My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One
How do I decide what to do with my life when there are so many things I want to do?
It is conventional wisdom that there is one true path in life for each of us. But what about those with a wide array of interests, a dynamic curiosity about the world, and an ever-renewing wellspring of passions? Margaret Lobenstine calls these people “Renaissance Souls,” and in this ground...more
It is conventional wisdom that there is one true path in life for each of us. But what about those with a wide array of interests, a dynamic curiosity about the world, and an ever-renewing wellspring of passions? Margaret Lobenstine calls these people “Renaissance Souls,” and in this ground...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
January 10th 2006
by Broadway
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
643)
I randomly came across this book and decided to check it out, because I am one of those people who wants to do -everything- and I feel like I need to do it all! right! now! It really is written for people like me.
It was a quick read, but that might be because I skimmed over all the stories about people like Dan, who was fascinated by underwater basketweaving and African gorillas. Dan found a way to combine his passions by getting a job doing underwater basketweaving, and he could tak...more
It was a quick read, but that might be because I skimmed over all the stories about people like Dan, who was fascinated by underwater basketweaving and African gorillas. Dan found a way to combine his passions by getting a job doing underwater basketweaving, and he could tak...more
view 1 comment
After not being so impressed with Barbara Sher's book Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams about "scanners," (which is the same thing as the "renaissance soul") I thought this one might have some more helpful tips. There is the same self-esteem boosting prelude of "There's nothing wrong with you!" There is definitely more "meat" to this book than Sher's, but I found the numerous Re...more
When I saw this book at the library, I had to snap it up right away. Lobenstine says that in essence, there are two kinds of people: Mozarts, who find one thing early on that they love and pursue for their whole lives, and Ben Franklins, who love and succeed at many different things in a wide variety of fields. Being a Franklin is no better or worse than being a Mozart, but it requires a different way of looking at how you spend your time and plan your life. Our society can be more supportive of...more
Anyone who has three books going at the same time, who hates the thought of constraining him- or herself to just one "thing," or who gets swallowed up for hours in a bookstore will find themselves in this book.
Lobenstine does an excellent job of describing the "renaissance" personality and helping people who fall in this category to accept and embrace their "diagnosis." She offers concrete ways of working with -- instead of against -- our personality tr...more
Lobenstine does an excellent job of describing the "renaissance" personality and helping people who fall in this category to accept and embrace their "diagnosis." She offers concrete ways of working with -- instead of against -- our personality tr...more
this book helped me springing back to actions! i felt better after reading it, like i had been given new directions. i think that's what was needed... inspirations and ideas. i must admit that i actually just skimmed through the book and read only sections/parts applicable to me. i got exactly what i'd needed: motivations.
Lobenstine let me know that it's ok for me to have more than one interests and that i shouldn't consider all or any of them as an indication of my failure to find...more
Lobenstine let me know that it's ok for me to have more than one interests and that i shouldn't consider all or any of them as an indication of my failure to find...more
I thought there were a few good suggestions to take away...like focusing on 4 of the things you're most interested in, and when you've learned all you need to learn from any of them, THEN move on to another interest and add it to your 4...and if you want to spend 20 hours a week learning to bake the world's best pizza - schedule in the time but be flexible about what you do during that time (sometimes you might want to read the best pizza recipe book, sometimes bake, sometimes go out for pizza -...more
Note: this is more a personal reaction than a review, so take it with a grain of salt if you're trying to decide whether to read this book or not.
---
I think I was more in a space for this the first time I read it. This time, on the re-read, I found myself feeling impatient with it. Basically, I like some of the broader strategies, but all the little exercises - which always seem to have Capitalized Names in books like this - began to irritate me.
It also struc...more
---
I think I was more in a space for this the first time I read it. This time, on the re-read, I found myself feeling impatient with it. Basically, I like some of the broader strategies, but all the little exercises - which always seem to have Capitalized Names in books like this - began to irritate me.
It also struc...more
Finally, someone who understands me!!! I thought it was "weird" for me to keep bouncing around different interests and never sticking to one for years on end. Lobenstine, as a fellow Renaissance Soul, really gets those who have multiple interests and wants to follow them NOW. She does an excellent job of helping the Ren Souls figure out which interests are best to pursue AT THE MOMENT (not forever), how to go about accomplishing them in a way that isn't the stereotypical time managemen...more
This is a book that is definitely geared toward those in the market for answers. While the author provides good information and some of the exercises were helpful, I felt the anecdotes became tedious as did her spectrum markers of Mozart and Ben Franklin. A lot of her work is an adaptation of Getting Things Done (GTD) principles (which are themselves consolidations of other work). For example, what Lobenstine calls "intention markers," GTDers will know as "next actions." The...more
Lobenstine is the high school guidance counselor or college advisor you wish you’d had Based on the notion that people like DiVinci and Ben Franklin were more than just “one thing”, she questions why people who gravitate towards multiple hobbies and disparate subjects have to choose a singular, pre-ordained career path and disregard the others. Maybe you’re stuck and unhappy because you’re trying to fit a cultural mold that’s just not you? Bored easily? Throw yourself into a subject only to ...more
I'm not usually into self-help books, but I found this useful. I had to get past some hackneyed touchy feely suggestions (no, I will not visualize a field, thank you very much) but once I did I found some practical advice and thought-provoking exercises. Particularly useful for thinking of how your income-creating job can be fulfilling in its own right while also enabling other pursuits, and how to create goals and manage your time around them when they have to do with divergent interests.
I'm still reading this book, so I'll add a more thorough review later. But I have to say that already I love this book! I bought it because of the subtitle: "Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One." That description definitely fits me! But I had to know more.
