I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of different interests. In fact, while I’ve always known I’ve wanted to be a writer, it hasn’t been easy eliminating other potential career paths. I also LOVE architecture. In another lifetime, I’d totally be an architect. Maybe I’ll go back to school and get an MFA in fiction writing…oh wait, maybe I’ll go and do a MPA and work for the city. I already have an MA in philosophy and most of a Ph.D. in the same discipline, but for a while, I toyed with the idea of getting an MFA in creative writing and social justice then getting a joint Ph.D./JD in social justice law and political theory. Yup. I can be a bit of a hot mess when it comes to deciding what I want to be – AND I’M GROWN UP…sort of…kind of…maybe.
So when I had the opportunity to review Emilie Wapnick’s How to Be Everything, I was really excited. Maybe now I could figure out how to do all the things I’ve always wanted to do within a lifetime. I love her concept of a multipotentialite, what I need now is a strategy for making that work in my favor. The chapter on productivity was especially helpful. Since I have so many projects all the time, keeping track of them and making sure I progress on the projects waiting in the wings can be a bit daunting.
If you’re looking for a way to make it all work, this is a handy book to have on hand. What would you do if you could figure out how to be everything?
About How to Be Everything
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (May 2, 2017)
What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a familiar question we’re all asked as kids. While seemingly harmless, the question has unintended consequences. It can make you feel like you need to choose one job, one passion, one thing to be about. Guess what? You don’t.
Having a lot of different interests, projects and curiosities doesn’t make you a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none.” Your endless curiosity doesn’t mean you are broken or flaky. What you are is a multipotentialite: someone with many interests and creative pursuits. And that is actually your biggest strength.
How to Be Everything helps you channel your diverse passions and skills to work for you. Based on her popular TED talk, “Why some of us don’t have one true calling”, Emilie Wapnick flips the script on conventional career advice. Instead of suggesting that you specialize, choose a niche or accumulate 10,000 hours of practice in a single area, Wapnick provides a practical framework for building a sustainable life around ALL of your passions.
You’ll discover:
• Why your multipotentiality is your biggest strength, especially in today’s uncertain job market.
• How to make a living and structure your work if you have many skills and interests.
• How to focus on multiple projects and make progress on all of them.
• How to handle common insecurities such as the fear of not being the best, the guilt associated with losing interest in something you used to love and the challenge of explaining “what you do” to others.
Not fitting neatly into a box can be a beautiful thing. How to Be Everything teaches you how to design a life, at any age and stage of your career, that allows you to be fully you, and find the kind of work you’ll love.
Purchase Links
HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
About Emilie Wapnick
Emilie Wapnick is a speaker, career coach, blogger, and community leader. She is the founder and creative director at Puttylike.com, where she helps multipotentialites integrate all of their interests to create dynamic, fulfilling, and fruitful careers and lives. Unable to settle on a single path, Emilie studied music, art, film production, and law, graduating from the Law Faculty at McGill University in 2011. Emilie is a TED speaker and has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, The Financial Times, The Huffington Post, and Lifehacker. Her TED talk, “Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling,” has been viewed over 3.5 million times, and has been translated into 36 languages. She has been hired as a guest speaker and workshop facilitator at universities, high schools, and organizations across the United States and internationally.
Find out more about Emilie at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
