I’m a big book lover and multi-passionate but in recent years I haven’t read as much as I’d like. Too many things, too little time! One positive from the pandemic is having more reading time!
I wanted to share some of the books that I found really helpful in my journey of acceptance… that being multi-passionate is totally fine and I don’t have to nice down or do just one thing for the rest of my life *shudders at the thought*.
It does seem like us multi-passionate types can’t even agree on a label for ourselves…
Are You A Multipotentialite?
I want to kick off the post with Emilie Wapnick, I am so thankful for her TED talk, this really opened my eyes and for the first time, I felt that I was allowed to be who I want to be. If you haven’t watched it yet, take a few minutes, it’s great!
It stands to reason that the first book on my list would be Emilie’s. How To Be Everything: A guide for those who (still) don’t know what they want to be when they grow up. What I loved about this was the repeated message that there are multiple ways to approach being a multipotentialite and that I don’t need to apologise for the way that I’m wired.
She shares plenty of examples of people who are multi-passionate and ideas on how to deal with being wired that way.
If you enjoyed her TED talk then I believe you will love her book too.
Or Are You More Of A Renaissance Soul?
Many moons ago, when I was at school trying to decide which subjects to study for my O levels I was told I had to pick either the arts or the sciences. To me this seemed like a ridiculous notion, there is so much overlap between the two.
And so I argued my case and used da Vinci as my example, if he could do art and science, why the hell couldn’t I? Well, thank you, Leonardo, you have always been my hero and you helped me win my case! It seems so odd to me that the Renaissance movement was celebrated back in the day but now you are looked down upon and told you are doing things wrong if you happen to be a renaissance soul.
My next book pick is The Renaissance Soul: How to make your life – a creative and practical guide by Margaret Lobenstine. When talking to other people who have read this, I often hear the phrase “Now I know I’m not broken” which is exactly how I felt, what the heck was wrong with me, why can’t I just stick to one thing?
This book validates all those big feelings and gives some good practical advice and activities on how to deal with it all. I also like the advice on how to work within a company if you are a renaissance soul.
Maybe You Identify As A Scanner?
As a multi-passionate person you may have heard the term “scanner” as someone who is endlessly inquisitive, someone who doesn’t want to be a specialist and feels that being an expert is probably boring.
This term was coined by Barbara Sher author of Refuse To Choose!: Use all of your interests, passions and Hobbies to create the life and career of your dreams.
I don’t connect to the term scanner but I know many people do, and this book seems to be a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it! I don’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I included it because I think for many multi-passionate people, it could be a useful read. I personally felt it was a bit outdated and a bit waffly.
The author does have several other books but I didn’t love this one and so I haven’t gone on to read her others. If you have, let me know how you liked them.
A Multi-passionate Community
If you are a multi-passionate mom, then come on over to Moms That Rock – my free community of multi-passionate moms from all over the world. It’s a lovely, friendly community of people from many backgrounds all finding our way to love our passions and fit them around our families needs.
Bonus Book Recommendation
This final book is not really about being multi-passionate but I did find it very inspiring. Especially as it was written by someone in the creative field. Year Of Yes: How To Dance it out, stand in the sun and be your own person – Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes is the mastermind behind some of the biggest shows on TV, sure a Greys Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice and How To Get Away With Murder. The book is hilarious, touching and oh so inspiring. It’s Shonda’s story of how saying yes for a year changed her life.
As someone who is multi-passionate I know, it can be really hard to say yes to things when you hear that lizard voice in the back of your head, “stick to your own lane” rather than following my gut/heart/intuition – call it what you will. I’m also an introvert so I could totally understand some of the situations she got herself into.
I’m a big fan of stepping out of the comfort zone because that is when the magic happens!
A Reading Confession
Before I leave, woe is me… one thing I found as I’ve gotten older and I’m spending more work time on the computer, my eyes get too tired to read, reading before bed is a thing of the past. When audible came out, I tried that but I wasn’t a big fan and really didn’t like their pricing structure.
And then I discovered Scribd, a game-changer. Unlike audible where you buy each book, Scribd is more like Netflix, in that it’s a monthly subscription and for $9 or thereabout, you get access to the library. But it’s not just audiobooks, they also have digital books, magazines, research papers and sheet music.
They also have a “perks” section which has access to different apps for free. There is usually a kids book app on there, plus a handful of other goodies.
What I think I like the most is that I can try out new authors and genres and if I don’t like it, it’s no big deal. As I live in Japan, ordering paper books soon gets expensive! I also love that it syncs across devices, so I can listen in the bath, on a walk, as I make dinner.
If you want to try it out, you will get 60 days free if CLICK HERE and use this link!
I do still read “real” books but a good chunk of time I listen to them instead. Sometime I will listen to a book and love it so much that I have to buy the paper version!
My teen and I also listen to books over lunch, murder mysteries are a favourite, nothing quite like a good Agatha Christie over soup and sandwiches!
Quick recap, the 4 books I recommend you add to your reading list…
📚The Renaissance Soul: How to make your life – a creative and practical guide by Margaret Lobenstine
📚Year Of Yes: How To Dance it out, stand in the sun and be your own person – Shonda Rhimes