Do you ever feel guilty for wanting to try different things?
I certainly do. But the stuff I’ve been studying recently has really helped. I hope this helps you too.
If you know anyone else multi passionate, struggling to pick one thing, or decide on a niche, please send them my way.
So I was thinking the other day about the idea of taking on many projects, and I remembered the first time I learned the word “pivot”. I was like 8 years old maybe.
My Dad was coaching me in basketball and he was showing me the rules of the game.
When you pick the ball up you have to keep one foot screwed to the ground, but otherwise you can move around.
What a great metaphor for life.
I’ve come to appreciate the power of this word pivot when it comes to life.
Once you have some safety & security (aka the foundation of wellness and self care), then feel free to go wild and try things out.
The reality is we can be scared of change, or we can find joy in change.
I think the scariest thing today is that this change can happen super fast.
A pivot is about changing direction, reorienting yourself to face a new path. I suppose this appreciation is similar to what my friend Paul talks about in his book “The Pathless Path”.
A willingness to re-imagine how we see life as a lot more random and unpredictable in ways.
Instead of a straight, linear journey down one highway, you might find some joy you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise by switching roads, or even vehicles all together.
Each pivot, or new path is a chance to discover new parts of you, or those you serve.
The Reality of Modern Life
It might seem difficult to believe you can completely reinvent yourself.
But the reality is less and less of society is guaranteed these days.
As we move further away from a predictable schedule and work style society of the factory days to a much more interconnected, crazy, creative world, we can’t really predict much.
Visualizing Life’s Journey
Life milestones used to be pretty contained to a few major moments. Graduation, securing a career, buying a home, marriage, parenting, and well retirement.
But now, instead of five or six moments, we might have 20 or 30. A midlife crisis doesn’t really need to be a thing. By midlife these days you could already have had multiple companies, traveled the world and collaborated with hundreds of people around the globe.
Embracing Change
In today’s world, we often feel pressure to find one true calling. But the stories of people who did many things reminds us it’s okay to take a side road, or change direction all together.
This could be in sequence, like a career change. It could be simultaneous like playing music at night and running an email newsletter by day.
It could be micro, like switching from X to Instagram as your go to social media platform to post to. Or it could be macro like becoming a graphic designer instead of a podcaster.
Insights from Barbara Sher
As a multi-passionate person who struggles with things like “finding a niche” or “focusing” Barbara Sher’s book, “Refuse to Choose!” is really helpful for feeling safe to make a pivot. For feeling sane instead of psycho. Man she’s another person I wish I could interview.
She calls us “Scanners,” people with multiple interests and passions who often feel pressured to pick one path but just can not!
She encourages embracing all your interests and seeing this as a strength.
According to her, allowing yourself to pivot and explore different passions while controlling the chaos just enough leads to vitality.
You know what I love telling people?
That most people get this full saying wrong:
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes is better than a master of one.”
Famous Real-Life Examples of Pivots
Let’s look at some famous real-life examples of pivots. And note these are just the major changes these folks made. They actually have a ton of other passion projects, too many to list.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
A classic example of someone who successfully pivoted multiple times.
From a Mr.Olympia bodybuilder to a wildly successful actor and eventually getting into politics.
Martha Stewart
She began her career as a stockbroker on Wall Street but later pivoted to become a successful caterer. This venture led her to write her first cookbook, launching her into the world of publishing.
And overall she continued to build a massive empire with hundreds of business pillars.
Ken Jeong
This one is my kid’s favorite. Ken initially pursued a career in medicine, becoming a licensed physician.
However, his passion for comedy and acting led him to pivot big time. He began performing stand-up comedy and eventually became a superstar in TV and movie.
Dwayne Johnson
“The Rock” began his career as a football player, then professional wrestler. He pivoted to acting, where he is one of the most beloved, highly paid actors ever. Not content with performing, he also ventured into business, launching many successful ventures.
Snoop Dogg
Starting as a rapper, Snoop quickly became a prominent figure in the Hip Hop industry. His smooth voice and unique style brought him fame, but he didn’t stop there. He pivoted into acting, and then big time into business. But the most fun thing? The dude is competing in track and field in his mid fifties!
Focus Is Important Too
Now let me just mention something quickly. This is not a public service announcement for “not finding focus”. This doesn’t mean you need to make pivots.
Focusing is exactly what many people need.
A single, predictable path is helpful to many of you.
What this is, is a reminder that for those of us who struggle to go super niche, or pick just one thing, you really can make big changes relatively quickly.
That we shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting a change. Life’s literally too short for that shit.
Life can be a straight line from birth to death, or a squiggly one, with a lot of twists and turns. You get to choose.
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