Vitamin We #10: Renaissance Souls

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

This was such a dreadful question back in my school days - especially when classmates proclaimed their future goals with a sense of certainty in their eyes, while I had to make up something random; Besides feeling envious, I felt left behind - Why couldn’t I just made up my mind?!

To this date, I STILL haven’t made up my mind - if what it means is to pick ONE thing and stick with it for the rest of my life in order to become “successful” …

WHY JUST ONE?! How do they define success anyway? I don’t even know who I will become in 10 years as I continue growing and evolving!

This idea kept bugging me until I came across the term called “the Renaissance Souls” about a decade ago - which made me feel so seen and hopeful for the first time ever! (Which is also the title of the book I picked for today’s edition 📚)

It all starts from an intense curiosity about everything, and a steaming passion♨️ to explore and create! Who doesn’t wish to be everything everywhere all at once 🤣? It’s so energizing to see people’s buzzing energy when they are passionate at work!

If there are people who are suitable for paths of mastery in one domain as a lifelong pursuit, there must be others who are meant for other paths:

People who have A LOT of skills and know something about everything - and hence having a hard time being pinned down to just one role or title.

People who have unconventional resumes, non-linear paths, side gigs throughout their careers, a life timeline that is different than everyone else, and a warehouse-worth of half-finished projects.

Well, even Leonardo Da Vinci had a track record of leaving paintings unfinished 🤷‍♀️.

The world needs more Renaissance Souls, especially in times of change like now, who have the breadth of knowledge and experience, and the ability to connect the dots in a multidisciplinary, almost magical way to complement people who are trained to see the world from a single lens and stuck in echo chambers!

In this edition, we’ve curated fabulous stories (written and audio) from creatives who’ve shared their adventurous explorative process, as well as resources and insights that would be helpful for us to see our multi-passionate qualities as gifts, not burdens.

Enjoy!

Our words are the magic wands that create stories within our heads and circulate around our social circles and beyond.

How do you feel if someone describes you as:

• a Renaissance (hu)man

• a person with multipotentiality

• a “Jack of all trades, master of none”?

How about repeating the same “description” 5,000 times in 10 years between one’s 2 ears? How would that affect someone’s self-image?

In an era when common sense is no longer common, when discernment is becoming a weaker skill with AI-generated answers dominating everywhere, we need more people to have the curiosity of the breadth and depth of wisdom that spans across seemingly unrelated disciplines to see the interconnectedness and marry the puzzle pieces together as creative problem solvers and innovative thinkers.

Let’s build a world that celebrates people with multipotentiality!

There is a personality archetype tool called Quantum Human Design (which I’m an experienced practitioner of) that classifies humans into 5 major archetypes, not by self-assessment questionnaires but by one’s birth data.

Just like mobile apps designed for iOS might not be compatible with Android, each archetype carries a unique personal energy wiring that is meant to have a different operating mechanism in life.

Around 33% of the population are called “Time-Benders” or “Manifesting Generators” who are naturally multi-passionate, multi-talented and driven to find shortcuts to mastery in work and in life, which happens naturally when people work and play passionately in cross-disciplinary ways.

To time-benders, multitasking is the pilot-testing mechanism to see if that thing is right for us before we go all in; it is also a tactic to burn away under-utilized physical energies of the day so that we don’t short-circuit internally (think batteries that need to be drained before recharging)!

Isn’t it such a relief to know that there are quite a large group of people who are just born this way? We can finally stop worrying if there is something wrong with ourselves, accept who we are by nature, and seek to live out the best expression of the geniuses we were given by birth!

“ Hello everyone! My name is Alisa, and I am an artist from a small, but very picturesque region.

Now I work in my studio; painting is my main job, except for working as a mom, of course! My creative way all my life, and the most interesting still ahead, I'm sure of it!

I was born into a creative family, and art has surrounded me throughout my childhood; then I graduated from art school and then the Faculty of graphic arts at the Pedagogical University.

But I stubbornly rejected being an artist! Yes, I didn't want to be an artist; I thought an artist was someone who was always stained with paint, short on money, and a little crazy... but now I can't get through one day without painting!

I wanted to be an interior designer, but I worked in the beauty industry.  And everything changed a lot with the birth of children, ho ho, you'd be surprised, but I have four of them! And being a mom, I realized how much I am drawn to art and how I can powerfully open up my abilities and give people something valuable...

