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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 Harmony
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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 take time off i...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 take time off i...more
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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 Real Life anecdotes not quite as encouragi...more
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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 traits.
I love feeling like I'm not alone, a...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 traits.
I love feeling like I'm not alone, a...more
Much workplace advice is based on becoming an “expert” in one’s field. But some of us don’t have the kind of single-minded devotion required to dedicate oneself to a single field for a lifetime. For years, I worried that my career was hampered by the odd personality bent that led me to pursue diverse topics of study, sometimes for years on end, only to drop them later for something else. I made a niche for myself as a factotum, but I occasionally regretted not having one area of expertise.
Then I...more
Then I...more
Do you have a zillion passions you can't seem to narrow down to just one or two? Do other people criticize you for having a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none ethic? Would a resume you create list seemingly incongruent or disparate jobs? If so, you might be a Renaissance Soul, who gets bitten by the lure of new challenges, carries out a theme for an activity, and moves on when you're no longer challenged by what initially interested you.
The good news is: The Renaissance Soul guides each of us to...more
The good news is: The Renaissance Soul guides each of us to...more
I enjoyed rediscovering this book. A friend suggested it years ago when I was having a bit of a professional identity crisis. I bought it right away, but I didn't get very far for some reason. I held on to it the past six years, never giving it a second thought. As of late, I've found myself at a professional crossroads (again) and without intending to, I stumbled across this book on my shelf. I flipped to the introduction and recognized myself in the first few lines:
Do you feel a pang of envy...more
Do you feel a pang of envy...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 one true pass...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 one true pass...more
“If I were to envision the Renaissance approach to life, the traditional career metaphors of a highway to follow or a mountain to climb wouldn’t come to mind. The Renaissance approach to life looks more like a tree branching out in myriad directions, some branches overlapping, some intertwining, and some just finding their own merry ways to the sunlight.”
I’m usually not a fan of these types of books; from my experience they usually have a catchy title and seem to offer so much, yet I often end u...more
I’m usually not a fan of these types of books; from my experience they usually have a catchy title and seem to offer so much, yet I often end u...more
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I could relate with this book. Our world today demands or at least strongly encourage specialization. Ever happened across an educated idiot?
Not to say that there are not good reason for specialization and focusing on one sub-issue of a sub-issue. However this knowledge comes at a cost, we have lost the ability to make jumps or break throughs because we no longer have a big picture view.
A broader base of knowledge also makes for healthier people, ever been stuck next to an expert at a party? I...more
Not to say that there are not good reason for specialization and focusing on one sub-issue of a sub-issue. However this knowledge comes at a cost, we have lost the ability to make jumps or break throughs because we no longer have a big picture view.
A broader base of knowledge also makes for healthier people, ever been stuck next to an expert at a party? I...more
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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.
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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 struck me again that what works for advi...more
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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 struck me again that what works for advi...more
One of the BEST non-fiction books I've read in a while. I completely connected with the material, finally seeing myself as a "Renaissance Soul" and learning what that means and how to manage it.
A Renaissance Soul is basically someone with a lot of interests that has trouble committing or focusing on one passion for the rest of our lives (which is what society says we should do).
This book helped me realize that this personality type is A. not uncommon and B. not a bad thing, both of which were re...more
A Renaissance Soul is basically someone with a lot of interests that has trouble committing or focusing on one passion for the rest of our lives (which is what society says we should do).
This book helped me realize that this personality type is A. not uncommon and B. not a bad thing, both of which were re...more
For someone easily distracted by so many choices of what to do each day, adding to that the fact that I am easily overwhelmed by those myriad of choices, this way of operating is absolutely wonderful. Ms. Lobenstine knows what she's talking about and for the first time I have found an author who can really speak to this and provide advice that is really useful and is not just another book on organizing and scheduling. I highly recommend this book to anyone having so very many interests that the...more
Full post about this and Quiet by Susan Cain: http://esquetee.wordpress.com/2012/04...
About half of the book was excellent, full of extremely helpful exercises. The other half was sometimes silly, sometimes boring, sometimes patronizing. So I balance that out to 4 stars, since I did get so much out of the 5-stars half.
Of the twelve chapters, the five I found most helpful were:
Ch. 3 - Values
Ch. 4 - Focal Points
Ch. 7 - Resources
Ch. 9 - Taking Action
Ch. 10 - Time Management
And if that's still tl;...more
About half of the book was excellent, full of extremely helpful exercises. The other half was sometimes silly, sometimes boring, sometimes patronizing. So I balance that out to 4 stars, since I did get so much out of the 5-stars half.
Of the twelve chapters, the five I found most helpful were:
Ch. 3 - Values
Ch. 4 - Focal Points
Ch. 7 - Resources
Ch. 9 - Taking Action
Ch. 10 - Time Management
And if that's still tl;...more
Plenty of good stuff to think about in this book. For me, the biggest takeaways were:
- the affirmation that I'm not an ADD-ridden weirdo for wanting to career-hop or for imagining about 50 other paths I could be taking at any given point;
- the "sampler" method whereby you pick three or four interests to focus on for the time being and then arrange your time so you can move forward on them (knowing that you can always pick up other sets of interests later);
- the various quizzes that help identi...more
- the affirmation that I'm not an ADD-ridden weirdo for wanting to career-hop or for imagining about 50 other paths I could be taking at any given point;
- the "sampler" method whereby you pick three or four interests to focus on for the time being and then arrange your time so you can move forward on them (knowing that you can always pick up other sets of interests later);
- the various quizzes that help identi...more
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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 "Focal Points Worksh...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 mast...more
This is a book I have returned to time and again, since I first came across it about 5 years ago. I had to hunt it down to buy a copy, and I am grateful to have it at the ready. Lobenstine's "focal points" approach for the generalist has been a helpful and practical way for me to "get unstuck" (as her website is aptly titled) at various points in my working life. Reading this book was a huge revelation after I'd already been through a number of job changes, that seemed to creep up on me in a fai...more
I was very excited to stumble across this book as it describes me so well. Most people call me ADD but I am happy to re-identify myself as a Renaissance Soul. I have many diverse interests (from needlework to quantum physics) and have long been ridiculed for being "unable to land" and stay put. I can now wear my moniker proudly and rid myself of the guilt. Although I don't believe this book actually helped me with a life design, it did contain some good pointers and insights on ways to improve m...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.
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.
Lots of useful approaches and strategies for dealing with a broad variety of interests, especially how to translate those interests to a career, or- if you prefer- to not let those interests keep you from having a fulfilling career by confusing potential employers. I found it really liberating and motivating. I strongly recommend this book to people who suspect they may have children that fit into this category.
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 the population.) Alt...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 the population.) Alt...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....
In general, I make fun of self-help books. Most of them seem like the same old stuff put through the sausage grinder with a new cover on it. This book is different. Why? Because it was written for me. This book has a great balance of coaching you to accept and embrace a nature that can't settle on "just one thing" but doesn't make it a license to be a flake or non-committal. Commit to 4-5 Focus Areas of things you love and really develop them... until you get bored. Then pick another four or fiv...more
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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
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