Can you do it all?
Hint: yes, you can.
I’m not sure where I want to take this newsletter yet.
Classic marketing advice would tell me to choose one area of focus and double down on that. To be fair, that’s how society is built too as we are being told early on that we need to specialize in order to be successful.
Thing is, there are many things I want to talk about, and focusing on one topic only would mean giving up other parts of me. I don’t want this creative project to feel inauthentic and forced in the long run.
But it goes deeper than that…
I’ve always felt like I didn’t have a specific passion I could devote all of my time and energy to.
I mean, I love entrepreneurship and health, but I'm also really into writing and personal development. I want to travel the world and explore different cultures, but I also want to stay in one place and try out every cafe in my hometown.
In the past decade, I have been wanting to start a swimwear brand made of recycled plastic bottles, write books, help women balance their hormones, and do my yoga teacher training. I even went back to school for one whole year thinking I wanted to become a marine biologist.
I often felt ashamed of the many projects I started but couldn’t stick to. I felt like everybody was moving forward in life but me. They had found their calling and I couldn’t figure out what mine was.
But, what if I didn’t need to have a passion?
What if I could just do it all?
One day, I stumbled upon an Oprah’s Super Soul podcast episode with bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert… In it, Elizabeth explains that “the world is divided into two types of people. There are the hummingbirds, and there are the jackhammers.”
Gilbert identifies as a jackhammer, someone who is completely consumed by their passion and focused on it until the end. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, "move from tree to tree, from flower to flower... Trying this, trying that.". They float from one interest to another, often making a living from different activities and creating a diverse and exciting life for themselves.
There’s another word for those who identify as hummingbirds, and it’s called being a multi-hyphenate.
Multi-hyphenates juggle multiple roles and responsibilities in different areas and industries. They might be a freelance writer and a yoga teacher, or a web designer and a home chef. This type of lifestyle allows them to have greater flexibility, freedom, and variety in their work.
And the exciting thing is, many people have already embraced that way of living successfully…
Emma Gannon is a bestselling author, podcaster, novelist, and teacher. Athena Calderone started sharing her multiple interests online and is now a renowned interior designer and culinary storyteller.
Even Paris Hilton says she’s a “CEO-entrepreneur-artist-DJ-model-actress-singer-humanitarian-activist-artist-investor-boss babe.”
What does that mean for you?
Society might tell you to choose one career path, one passion, and become the best at it…
But ultimately, you get to decide if that’s how you want to live your life.
You don’t actually have to do that if that doesn’t speak to your soul. In fact, you may need to do the exact opposite in order to create a rich, fulfilling life for yourself.
You could decide to let your curiosity lead the way and pursue your multiple interests. And maybe, you could create a unique path that combines all the things you love.
So take that first step, and trust that it’ll all make sense in the end.