I've been looking for my style, my subject, my artistic materials... I chose botanical art, and for three years, I devoted to this trend: I participated in exhibitions, joined an association of botanical artists, applied to several online galleries, sold my works, and everything was fine...

But... something went wrong; some part of me wanted more manifestation, more feelings, emotions, meanings...

The search took over me, I was carried away in different themes, but mostly they were women's images. I tried oil painting, watercolor, graphite pencil...

It was a very disturbing time for me; imagine feeling like you're looking for something in the house and can not find it; you remember feeling that you're about to find and did not find it... It's like a storm cloud hanging over me, a depressed state... And then, I accidentally came across information on NFT...

I began to study, I got energy, and inspiration, and I took small steps into this mysterious NFT world, where I was revived by the support of the community and opened new horizons for myself, new goals, new ideas!!!

Yes, it's not easy, especially when you need to be in NFT 24/7, draw at night, but I believe that I will come to my dreams and inspire someone by my example!

Thank you for getting to know me and learning a little bit about my creative journey!”

“I remember when I was 16 years old, and he questioned me because I couldn't find my vocation. At that time, I needed to choose a college major and couldn't find something specific that I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Over time I discovered that there was nothing wrong with not having a specific talent. In reality, a world of possibilities opened up around me by accepting who I was, by embracing my way of being.

I love exploring and discovering new hobbies; I am a multi-passionate girl who enjoys learning new things and trying everything. I am a renaissance, and I love who I am.”

Idea #1: 3 Characteristics of the Renaissance Souls:

1. A preference for variety over single-minded focus: Some pursue their varied interest on a rotating basis, some focus on doing one thing at a time before they get bored and move on, while others practice several interests all at once and combine them into an umbrella title of practice. What's your way?

2. A workstyle that emphasizes growth and evolution instead of rigid adherence to a plan: Following a linear, predictable process feels too narrowing as they have a natural reflexive resistance to being pinned down and boxed! They need the flexibility to change directions and to respond eagerly to new possibilities.
   
   If a traditional career path is like a highway or a mountain to climb⛰️, the Renaissance approach to life is like:

3. A sense of success that's defined by the challenges we've mastered instead of how far up the ladder we've climbed: These souls opt for change, not continuation, in the face of success because of their love of new challenges. You'll see them passionately starting from scratch after achieving some monumental success. "Been there, done that." is their frequent expression!

Idea #2 The Birthday Party Question:

Given so many things get our attention, we'll need gold-rush skills of sifting through what truly matters to us - which is also fluid as time goes by. An interesting exercise Lobenstine suggested is this:

You've lived 80 healthy and vigorous years - and more to come! You are throwing yourself an 80-year-young big birthday celebration! What would you genuinely hope each of these people who know the real you would say about you?

• A family member

• a friend

• someone you've worked with

• a person from your community (aka your chosen family)

Reflecting on our answers, it will become apparent how aligned we are with "what I think are important to me" vs “my true values and priorities RIGHT NOW”.

Am I being honest with myself?

Idea #3 The Focus Point Approach - Ice-Cream Sampler:

For most of our lives, choosing has meant losing. So instead, let's try focusing!

Imagine we are entering an ice cream store🍦. Instead of choosing just one flavor, we go for a "four-flavor sampler" - the servings are smaller but big enough to satisfy our cravings with a platter 😋 of variety that we'd feel easier to make decisions and nourish ourselves.

The Focus Points approach asks us to come up with 4 key interests that we feel strongly about and wish to focus on for now. This strategy will get us out of the overwhelm of choices and the analysis paralysis that makes the Renaissance Souls feel stuck in indecision and inactivity. Also, this exercise allows us to see how we can bring these interests together in exciting ways!

Idea #4 Economic Advantages to Being a Renaissance Soul:

If some comforting encouragement is what you need right now, let me splash💦 you some of the many:

• Passion makes your performance sparkle!

• In times of change, the ability to embrace change is in high demand!

• Love of variety makes you a great project manager and troubleshooter!

• You are more likely to be a successful entrepreneur when you thrive on wearing many hats!

• People who enjoy learning new languages and exploring many cultures are highly valued in the global economy!