Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams

by Barbara Sher

But, as theoretical scientists know, nondirected thinking can be an excellent way of finding things you didn’t know you were looking for.

And no Scanner is worse at delegating than the Plate Spinner.

Interesting Observation

I’d read about this kind of support in a book about Jim Clark, the inventor of the first big Internet browser (Netscape) and, many believe, the man who created the “dot-com bubble” of the 1990s almost single-handedly. (You can read his story in The Next, Next Thing by Michael Lewis.)

To Harry it was simple. You don’t spend your life making money you don’t need, and you don’t waste time doing things you already know how to do. Harry is a typical Scanner. He loves life, and he loves to learn.

Scanners love to learn more than they love to “know.” That’s

I just don’t care about the money.

and it’s a serious one that all Scanners worry about in one context or another. You can’t keep changing careers and build any kind of financial security. And of course, you’ll never be considered an expert at anything.

Those who love mastery understand each other perfectly, but they don’t understand a casual or halfhearted effort.

you’re someone who loves mastery for its own sake, you’re at odds with your “practical” peers: “What are you going to do with Czech?” “You won an award in beer making! That’s great! Get some financing and you can start your own brewery!” But the Serial Master has already gotten the Reward she wanted and has moved on to other challenges.

I totally understand this.

like a lot of the hobbies I do (golf, reading, bodybuilding, geology, travel), but none of them is an overriding passion, and I get bored if I delve too long or don’t look into new things. A drawback that I have seen with this lifestyle is that you have to “start at the bottom” numerous times in your life.

It’s not a title or a huge salary you want: More than almost any other Scanner type, what matters to you is happiness.

And as long as the people treat you and each other reasonably well, you’ll be contented. If things get unpleasant, you’ll probably leave, but in most cases, you won’t have much trouble finding another job. Everybody needs someone like you, and you’ll always enjoy being the capable one, the go-to guy, the helper.

When it comes to organizing your space, you tend to be the Scanner with the smallest clutter problem.

“I read The Man Who Listened to Horses in high school, especially the part where he learns how horses communicate with each other. I read that over and over, and I was so excited I couldn’t sleep!” At my urging, she signed up for a linguistics

Thats cool. I love communicatiokn and linguistics too

Jane realized she was born to be an “advance scout” of some kind. She learned that marketing research companies often send scouts to locations all over the world to see if local communities would be receptive to a certain kind of business.

My question, though would be: how would you get such a specific job like that? Im going to check out her website and see if that leads to anything

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer was beautifully hand calligraphed.

How interesting! Calligraphy is one of those skills i used to practice but I did not pick up again. Although i cannot say I actually mastered it; I did learn to do it well but got tired of it. I also dont like things where a mistake means it is entirely ruined.

And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography.

Jane picked up so many skills in her wandering that she now works as a seamstress in an antique-clothing boutique 1 day a week and designs and maintains lawns and gardens 3 days a week in the summer (not at all in the winter).

Im not against this model for myself - like teaching yoga a few days a week and doing bookkeeping another couple days a week, say. Only real drawback is no ft benefits like health insurance

And on weekends, she drives through the suburbs in her little white van with a sign on the side that says, “Children’s Barber—get your kid’s hair cut—right here, right now.”

Also not a bad idea.

If you respect your natural curiosity, you’ll come to trust your enthusiasm. It knows something about you. Your trail of enthusiasms is the most precise instrument you have for locating where you’d find the deepest satisfaction in your life.

Looking back, it sounds so appealing. But even in our Soirees we had a great time. We invited instructors who were passionate about their subjects, eager to tell us about them, and happy to answer any questions. The evenings were better than any formal class.

And that’s not all, according to the article: “Every 3 or 4 years, I pick a goal to learn something new,” Goodrich says of his obsessive curiosity. “I started out with wine, then it was books, then it was bonsai trees, then it became the didgeridoo [an Australian Aboriginal musical instrument consisting of a long, thick wooden pipe that the player blows into, creating a deep reverberating humming sound]. It’s the way I approached the twins. I sit down and learn everything possible. .

You’re not supposed to put the results of your samplings away in a box in the basement and forget about them.

My friends and parents were totally inspired and want to start bringing their own stuff next time, so I’m going to have a party like this every year!

