For the longest time I saw my behavior as indecisive, lacking direction, constant internal turmoil. I saw myself as a Jane of all trades, good at a lot of things, master of none. This wasn’t a trait I took pride in, henceforth never something I said out loud. In fact, I often counted my varied passions as as a curse, more of a deficit to my character, than they were of any benefit. I’ve always advocated for women being not only anything, but EVERYTHING they want, and I continue to hold that we CAN have it all.
Over the years I’ve had 4+ businesses. It started in college with a passion for photography, and a hopeless romantic addiction to love. Through the second half of my schooling, and for a few years after I had a wedding photography business. Mostly engagements during the “school year” (funny to think of time in that structure these days), and weddings primarily in summer and fall. Following graduation, I went right into a career in marketing, so weddings proved to be the perfect weekend gig.
A couple years later while still working in publishing for my 9-5, I began dabbling in blogging. I’d started a personal blog years back, as many did in the days of Blogger, but I’d never taken it seriously, it was more of an online journal for my early college days. Now, it was 2012, and fashion blogs were beginning to find their place. I’d worked as a stylist for Nordstrom throughout high school and college, and regularly tried to make the most of my closet whether I was headed to the office or an event. One weekend, after a few sleepless nights, Glitterary was born.
Glitterary became the perfect form of self expression fusing my passion for photography and fashion in one. I taught myself web development, designed all of Glitterary’s branding, and hit publish. These were the early days of social media and influencer marketing, and quickly Glitterary began to gain recognition. A year or so later what began as a passion project, and frankly somewhat of an experiment, started to see some business potential with noteworthy brand partnerships.
Did I mention that during this time I also started consulting for startups and large corporations in marketing. Enter business No. 3. I loved working for myself, strategizing for new businesses, and writing for a wide variety of organizations across various industries–– again, an incredible opportunity to exercise my professional expertise while dabbling in a variety of topics I enjoyed.
Fast forward a couple years more, and we moved to Texas. I met with an advertising agency, accepted a new position and perhaps the largest client I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with, and decided to take a break from all other side projects. I have a tendency to go all out once I start something I’m excited about, but like any human will inevitably do, I too eventually crash. In 2015 I was tired & running on empty. Glitterary had grown to demand the time and dedication of a second job, and in a season of writer’s block, I began to experience a lot of doubt about my purpose in blogging at all .
Less than a year later, we moved across country again, and this time I switched careers all-together, pursuing yet another passion: fitness. Once we reached California, I hit the books (I don’t think I’d studied Anatomy since high school!). I passed my exams, became a certified personal trainer, and eventually a pilates instructor as well.
I spent 3 years working for Equinox, discovered a whole new depth to my own abilities, and experienced a human connection in my work unlike ever before. In college I’d minored in women’s studies and taken as many counseling courses as I could get my hands on. 80% of my clients in fitness were women, and to this day I feel incredibly honored to have played a role in their transformations towards more complete and healthy lives.
I trained clients up until the day before Winn was born, but following his birth, I decided to start training clients privately, teaching only a few group classes a week. By now, I’d learned my value in the industry and earned the flexibility; going private was the right business decision. During my 3+ years in fitness, I’d maintained a few freelance/contract marketing projects on the docket, and training privately now allowed me to dive back into that space. Over the last year I’ve been juggling about a 50/50 split between training and marketing clients.
I share all of this for context. I’ve tried it all! I’ve not only allowed my varied passions to exist, but I’ve explored them freely! I’ve never held back, I’m this strange combination of type A future planner and free spirit. I think Paul once called me a “weird blend of perfectionism and having fun”.
I also live by the belief that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room… aka., either humble yourself and start learning, or find a more challenging room. I’ve spent every year after formal schooling either bettering myself in my craft, or learning a new one. I’ve invested a lot in myself both in time and money, even though at times the subject matters didn’t make sense. A benefit to being multi-passionate: we learn fast, diving deep into new subject matters that excite us, and soaking in as much as we can at a rapid pace! We’re also more comfortable being beginners in new categories, because frankly, we’ve been beginners a lot in our lives. Having a variety of interests isn’t for the faint of heart, I’ll tell you that much. Luckily, a lot of the skills we learn along the way are transferable, so rarely are we actually starting from scratch.
“A benefit to being multi-passionate: we learn fast, diving deep into new subject matters that excite us, and soaking in as much as we can at a rapid pace! We’re also more comfortable being beginners in new categories, because frankly, we’ve been beginners a lot in our lives. ”
If I’m honest, I’m proud of all I’ve accomplished, but more often than not, my multi-passionate spirit still haunts me. Juggling multiple professional identities can be confusing and often discouraging, especially when someone asks what you do for a living… where do you begin, and will any of it even make sense when you say it out loud? Will you seem juvenile, and will they judge you?…
I’m terrified to be in my 30s, and not have the structure or stability that comes with one single career. I’m deeply invested in all of my work. No matter the field, I consider my work a direct reflection of not only my skill, but also my standards. If my name’s attached to anything, you can bet it’s going to be as close to perfection as humanly possible, which is perhaps why some of these businesses have ended before meeting their full potential. That part stings.
That being said, I believe life is intentional and difficult seasons are meant to develop character. During the years that we moved from one state to the next, we were thrown quickly into entirely new ecosystems of work, community, and environment. To be clear, these were all relocation opportunities and seasons of change we chose to dive into. Change sucks, but change also produces opportunity, and subconsciously, I think we’ve always craved self-development. I clearly remember deciding whether to move to California, it wasn’t so much whether it was the right move, but whether we would always look back and wonder “what if”.
“Change sucks, but change also produces opportunity!”
I know that for me each of these experiences has made me more agile and resilient. I’ve reinvented myself time and time again, and can now not only relate to others’ stories in a more authentic way, but am able to dive deeper and more effectively into new conversations, developing trusting relationships with both friends and colleagues in a short period of time. Another pro to being multi-passionate, we adapt quickly, and can morph into whatever is needed for that time or season. We’re good at our work, but we’re even better because of our ability to take on various roles.
To be clear, I think we’re all multi-passionate in some capacity, it’s what makes us human, and gives us depth, but I do think some are more singularly focused, and for that I’m grateful– the world, and I, need you! I should also state, that not all those who are multi-passionate easily get bored. All the contrary, my frustration, as I’m sure is shared by many, is not the disinterest in one passion and need for another, rather the lack of time in a day to accomplish everything I aspire to within all of my varied interests. I think this is a common sentiment among women, especially. No woman is ever simply one thing, because the roles we play don’t exist independent of one another– we are mothers, CEOs, spouses, athletes, & more simultaneously.
From the longest time, I’ve seen my multi-passionate nature as a deficit to my character, a burden, a curse… but I have to admit, that stubborn, competitive, & somewhat rebellious spirit intent on proving that women can be anything & everything they want is also what drives me!
Being multi-passionate doesn’t fit into our social norms, and there’s a lot of self-inflicted pressure that comes with that, but the beauty’s in intersections– that sweet spot where our passions connect and the skills from one enhance the next. Being multi-passionate makes us highly intuitive individuals, curious explorers, creative thinkers, agile problem solvers, and more well rounded human beings.
Being multi-passionate requires courage and grit, but it has it’s perks, and I’m learning to recognize and hold true to those.
