Multipotentialite Quotes

“The truth is that you aren’t lacking a destiny or purpose. There is a very good reason for your insatiable curiosity: you’re someone who’s going to shake things up, create something novel, solve complex, multidimensional problems, make people’s lives better in your own unique way. Whatever your destinies are, you can’t step into them while stifling your multipotentiality. You must embrace it and use it.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Your career should be aligned with your overall goals. Your work should feel like an integrated and supportive force in your life, not the kind-of-awful-thing-you-have-to-do-to-pay-the-bills.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Waiting for the inspiration to hit is often just resistance in disguise.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Multipotentialites don't quit when something becomes too hard; we quit because something becomes too easy.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“you don't need to justify your choices to anyone. What would your life be like if you gave yourself permission to be everything you wanted to be?”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“There is no single way to be a multipotentialite.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“This book is for the people who don't want to pick a single focus and abandon all their other interests. It's for the curious, or those who find delight in learning new things, creating and morphing between identities.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Specialists and generalists are both valuable and necessary; it just depends on the context.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“We all need a sense of meaning in our lives. The feeling that we're doing good in the world--that we're making a difference in some way--is essential.

Not everything we do needs to evoke a deep sense of meaning. That would be exhausting!

Multipotentialites are usually involved in a number of different projects. Some of these are naturally more meaningful than others (just as some are more profitable than others).

What matters isn't that everything we do is deeply meaningful, but that we have enough overall meaning to make us feel good about how we're spending our time on this earth.”
― Emilie Wapnick

“Some multipotentialites like to create a regular schedule to use every day. One fun way to do this is to use Barbara Sher's "School Day Life Design Model." In this model, you structure your day the way a student might, going to different classes at different times - only each "class" is a different project. For example:

9 A.M.-11 A.M.: Writing YA novel

11 A.M.-3 P.M.: Building consulting business

3 P.M.-3:40 P.M.: Tinkering time

Evenings: Learning Japanese

Feel free to play with the length of your "periods," as well as the number of projects you include in your schedule. Finally! A school schedule that is totally on your terms.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“When you persue an interest, think of it as an exploration rather than a binding contract.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“The best you can do is listen to your heart and be brave.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“When you're picking a project to pursue, try not to think of it as some massive commitment. Can you think of it as an exploration, as something you're trying out? Approach your interest with a sense of curiosity and wonder, and remember to have fun!”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“Assuming that the tendency to pivot between disciplines was unique to me, I felt totally alone. My peers certainly didn't have everything figured out, but they all seemed to be on a linear trajectory toward something. My path, on the other hand, was just a mess of zigzags: music, art, web design, filmmaking, law...”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything

“You don't have to choose one thing.”
― Emilie Wapnick, How to Be Everything