So people like me, who like to do a lot of things well, are not freaks after all - or dilettantes, or jacks-of-all-trades, masters-of-none. We are “Renaissance Souls,” according to a new book by career and life coach Margaret Lobenstine, and that is something to be proud of and to celebrate.
In what has got to be the first book ever to celebrate the people who do lots of things well and hate to settle on just one passion, The Renaissance Soul offers a workable system for planning your best life - or lives - and not having to say “no” to any dream. From Leonardo da Vinci to Ben Franklin to Oprah, the role models of multi-talented people also include many folks just like you and me who have made their lives into a multi-faceted success.
Lobenstine first tells us who is, and isn’t, a true Renaissance Soul, then shows you how to claim your newfound title and learn to thrive on many interests without losing focus and energy. She gives plenty of practical advice for career planning, dealing with day jobs, learning which few passions to focus on, managing time and keeping momentum, and even ways to assure that you really can achieve all your dreams in whatever time you think you may or may not have.
Although so much of this book can be of help to anyone, it really is geared towards the unique individuals who may want to paint, plan weddings AND write children’s books, and who refuse to choose just one. It is possible to succeed and achieve, as the author shows with her strategies and tools, but she also warns that one passion too many could trip up even the dynamic, flexible Renaissance Soul. Creating a set of Focal Points helps pinpoint the real desires that should be pursued, and allows you to set up a life design plan for doing so.
There are plenty of tests to take, exercises to do, and suggestions to be implemented that can truly help the Renaissance Soul to become a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-all and to stop thinking in terms of making choices between desires, and instead learn to use the power of focus to be able to live a life that includes many paths to walk, and enough energy and enthusiasm to walk them.