What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s the number one thing the adults want to know when you’re little. But I’m not sure they’re really interested in the answer…
Mine was “a primary school teacher who writes books on the side. I just want to teach and write all day.”
“Awww, that’s cute,” they’d say. “But there’s no such thing. You can either be a teacher or a writer. And by the way, you won’t make much money either way.”
That’s how it all starts, isn’t it? The myth of the “one true calling.”
The Pressure To Find Your Calling
When you’re little, you believe you can be whatever you want. An astronaut who also runs a hotel. An artist who sings, acts, and paints. A CEO AND a musician AND a sports star.
But, the adults are quick to set you straight. When they ask you about your future career plans, they expect you to pick just one career. Like lawyer. Or doctor. Or hairdresser.
You can’t make money if you try to do all the things…
But what if you don’t care about money and just want to do what you love?
You hear the same message again. Focus on your passion. Singular. Like you only have one thing you love…
The reason why most people struggle to find their passion is because they have too many. Nothing stands out, so they think they’re broken and have no passion.
That’s why I prefer to focus on purpose. But even this can be a slippery slope. If you believe, like I do, that you’re here on this planet for a reason and have a mission to accomplish, you can follow into the trap of thinking there’s only one way to fulfil it.
It doesn’t matter where you turn to, the world wants you to be a one-trick pony. But what if you really don’t have just one calling?
Struggling to find your life purpose? Download your FREE Purpose Finder Workbook below to discover it today:
Related: Do You Have Too Many Passions And No Idea Which One To Choose? Take This Test
It’s OK To Have More Than One Calling
Some people are happy to do just one thing forever. They know from the cradle what they want to be when they grow up and dedicate their entire life to it. If that’s you, awesome.
But, most people aren’t wired this way. Human beings are multi-faceted and have lots of different passions and interests they want to explore.
This doesn’t make you flaky or wrong. It makes you multi-passionate.
Multi-passionate people are very creative. They have lots of different skills and talents. They see possibilities the rest of us never thought of.
They can’t do just one thing for the rest of their lives. That’s too boring. Limiting. Stifling. A total waste of their skills and potential.
Multi-passionate people have a life purpose, just like everyone else. They just fulfil it in a different way.
Related: How To Be Multi-Passionate Without Looking Flaky
How To Fulfil Your Life Purpose When You’re Multi-Passionate
Your calling, your purpose in life, isn’t a job. You weren’t born just to be an accountant or a web designer.
Your life purpose is the motivating aim of your life. Think of it as a manifesto for your life. The overarching theme that links all your passions, skills, and values together.
Confusing? I’ll give you an example.
I’m passionate about business, psychology, teaching, and fashion. I’m skilled in writing, researching, and breaking down complicated concepts in easy-to-understand ways. I value freedom, honesty, and individuality.
I’ve spent years trying to monetise each of these passions and skills separately… and feeling like I was cutting an arm off in the process.
Until I put all the pieces together and realised that my purpose is to help people find their zone of genius and achieve their full potential.
I do this by coaching people to find their life purpose and create a business around it, so they can use their skills, passions, and values to do what they were born to do.
But I could have gone a different route. I could do it by being a primary school teacher and helping students recognise and nurture their skills and talents. I could be a motivational speaker or self-help writer.
And you know what? Maybe one day, I’ll wear those hats too.
When you know what your purpose is, you can express it in different ways, based on new skills you acquire, new life experiences you go through, or what stage of life you’re in.
The easiest way is to create a business that combines all your skills, passions, and values under the same purpose and theme. That way, you can do and talk about different things all the time and have it all merge together seamlessly.
Author Chris Guillebeau does this really well. His theme is non-conformity. He talks about business, personal development, travel and a few other things. It works because all these different passions help his readers live an unconventional life.
Related: Two Ways To Start A Business When You’re Multi-Passionate
Don’t worry about getting your calling wrong. You can’t get it wrong. Figure out what your life purpose is and the best, easiest way to fulfil it now. And if you feel called to pursue it in a different way in the future, follow that.
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