, either sequentially or simultaneously (or both).”

And then she dives into and describes in detail the four types of Multipotentialites:

1. A Group Hugger
2. A Slasher
3. An Einstein
4. A Phoenix

I identified mostly closely with the Phoenix. And the Einstein also sounded like me in my 12-year teaching career– except I discovered that teaching, for me, wasn’t a “good enough” job because it kept spilling into all my evenings, weekends, and even into some summers.

For any Multipotentialite, Wapnick first asks us to build a list of our varied interests (which also includes any skills or areas of achievement). When creating this list it felt like I was writing down anything I had ever been curious about, anything I had ever tinkered with, and anything that I had ever had a modicum of success with.

My master list of interests:

• Reading
• The Spanish language and its cultures
• Yoga
• Running
• Dog walking
• Doggie daycare
• Travel agent
• Babysitting
• Cultural exchanges
• Tour guide
• Frugality
• Journaling
• Medical missions
• Blogging
• Summer camp counselor
• Religion
• Curriculum design
• Documentary films
• Travel– local and international
• Minimalism
• Photography
• Hiking
• Sauntering/Walking
• Comedy
• Teaching
• Museums
• Community events
• Playing field hockey
• Farmers markets
• Skiing
• Kayaking
• Playing softball
• The Four Tendencies (Upholder)
• Coffee
• Camping
• Houseplants
• Leadership
• Attending lectures/speaker series
• Barre
• Kids (mine mostly, but others ain’t bad either)
• Elementary education
• CrossFit
• Thrift shopping
• Taking classes/Formalized learning
• Writing
• Wine/Cocktails
• Coaching & watching & playing soccer
• Meditation
• Food/Restaurants
• Social networking
• Hiring & Team-building
• Linguistics
• Spanish interpretation and translation
• Paralegal
• Poetry
• Mentorship
• Theatre (attending more than performing, although I have done a tiny bit of that)
• Escape room player & owner
• Therapeutic massage
• State/National Park Ranger
• Habitat for Humanity & Affordable housing
• Nursing
• Board games
• Trees
• Space & Being an astronaut
• Story telling
• Interior design
• Gospel choir
• Mythology
• Crossword puzzles
• Architecture
• Gardening
• Strengthsfinder (Responsibility, Achiever, Includer, Learner, Self-Assured)
• Country music
• Redoing furniture
• True Colors (Orange, Green)
• Project management
• Piano
• BBQ (TX > NC)
• Home renovation
• The Enneagram (8W7)

Now, I’ll have to cross out my “dead” interests, the ones I have no interest in pursuing again anytime soon, and star the ones I find especially exciting right now.

After taking an exhaustive inventory of ALL THE THINGS I’m interested in, I take a look at the two types of Multipotentiality that resonated most with me.

The Einstein Approach

Considering my skills, interests, and goals what might my life look like if I used the Einstein approach and really found a job that was “good enough”?– meaning I was able to excel at my job AND prioritize my free time to pursue and relish in all my other varied interests.

Again, for me, teaching was not that.

So what might be that? Make a list of possible “good enough jobs”. Careers that are considered practical often make good “good enough” jobs.

For each potential job I’ll ask the following questions:

• Would this job provide me enough income to meet my financial goals?
• How many hours of my week would his job occupy?
• Would his job be creatively, emotionally, or physically draining?
• Would his job provide me with opportunities to learn at work?
• Does this job sound like fun?
• Do I foresee myself liking my employer, my colleagues, and environment in which I would be working?
• Is this job different enough from the other projects I would like to pursue? Does it use different skills and modes of thought?
• What would my day and week look like if I were to have this job and engage with my other passions on the side?
• Is this schedule compatible with my “perfect day”

Make a list of possible “good enough” businesses. Then take a look at my master list and ask myself these questions:

What skills do I have that people might pay me for? (Remember, financial stability is a key cornerstone of the Einstein Approach)

How lucrative are these skills? How well does/can this skill pay?

To what extent is this skill in demand?

How rare is this skill?

Is there a specific niche I can fill or an audience to address?

My Action Steps:

• Contact someone in a profession you’re considering and ask them about the day-to-day realities of their job
• Practice or improve one of your potentially lucrative skills
• Revise your resume so that it reflects your skills and experience for a “good enough” job that you’re serious about goin for.

The Phoenix Approach

This approach is characterized by working with intense curiosity in a single industry for several months or even years and then shifting gears and starting a new career in a new industry. Thus, the symbol of the Phoenix who burns itself down and then rises anew from its own ashes certainly applies here. The Phoenix explores her passions sequentially rather than simultaneously (as the Slasher or the Group Hugger does). Phoenix’s love to go deep but still need challenge and variety.

These Phoenix transitions are not as random as they may seem from the outside. There are common themes, threads, and “whys?” that run throughout. At points prior to transitions, a Phoenix needs to stay in touch with her levels of boredom and loathing of her current career path so that she can gracefully commence her transition to a new one without burning any bridges in the process.

I’m nodding my head “yes!” as I read and write all of this. Socially, or maybe vocationally is more accurate, I always felt like a square peg in the round high school teaching hole. Everyone was always talking about a “calling” to teach and I was just in it Aug-June, M-F, 7:45-3:45 (or later if I was coaching or had meetings). But… I was also there for the deep dive into second-language pedagogy, best practices for the student-learner, stimulating and comprehensible authentic cultural materials, coordinated and aligned curriculum design, and a shared framework and practices among our the educators of our US WL Department. I knew not of any of these things until I started a deep dive into WL instruction and pursued my Masters degree in this field after a handful of years in the classroom. All the while, though, I felt different than my colleagues because every year at contract time I wondered, “was it time to burn it all down and start anew?”

Fast forward to now and…

Now it is time to reinvent myself.

Some tips for a smooth transition:

Reach out to your existing network. There’s nothing as strong as a positive recommendation to a future employer from someone they trust. Do you know anyone who works in that industry or have friends who are natural connectors?

Expand your network. Go to events related to your new field of interest and try to meet new people.

Volunteer. It can give you practical experience and meet people working in the industry who know about job openings and can serve as your recommendation down the road.

Do free work. This is particularly helpful with freelance work. Find someone you want to work for or who is working in industry you want to break into and offer to do some of their work for free. Be specific on how you will help and how you can add value to their business or brand.

Take a class. Get some training on a skill you will need for working in your new industry.

Highlight your transferable skills. You might be breaking into a new industry but you’ve got years of valuable experience cultivating useful skills.

Truth be told, I think I’m a Phoenix who wants to be an Einstein. We’ll see where the next fire takes me.