The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One

244 Pages·2006·1.92 MB·English

by  Margaret Lobenstine

CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Praise for The Renaissance Soul
INTRODUCTION: Are You a Renaissance Soul?
Part I: Claiming Your Renaissance Soul
ONE Renaissance Souls: Who You Are—and Who You're Not
TWO Yes, but . . . : Common Doubts of the Renaissance Soul
Part II: Thriving on Many Interests Without Feeling Scattered
THREE Panning for Golden Values
FOUR The Power of Renaissance Focal Points
Part III: Practical Realities: Career Design for Pursuing Your Passions
FIVE Your J-O-B: No More Day Jobs
SIX Getting Paid for Your Passions
SEVEN But I Don't Want to Go Back to School!: Alternative Resources for Renaissance Souls
EIGHT What If I've Got My Whole Life Ahead of Me?: Renaissance Soul Strategies for Young
People
Part IV: Successful Life Design for Renaissance Souls
NINE Committing Yourself to Action the Renaissance Soul Way
TEN Time-Management Magic for Renaissance Souls
ELEVEN Staying the Course: Overcoming Momentum Blockers
Part V: Going Deeper
TWELVE If It's Still Hard to Get Going . . .
CONCLUSION Be a Role Model!
Relevant Readings
So What's Next?
Your Renaissance Soul Notebook
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright Page
This book is dedicated first and foremost to Renaissance Souls the world
over, whose multitude of interests and talents are a gift to us all; to my
late parents, who would have been thrilled to hold it in their hands; and,
with such profound gratitude, to my husband, Geoff, and my daughters,
Heather and Lori, who have been on this journey with me so lovingly
from beginning to end.
Advance Praise for
The Renaissance Soul
“Wow! Where was The Renaissance Soul when I needed it during my five career changes? This is a
fabulous guide for people who find themselves constantly tap dancing from job to job. Benjamin Franklin
would be proud!”
—Julie Jansen, author of I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This
“Sure to speak to Boomers and older people who have done many things well yet feel sidelined by a culture
that rewards consistency and focus. Margaret Lobenstine makes the world safer for the multigifted of any
age who are well served by her wit and wisdom. Bravo!”
—Marika and Howard Stone, coauthors of Too Young to Retire: 101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life
“The Renaissance Soul is welcome news for individuals who just can't make up their mind ‘what they want
to be when they grow up!' Career coach Margaret Lobenstine shows how you can have it all and create a
structure for yourself that blends your many talents, abilities, and intelligences into one vital and satisfying
lifestyle.”
—Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., author of Seven Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences
“Finally the multigifted have a champion. But anyone feeling that they only need a little sunshine in order
to blossom will find this book bursting with light—it has all the creative and practical ideas they need for
getting life on toward its purpose.”
—Elaine Aron, Ph.D., author of The Highly Sensitive Person and The Highly Sensitive Child
“With this long-overdue book, Margaret finally reveals that the constantly evolving people among us are
actually the ones most equipped to thrive in a world where adaptability, creativity, and emotional awareness
are the qualities that make all the difference in career/life success. It's about time we acknowledged that the
career track has been replaced by the career trampoline. As a career counselor and coach and former
director of a career office working with people ages eighteen to eighty, I know that Lobenstine's message
will be welcomed both by Renaissance Souls searching for twenty-first-century career advice and by the
professionals hoping to provide it.”
—Dr. Barbara Reinhold, author of Free to Succeed: Designing the Life You Want in the New Free Agent Economy and former director of Smith
College Office of Career Development
“For all the people who have a multitude of passions, this book's for you. The life journey we take to
answer to our own Self may be different from the ‘norm.' Margaret Lobenstine is a wise guide on that
journey, offering help and inspiration as you develop fully into the Renaissance Soul that you are meant to
be! This book will be a cherished traveling companion.”
—Marilyn Tam, former president of Reebok Apparel and Retail Group and international-selling author of How to Use What You've Got to Get What
You Want
“The Renaissance Soul accurately solves what has long been an unsolvable problem—how people with ‘too
many' talents and interests can manage their diverse passions. With warmth, insight, and helpful exercises,
Lobenstine helps these souls find their way to making a contribution . . . and finally feeling complete about
what they're here to do.”
—Suzanne Falter-Barns, author of Living Your Joy
“This amazing, inspiring, and practical book encourages us to take joy in our dazzling array of legitimate
life choices and to make those choices boldly and fearlessly. The book is perfect to use with clients in my
empowerment-coaching practice.”
—Helena Judith Sturnick, Ph.D., executive and empowerment coach for twelve years and former president of several campuses
“Many of my coaching clients are individuals searching for more meaningfulness in their life and work, and
organizational leaders who have made it yet are unable to figure out why they feel lost. Margaret
Lobenstine has developed a breath of fresh air, along with a model of liberation for people who have felt
that they don't fit in their life and work. The Renaissance Soul is an inspiring and easy-to-use approach that
helps me guide my secret Renaissance Soul clients.”
—Bernie Saunders, consultant for Fortune 500 companies, foundations, small manufacturers, and health-care providers
“The Renaissance Soul is the consummate Social Artist, embodying the complex interests and open hearts
that are needed now in the global world. Today, when the world mind is taking a walk with itself, we
require a consciousness that can encompass the multiple realities we face. This work gives us tools that
