How to Be Everything (book)

✒️ Note-Making

🔗Connect

⬆️Topic:: Personal identity (MOC)

💡Clarify

🔈 Summary of main ideas

1. We don't follow a linear path - we are more than just our career, and we can't expect to stick to one question of "what do you want to be when you grow up", we contain multitudes, and we can grow in many different directions. We create our own path.
2. The benefits of being a multipotentialite - having multiple interests is not a drawback, it's an advantage. They tend to see the bigger picture, fast learners, creative and adaptable.
3. We all need variety, meaning and financial stability - we have to balance our desire to explore with making sure we can satisfy the three needs of life. Financial stability, meaning and variety. Note that it's not necessary that the same job would cover all three
4. The four types of multipotentialite - depending on your preference, you could be a:
   1. Group hug - trying to find/create the one job that covers all needs, and all your interests
   2. Slash - having two major roles, each covering a different need, like a "writer/photographer"
   3. Einstein - having a "good enough job" to keep you financially stable, while also having enough free time to explore personal interests
   4. Phoenix - diving fully into one area, and changing to a different field after a few months/years

🗒️Relate

⛓ by following this method, what will happen? What is the goal of this book? 6. A guilt free exploration of your various interest 7. Adjusting your lifestyle and your career based on your multipotentialite tendencies 8. How to find meaning, variety and financial stability as a multipotentialite

🔍Critique

✅ relevant research, metaphors or examples that helps to convey the argument

❌ the logical jumps, holes or simply cases where it is wrong...

🧱 Implementations and limitations of it are...

1. The productivity advice in the book are simplistic and shallow, even though they are essentially good tips.

🗨️Review

💭 my opinions on the book, the writers style... This book is more of a "feel good" for being multipotentialite than a good and thorough book. The text is shallow, repetitive and simplistic. But it will give you a boost of encouragement if you need one, and some basic definitions that might help you in future conversations.

🖼️Outline

📒 Notes

Everything? Welcome to the Tribe

There is Nothing Wrong with You

From childhood, we are thrust into a world who glorifies specialization. Even from the question of "what do you want to be when you grow up" there's a subtle hint that we could only choose one identity. That to pursue Range is a sign of immaturity, of lack of focus, of stupidity.

From school, to universities, to how we perceive our career, the gold standard is the one true calling, to pick a lane and stick with it. But what happens if we don't fit the mold? If we constantly shift between different interests? That means we are a multipotentialite. Other synonyms are: generalist, jack of all trades, a "scanner", a renaissance person

We are expected to move down a linear path. If we study law, we'll become a lawyer, med school would turn us into doctors. Life is perceived as shaped by path dependence.

However, those of us who are multipotentialites, we create our own path and our own destiny. We move laterally and not just vertically. We benefit from learning many things, but it comes with its own challenges, like:

1. Work and financial stability
2. . Self esteem
3. Productivity

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU

• While outside forces prod us to “declare a major,” “home in on our strengths,” and “find a niche,” we mortals are struggling to understand who we are and what kind of significance our life will have. (Location 260)
• It’s subtle, but we can translate What do you want to be when you grow up? to You are allowed one identity in this life, so which is it? How terrifying is that? When phrased that way, it’s no wonder the question stresses us out. (Location 268)
• The truth is that you aren’t lacking a destiny or purpose. There is a very good reason for your insatiable curiosity: you’re someone who’s going to shake things up, create something novel, solve complex, multidimensional problems, make people’s lives better in your own unique way. Whatever your destinies are, you can’t step into them while stifling your multipotentiality. You must embrace it and use it. (Location 381)

Multipotentialites: Slackers or Innovators

Generalists and specialists are needed in different context. For a heart surgery I'll want a specialist, but for my overall wellbeing a generalist would be a better fit soft vs wicked fields.

Also, sometimes expertise a matter of diminishing returns. 10 years in law and 10 years in architecture are perhaps a stronger combination than 20 years in either pareto principle

So what are the strengths of a generalist:

1. Generating ideas - since generalists have knowledge in many different fields, they are much more likely to combine ideas together and form a unique effective solution.
2. . Fast learning - generalists believe in lifelong learning, we are naturally curious, it's easier to enter a Beginner's Mind, and we never start from scratch because we can use our knowledge from other fields as a foundation
3. Adaptable - we are quick to adapt, able to face many different challenges, and also more likely to be financially stable because we don't put all of our eggs in a single career basket. We have fallback options
4. See the big picture - we think systematically. We are able to zoom out and see how ideas connect to one another, and the larger ramifications of our choices
5. Relating and translating - we can understand different "languages", connect with people from various fields and background diversity. We can be the translators, for example those who connect between the dev team and the product team, finding a common language, like a conductor at an orchestra

MULTIPOTENTIALITES: SLACKERS OR INNOVATORS?

