The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger than Your Business Card

by Christina Wallace

They aren’t there to make you feel bad, but rather to push you to do better because they know you can.

Second, you need an accountability partner, particularly over the long haul. When

And research shows that choosing the right life partner is the most important decision you will make when it comes to both your career and long-term happiness.

So if you choose to have a partner, there is no one who will have a greater impact on your Portfolio Life.

marriage—or any kind of life partnership—is like a co-founder relationship.

What I came to were two lists: “The Nonnegotiables List” (the traits, habits, values that I knew I needed in a life partner) and the “Couldn’t Care Less List” of criteria that didn’t make one whit of difference in whether we would make a good team.

When I meet a startup founding team, there are just three variables I look at to predict success: common values, compatible vision, and comparable velocity.vii

But if they share a common set of values, it’s more likely they will see eye to eye when it comes time to make difficult decisions. Do they prioritize profit or people? Do they care more about speed or scale?

the founding team must agree on what “success” means for their company.

Lastly, the founding teams that have what it takes are those that are running with comparable velocities—

But when you zoom out, it’s clear they are running the same race and they’re on the same team.

As the CEO of your Portfolio Life, you are in charge of ensuring you have the right people on your team to support, advise, and partner with as you build a life that is fulfilling and sustainable.

Serving as the connector between orthogonal networks will foster community and fuel collaboration and creativity.

Cultivating a personal board of directors will ensure you are surrounded by a diverse set of folks to nurture growth, ope...

And seeing your life partner, should you choose to have one, as a co-founder will position you to build a foundation of shared values, vision,...

About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all. —Rita Mae Brown

Brag Better author Meredith Fineman calls them the “lackluster loud.”

Bottom line: You need visibility to get opportunities. It’s often not the people you already know, but the people they know who will fuel your success.1 Stay top of mind for your network.

In 1973, American sociologist Dr. Mark Granovetter published his seminal paper2 on social networks titled “The Strength of Weak Ties.”iv In it, he introduced a new idea called “weak tie theory” to explain why the speed and novelty of information spread between loosely connected people far surpassed that of networks more closely connected.

Weak ties, on the other hand, were far more likely to exist between heterogeneous groups, and as such, introduced new ideas, promoted creativity, and increased the speed of information dissemination.

When it comes to networking—the seeking and sharing of professional and personal opportunities—those weak ties are going to be where you find the most traction.

“what are they buying/what are you selling?”

When it comes to telling your story, you must focus on the solutions you offer, not the “product specs” listed on your résumé.

“one page, one paragraph, one sentence.”

You can craft your narrative in any way that speaks to you, but I find it generally includes four principal components, roughly one paragraph per topic: 1. Who are you?/What are you doing now? 2. What did you do before this? 3. What else do you care deeply about? (Think: board seats, volunteering, hobbies and personal projects.) 4. Biographical data that helps humanize you, like pets, family, and fun facts.vii

Let’s imagine you want to take a three-month break, beginning one year from now. First, think about what you might hope to get out of your sabbatical. Jot down a few reflections. Would you want an opportunity to travel to new places? Experiment with a different way of living? Are you thinking about this time as a chance to learn something new about yourself, about the world, or about your work? Do you need rest or inspiration (or both)? Defining what a sabbatical would mean for you is the first step toward making it a reality. Second, consider the complications. According to DJ, there are three factors that often prevent folks from taking a sabbatical: cost, optics, and responsibilities. Start to think through how to mitigate these three factors for yourself.

Jane McGonigal in her book Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Be Ready for Anything.