It's Okay to Be "One of Those People"

Egad! I’ve been neglecting this blog. I started it after reading Austin Kleon’s book "Show Your Work," and it was supposed to be a place for me to share my process with The World.  I also started a Tumblr for things that interested me, just like Austin’s scrapbook.  Then I wondered if I should have a Tumblr for process as well. Then I got overwhelmed by the idea of multiple blogs. 

And the days went by.

And then I got distracted by a multitude of things.  Oh no! Would I become “one of those people”?  The ones who never finish anything? 

Then two things happened.

1. I decided that I would maintain a single blog that would be for sharing process AND things that interested me.

2. Right around that time I discovered PuttyLike.  It’s a website dedicated to people who have many different interests and skills and embrace that as a strength rather than a weakness.  These are people who haven’t necessarily specialized in one thing in terms of work.  Some of them are thriving.  The others are getting there!  

What do you call these individuals?  Renaissance souls, scanners, multipotentialites.  The mastermind behind the site, Emilie Wapnick, coined these terms.  I call that brilliance.

Words fail me.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to have discovered this group of people.  I can connect with them through what’s called The PuttyTribe!!!!!!  I don’t feel like such a freak. 

And I can be one of those people who doesn’t necessarily finish everything.  Having so many interests and being “distracted” by such a variety of things keeps my mind wedged open and makes it easier for me to connect with more kinds of people.  Being a Jack of All Trades has made me a Master of Several!  So being a multipotentialite has actually enhanced my life.  I knew this but had forgotten.  Seeing successful scanners has made me remember.

Thank you, PuttyLike and Emilie Wapnick for this fantastic gift!

We’re approaching the end of PuttyFest, a time to make The World aware of multipotentiality, but I hope you’ll still jump over to the PuttyLike site and poke around, perhaps read the article on not finishing what you start (Yah, I can really relate to that article, "Oh, she's just being Zee.  Who knows what she'll come up with next.  How cute.  Maybe this year she'll get serious and get a job.")  

 I hope you go there, and I hope you stay for a while!