• While specialists excel in a single domain, multipotentialites blend domains together and work in the intersections. This allows us to achieve a deep level of knowledge on the relationship between domains—our own form of expertise. (Location 425)
• We are excellent synthesizers. Combining two or more concepts and creating something new at the intersection is totally our jam. (Location 434)
• It is often outsiders, rather than seasoned experts, who come up with solutions to long-standing problems. (Location 455)
• The ability to do many things and switch dexterously between activities can make us both indispensable and difficult to replace. (Location 490)
• Multipotentialites are able to see how individual ideas connect to the wider world. We are big-picture thinkers who enjoy brainstorming, conceiving of lofty projects, and thinking up ways in which we can make things better. (Location 504)

The Components of a Happy Multipotentialite Life

Living life as a multipotentialite is more than just a career, it's a matter of life design. While we wish to find the one career that would satisfy our every need, it's not always possible or desired. Either way, we have to have money, meaning and variety.

1. Money - it's only one (however important) ingredient of your life. Think how much you need to satisfy your basic needs, or your preferred lifestyle. Growing income while doing your dream job might take time and experimentations, so it's okay to have an "okay" job in the meantime to satisfy your basic needs
2. Meaning - We all need to feel meaningful in our lives. To have meaning takes more than understanding which activities bring a sense of meaning, but also why. This requires introspection and Experimentation. Once we have our why, we can try to find how to do more of it in our lives. Not every activity we do has to be meaningful, just that overall we have enough sense of meaning. Also, it's okay to have more than one why or one set of activities that brings meaning
3. Variety - Variety is what keeps us interested, between having too few which leads to boredom and too much that leads to Exhaustion. The balance between the two depends on your personality, and it varies between people, and throughout your lifetime, and also depends on the type of work you do, some inherently have more variety than others. The key again is to experiment. How many projects you'd like to have on your plate at the same time?

THE COMPONENTS OF A HAPPY MULTIPOTENTIALITE LIFE

• the important thing is that money, meaning, and variety are present in your life as a whole. Your career should be aligned with your overall goals. Your work should feel like an integrated and supportive force in your life, not the kind-of-awful-thing-you-have-to-do-to-pay-the-bills. (Location 605)
• The better we know ourselves and the forces that drive us, the easier it is to make career decisions that don’t just satisfy our financial goals, but also feel right. (Location 698)
• what’s important isn’t that everything we do provide us with a sense of meaning, but that overall, we have enough meaning in our lives to feel like we are making a positive impact in the world. (Location 756)

The Four Multipotentialite Work Models: Different Strokes for Different Folks

There are 4 different approaches for work, depending on your preferences:

1. Group hug - combining all interests into a single job that does it all
2. Slash method - To have two main jobs that are separate from one another, each corresponding to a different interest
3. Einstein approach - Having one major career that while it doesn't fill all the boxes, it's good enough for stability, while giving yourself enough time to pursue hobbies and passion for fun and not as an income.
4. Phenix approach - To invest deeply in a single area, and after a few years to move to a different field entirely.

The Group Hug Approach

This approach combines all interest into a single place. Money, meaning and variety are all answered by the same job. This is the dream job, the "one and done" profession. This job can either be found or created, reflecting your skill synthesis.

This is easier when:

1. You work in an interdisciplinary field, which is naturally easier for combining different skills
2. Finding a niche community that requires or supports the combination you are after
3. find an open minded company, one that supports exploration and learning (find keywords in job descriptions)
4. make your work wider, assume more horizontal roles - often once we show we do good work with one skill set, they would let us experiment with another, assuming it's needed
5. start your own business - when you make the terms, the role can be anything you like, just make sure it has an audience

The goal is to align some (but not all) interest into a role/roles that not only provide you with variety, but also tangible benefits for your audience, it must be clear to them why you are offering such a service/want a role, not just because you thing it's interesting, think how it helps them, what is your added value for them. When it's clear to you, it's not necessarily clear for them, but when it's clear to them, it's clear to you.