It probably should haved been like this to begin with . It would seem too narcissistic to have a whole party focused on MY accomplishments of that year

Being a Scanner doesn’t mean only that you’re drawn to many things. It also means that you have powerful talents that want to be used.

You can’t go wrong if you simply select anything you really love to do. At all costs, do not try to find something “important” or “worth doing.”

Pick something that you’re enthused about, something you love enough to want to get it right. Pick something you’d like to share with the world. Think of this project as a present you want to leave behind when you go.

The computer you build might be a birthday present for someone, and it would have to be delivered on that date. The date of the open house for your art show would be on the invitations you sent out, and you’ll have to be ready when the people show up.

This is actually one thing that keeps me from finishing my book - no real deadline

Schedule a Show-and-Tell Party. If your goal was to build a ship in a bottle or write a really good poem, you could create a Real Deadline by setting a date and inviting your friends to a Show-and-Tell Party where they could come to admire your work. I’m all for potluck at this kind of party because those last minutes before the deadline are precious for putting the finishing touches on what you’re presenting. If being the star of the show is too immodest for you, invite everyone to bring something of their own to show off as well and give them each 10 minutes to stand in front of the group and present their “party piece.”

This is cool but no way could I make it just about MY show-and-tell!

Schedule a Makeover Party. A variation of the Show-and-Tell Party can be used to do a makeover on a room in your house, your garden, or yourself! Send a letter or an e-mail of a “before” photo showing the present condition of whatever you want to change and include a date for a live viewing of the “after” makeover.

The first sheet would say “70,” meaning you have 70 days left to complete your project. When you tear that one off, you’ll see the sheet that says “69,” and the next day “68,” and so on, right up to the sheet that says “Today!!!”

I scoffed at this at first but it would be a good idea for completing my book.

Remember: You’re not going in front of a firing squad on the final day; you’re going to be immensely proud of yourself for your accomplishment.

Someone will be waiting for you somewhere or showing up at your house today. Carry your finished work with you and walk on stage for your Grand Finale.

Be sure you’ve assembled an appreciative audience. No critics allowed.

Put the finished product where you can see it and fall in love with your wonderful brain and your perfectly disciplined character every time your eyes fall on it. One good place (if it will fit) is your Life’s Work Bookshelf.

You’ve been on an invigorating, even grueling, journey and now you’re home again in Scanner Land. Pull out your Scanner Daybook and leave it open for writing up anything new you get a crush on.

And then, in 6 weeks or 6 months or even 6 years (you’ll know what’s right for you), pick another project that you love, roll up your sleeves, set a new Real Deadline, and do it all over again.

I love making people laugh and, even more, showing them how important and unique they are. What I didn’t know was that being a speaker is the most highly paid and least labor-intensive job I can think of. If I merely liked it instead of loving it, I’d do it anyway, because it leaves me so much free time to write books (one of my great loves), travel to my second home in a little village in central Turkey where I teach e-commerce to the village weavers (another of my great loves), and use my spare time to read history and geography books (yet another of my great loves).

Dream

It’s also possible to work in a college or university’s offices if you have the skills. The pay isn’t always great, but you can often get benefits—and one of the perks is usually the freedom to take as many classes as you like.

I have considered that

Writers like Isaac Azimov, for instance, turn out books on many subjects. Azimov is best known for his science fiction novels, but he also wrote books about Greek and Roman history, two guides to the Bible, and many other subjects. (The great variety of information covered in Asimov’s writings once prompted Kurt Vonnegut to ask, “How does it feel to know everything?”)

She misspelled Asimov's namr twice before spelling it correctly .

An ideal Good Enough Job uses very little time, pays well, and uses some talents you enjoy. If you have nice people around you or an entertaining environment, that’s a bonus.

Tour guide: You can lead a tour group through almost anywhere. Do you know something special about an area where you live? Become the expert, advertise in the local paper, get the local chamber of commerce to list you on their Web site, leave brochures with local hotels.

Is there one subject you’re really good in? Math? English? Creative writing? You could make really good money as a tutor.

Sometimes people need to be told what your skills can do for them. Caveat: Unless you’re in dire financial straits, try as hard as you can to get a smart boss. Smart bosses like smart people.

Second-rate bosses resent them.