The book starts with a few stories of people who feel like I do -- why can't I just get it together? Why is it everyone else seems to know what they want to do, but I'm still here trying to ...more
The book starts with a few stories of people who feel like I do -- why can't I just get it together? Why is it everyone else seems to know what they want to do, but I'm still here trying to ...more
This is a breath of fresh air for folks with lots of interests who are trying to set goals and work toward them.
Career-impaired because you don't want to be stuck in one place? Interested and excited about a job, then find yourself bored just months or a year or so later? This is sooo me and the author has some pretty practical suggestions for focusing on priorities, a few interests, and how to make them realities with as little pain as possible.
Career-impaired because you don't want to be stuck in one place? Interested and excited about a job, then find yourself bored just months or a year or so later? This is sooo me and the author has some pretty practical suggestions for focusing on priorities, a few interests, and how to make them realities with as little pain as possible.
This book does a great job of helping scattered people focus on less things at one time - so instead of getting unsatisfying, vague tastes of tons of things and feeling overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions they experience bigger, tastier bites of fewer things at a time.
Are you afraid to commit and focus? Are you clueless about which major or career path or selection of hobbies to choose? This book will help.
Are you afraid to commit and focus? Are you clueless about which major or career path or selection of hobbies to choose? This book will help.
2 or 3 stars for writing style, but 4 stars for content. Even if the examples don't apply to you, the thinking reader can easily adopt the strategies presented in this book. This was the first book of this kind that I've read, and I found it immensely helpful.
However, the term "Renaissance soul" definitely started to annoy me, and I feel like the strategies in this book could be useful to anyone who has multiple interests. (And really, I would guess that is at least half of ...more
However, the term "Renaissance soul" definitely started to annoy me, and I feel like the strategies in this book could be useful to anyone who has multiple interests. (And really, I would guess that is at least half of ...more
I had a wonderful chat this weekend with a new (and now very dear) friend of mine, Erin. We talked a lot about being the type of people who have so many passions in life that we hate the idea of being forced to focus on just one of them (when our personalities lead us to believe otherwise). She mentioned that she's been reading this book and suggested I look into it as well. A great recommendation, for sure....
This book was so affirming for me, and it will be for anyone else who would feel locked in by choosing just one career path. Lobenstine provides poignant insights about how to succeed with varied interests that change over time. She dispels longstanding myths about the "right" way to approach career, and instead encourages the reader to follow her passions and make the road less traveled work for her.
I want to say eye opening and soothing. I stumbled on it while browsing the bn site and cheesy as it sounds but the book explained a lot. I FELT LIKE I didn't fit in with everyone knowing what they know. I wish she had a follow up book (it has been out for a while). Here I thought I had zero passion. I want to remove one star for the title, but the book had a lot to offer that overcompensated it.
This is the best book I've read in a while. How many times have people told me I am a jack of all trades and master of none??? Millions...and it's annoying. This book shows those of us with so many passions, how to do them all...and feel good about it. Love it!
If you frequently find yourself in love with too many ideas to choose just one, this book is for you. Especially when those ideas involve your life's work. This book is inspiring and also lays out good, concrete steps on how to get going with your most pressing passions. Lobenstine makes clear that there is plenty of time to pursue all of your interests, and you most certainly don't have to stick with just one for the rest of your life. She also gives tips on how to actually make a living by com...more
The best part of this book was that it, just like Refuse to Choose, took the side of the multi-talented, saying that it's not a personality flaw, and that we shouldn't fight our nature too hard.
In that, the book gives a few good tips for making the most of this personality trait.
But in general, the book is lacking a lot in terms of scientific proof. There is no science provided to support the idea of the renaissance soul (let me know a if you know of a book that does), an...more
In that, the book gives a few good tips for making the most of this personality trait.
But in general, the book is lacking a lot in terms of scientific proof. There is no science provided to support the idea of the renaissance soul (let me know a if you know of a book that does), an...more
I took away some good things from this book. I would suggest it to anyone who finds it difficult to choose a career path because they have too many interests... indeed thinking of it as a traditional "career path" may be part of the problem. The author provides some good brainstorming methods that will really get you thinking about what your priorities are, and then how to start maneuvering your way towards those goals. Also, how not to be overwhelmed by your many interests, focus on j...more
This is a good book for people with a lot of interests, and has some really solid time-management strategies that anyone could use.
Put this one in the "not quite what I expected" bin. I hoped it would be about people with many interests, but it was more or less a career change guide.
This book has helped me to accept and love my eclectic soul a lot more.
I've always had a hard time fitting in too many hobbies and the career change advice is extremely relevant right now. I borrowed this book from the library, but wound up buying a copy because I can see myself referring to it in the future.
I normally do not read self help books, however, this one really caught my eye on the shelf at the library. I think it was just the right time at the right mood that I checked out the book that helps people with multiple personal/professional interests determine what career path is suitable for them.
Not for everyone, however, I enjoyed reading about half of it and was done with the book.
Not for everyone, however, I enjoyed reading about half of it and was done with the book.
Kari
is currently reading it
I am not alone. And I don't have ADD!
Very interesting if this applies to you. I was happy to learn I was not alone in feeling lost sometimes in relation to work/career. There are a lot of helpful tips on how to channel and focus your energies towards getting things done. However, I do think the author gets carried away with over explaining this "theory", and it often felt like this was a means to fill pages more than anything else.
a great addition to refuse to choose by barbara sher. i read them at about the same time. this one is a bit more general about having more than one interest, but provides even more advice about how to accomplish a lot when you want to do many different things. very positive and empowering as well as practical. i really like her treatment of the subject- like the guidance counselor or career advisor who tells you it is possible to do it all in a way that will still create financial security and h...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books | 1 | 6 | Apr 06, 2010 04:18pm |