THE GROUP HUG APPROACH

• The Group Hug Approach is having one multifaceted job or business that allows you to wear many hats and shift between several domains at work. (Location 931)

The Slash Approach

The slash approach is when you have several part time jobs that together give you variety, meaning and money, like being a "guitar player" slash "programmer". Having several part time jobs, gives you more flexibility, and allows you to dive in to niches that you don't want to commit your full time for.

However, it requires a lot of self discipline, and best suited for those who like having multiple projects simultaneously, and have an entrepreneur spirit.

The Einstein Approach

This means to have one main job that provides you with enough financial stability so you can spend your free time and energy following other pursuits without the pressure to monetize them or be dependent on them financially. You only need a good enough job, not your dream job, but one that provides you with:

1. Enjoyment (at least most of the time)
2. Financial stability
3. Free time for exploration (after hours)

Usually our more lucrative skills would be translated to a main job, and our other interests will be developed in our free time.

THE EINSTEIN APPROACH

• The Einstein Approach allows us to identify and build good enough jobs around our more profitable skills so that we can pursue our other interests pressure-free. (Location 1556)

The Phoenix Approach

The phoenix approach is best suited for those who prefer to have few projects at a time. They deep dive into one thing, and after a few months or years do a complete shift to something else. It's best to shift when we are 5-8 on the "loath scale" of what we do now. To make the transition easier:

1. Explore your existing network - know anyone who works at the desired new field? weak ties
2. Expand your network - go to events, mingle mingle mingle Mingling
3. Do freelance work/volunteer - show others how you could help them, develop those skills as a side hustle.pivot
4. Train yourself - do a degree, course, learn what you need to know

THE PHOENIX APPROACH

• do your homework, know your audience, offer something valuable, make sure your offer doesn’t require any up-front work on the part of the person you’re pitching, and (if possible) get involved first. (Location 1804)

Common Multipotentialite Stumbling Blocks

Your Personal Productivity System

Some key issues when managing your productivity:

1. Priority - It's all about triage, knowing what should be your priorities and which projects should be waiting for their turn
2. Peak hours - Know when your peak hours are, and use time blocking and motivational scheduling to reserve time for your projects. If work or other commitments are in the way, try to reschedule work, or if all else fails, use your non productive hours
3. Quitting - It's okay to Quit, you don't have to reach an external metric to justify your quitting. As long as you have reached your own goal, your "personal end point", you are completely free to do as you like. Just make sure you quit for the right reasons and not due to fear.
4. Energize - stay committed with techniques such as Pomodoro technique, Five minute rule, meditation. nature walk, taking a Break, expressing gratitude, finding an accountability partner, lowering your goals mto method, and celebrating your progress.

Fear, Confidence and Dealing with People Who Don't Understand

Four issues multipotentialites face that sets them back, could be internally or externally.

1. Feeling ashamed - it's hard not to feel Shame when we "suddenly" abandoned the thing that described us for something else. However, as a multipotentialite, there's no shame in it. Staying in the same place is like staying in a toxic relationship. We need to remember that we are more than our career, we are people who can change, grow, and have many sides. Similarly, we need to set realistic expectations for ourselves. No one field is "the one thing" for us, we will change and adapt, and move on to different things.
2. Discomfort of being a beginner - remember that first batch trash, you will start low and improve over time. Be kind to yourself.
3. The fear of not being the best - focus on doing a good job, on contributing and solving problems, remember that no one is the best
4. Imposter syndrome - true imposters don't get imposter syndrome, some self criticism is healthy in the right amounts. Continue to focus on doing a good job

What about external critics? Don't apologize for who you are. Either explain to them what it means to be a multipotentialite, speak with Confidence, or seek other friends. Best to find your supportive environment.

Conclusion

What if you gave yourself permission to be who you are? As multipotentialites, it's our gift and responsibility to create a life filled with meaning, variety and that can sustain us financially. It's not a curse, it's a blessing, if we put in the work. We, and others, can benefit from our range, when we follow and combine our passions.

CONCLUSION

• It was not only okay to be my weird self; leading with my uniqueness might actually be the key to my success. (Location 2583)
• To lead with your multipotentiality is to build a sustainable life around your plurality. It means figuring out, in practical terms, how to get the money, meaning, and variety you require so that you can flourish, put your brilliance out into the world, and make it a better place. (Location 2593)