Surely you have read or heard countless times that you must focus, that you must put all your energy into a small and well-defined area and that you must specialize in. It is often said that the ability to focus well is essential to have a truly successful professional career. For many people, narrowing down more, and following a niche strategy, is usually very beneficial.
But for many professionals (and I include myself in this group), concentrating on a very specific field, in a niche, can be painful. Some people enjoy having a “Renaissance” view of life and career. We are people who enjoy variety and who are not too motivated to limit ourselves to a very specific area. So, what can we do as people who have several passions? Below I share with you 7 IDEAS THAT CAN HELP YOU IF YOU HAVE SEVERAL PASSIONS.
- EXPERIMENT. One of the best ideas is to experiment with different ideas, to see how you feel about each one and to see which area in your life can make the most sense and where you can be most successful. Just test, experiment, and see how everything goes. Dorie Clark, an expert in personal branding and professional reinvention, often compares this idea of experimentation with investing in startups: “investment experts say that you should make small investments in various startups, since most of them will not turn out well… but the one you get right, you will get Big results”. So, try and experiment, especially in the early years of your professional career.
- ANALYZE THE RESULTS. You must be attentive to how your bet evolves in each professional field. Find out in which activities or market niches you feel better and get the best results. In addition, fashions and trends are changing (increasingly faster) so you should also be aware of these trends.
- DECIDE. Do not wait to have your strategy completely clear. Start, decide, and jump into the pool. As Harry Truman said “imperfect action is better than perfect inaction”. No decision is irreversible, you can correct and modulate your strategy later.
- CONNECT PASSIONS. Sometimes the best way to manage it is by connecting passions. In my case, leadership and marketing have been 2 of my great passions. I discovered years ago that personal branding had a clear combination of these 2 disciplines and for this reason, I opted for personal branding. Working as a consultant and trainer in a field like personal branding allows me to combine 2 of my passions. Think about how you can connect some of your passions.
- FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION. Many times, our intuition knows more about us than we do ourselves. Therefore, listen to your intuition and pay attention to her. Surely it knows better than you what you really want to do.
- BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR VALUES. Many times, rather than thinking about what market niche you want to serve or what discipline you want to specialize in, think about what your values are. Identify what is important to you. And along these lines, think about which of your passions is most compatible with your values.
- CHOOSE WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE. Surely at different times in your life you will want different things. For example, in my professional career, there have been times in which I have wanted to travel more, and discover new countries and in other moments, just the opposite. In my career I have always paid attention to what I felt like. And, analyzing the options that I had at each moment of my career, I have chosen the one that most appealed to me at that moment.
Well, here are 7 ideas that will help you if you have several passions and need help managing them. I end with a quote from Leonardo da Vinci: “to develop a complete mind, study the science of art and study the art of science. Learn to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”