enable that needed growth in consciousness.”
—Jean Houston, Ph.D., author of Jump Time and senior consultant to the United Nations Development Programme
Do you feel a pang of envy when you hear someone say, “I've always
known exactly what I wanted to do ever since I was a kid”?
Do you get down on yourself for being a “jack-of-all-trades, master of
none” because you are fascinated by many subjects but have never
become an expert in any of them?
Or are you an expert in one or more areas but feel trapped by other
people's expectations that you will stay in your current field for the rest
of your life?
Are you frustrated by career books or college advisors who insist that
you identify just one passion or goal?
Do you enjoy following a diverse and ever-evolving set of interests but
feel thwarted by family members or friends who ask, “Why on earth
can't you find something you like and stick with it?”
If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on! Chances are you're a
Renaissance Soul, a person who thrives on a variety of interests and who
redefines the accepted meaning of success. And chances are you're struggling—
maybe a little, maybe a lot—because not everyone in our culture understands
your approach to work and other pursuits. Take heart. With the advice in this
book, you can transform this aspect of your personality into a powerful tool for
designing a vibrant, fulfilling life.
PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!
H
ow do I define Renaissance Souls? In a nutshell, we are people whose
number-one career or hobby choice is “Please don't make me choose!” We're
much more inclined to pursue a slew of interests than to narrow our options to a
single one. Renaissance Souls love nothing better than to take on a new problem
or situation and then dig into it . . . until we master the challenge we've set for
ourselves. And then, with fresh enthusiasm, we move on to another passion. We
are lucky people who, if left to our own devices, are never bored for long.
Yet sometimes Renaissance Souls don't feel so lucky. Despite a long and
proud history of Renaissance Souls who've negotiated treaties, invented
revolutionary machines, written great novels, and led victorious armies, our
culture often insists that we are defective. In fact, it's common for new clients to
sink into my office rocking chair, sighing, “What's wrong with me? Why can't I
get my act together?” or “Why doesn't anyone ‘get' me?”
Marcie: Stuck at the Bottom of the Ladder
Marcie, for example, came to me after a hectic day working as a receptionist for
a busy medical practice. She was late because her ancient station wagon had
broken down again and she'd needed to borrow a car. “That's the bottom-line
reason why I'm here,” she told me. “I need to earn more money. I need to find a
career and get moving. I can't be scheduling pediatric appointments for the rest
of my life unless I want to be a bag lady when I retire!”
When I asked Marcie what else she'd done with her life, she went on at
length. After working herself silly in college, pursuing a double major in
astronomy and French and also vigorously participating in theater, she had taken
a break by traveling abroad for a year. And then she'd worked as a nanny to pay
off the money she'd borrowed to travel, and then she'd worked as a set person in
off-off-off-Broadway productions, and then she'd worked in a travel agency, and
then . . . “Well, you get the picture,” Marcie said. “My parents are getting tired
of explaining to people, ‘Oh, Marcie just hasn't settled down yet.' And it's true.
I'm twenty-seven years old and I have never picked just one thing and stuck with
it. How could I? Every time I come up with a potential career, I think of at least
two other possibilities. So rather than zeroing in on the perfect career choice, I
go on filling my time with dead-end jobs, like the one I have now.”
Craig: “Too Many” Successes
Unlike Marcie, thirty-five-year-old Craig had successfully developed many of
his talents without pressuring himself to choose just one. But he felt unfairly
dismissed by other people who couldn't see the value of his unconventional
credentials. When I met him, Craig was a published poet and the leader of a
popular local band. He arrived at his first appointment feeling stuck and very
angry. “I just don't get it,” he practically yelled. “I have letters of reference that
would turn most people green. But just because I've done lots of different things,
just because my résumé is unconventional—the woman I interviewed with
yesterday called it a ‘hodgepodge'—no one wants to hire me! I've gotten really
intrigued by financial planning management. But even when I say I'm willing to
take on an entry-level position, everyone keeps asking me if I took any business
courses in college or whether I've ever ‘been in sales.' ‘Everyone in the art world
is in sales,' I say, but they just don't get it. I never even make it to the second
interview . . . Is it a crime to be multitalented?”
Jim: At the Top and Hating It
Another client, Jim, had an extremely “respectable” résumé, but like Marcie and
Craig, he also was feeling stuck when he scheduled his first appointment with
me. Wearing an elegant three-piece suit and driving a shiny black Lexus, he
exuded success. He had entered the family construction business as a young man
and shown great flair for the financial, construction, and human resources sides
of the enterprise. By the time I saw him he was running a hugely expanded
corporation. As he approached his forty-fifth birthday, everything seemed to be
going his way. Except . . .
Except that Jim was now avoiding going to work. Avoiding placing outreach
calls. Avoiding working on the upcoming five-year plan. Not answering his
phone. His wife was concerned and referred him to me. What was the matter?
“To put it bluntly, I'm bored to death!” Jim finally blurted out. “I just cringe
inside when I think of spending the rest of my life on proposals and bidding and
merging and schmoozing and hiring and firing. I know I'm good at it all, and I
know most people would love to be in my shoes. But I'm not most people. In
fact, I feel like I don't fit in my own shoes.”