Before swinging over here to write this blog post, I thought I’d log in to the Puttytribe to see what new discussions had popped up over night. I wish I could just copy and paste what I found, but that would compromise the safe space I’m trying to cultivate.
One of our early pioneer members, who had been struggling with defining her overarching theme, had just started a discussion called: “Breakthrough: My way to Get paid to be ME! (30 days post-breakdown…lol)”
Yes!!
Her post was all about the business idea that she’d finally arrived at. She had smooshed together three interest subgroups to create one very specific, cohesive theme, but one that would allow her to explore many of her interests and try out different formats. Her message was unique, marketable, and inspiring.
The best part though, was what she referred to in her title here: “30 days post-breakdown…”. See, when this particular Puttytribe member first arrived in the Tribe, I was a little worried. Her initial forum post was called: “Overwhelmed and Accomplishing Nothing”
Of course, the group jumped in to lend some support and advice back then. We all knew exactly what she was going through, as most multipotentialites have a lot of experience dealing with overwhelm.
I think that helped at the time. But actually waking up today to this new discussion she’d posted in the “Small Wins” section of the forum? Amazing. Congratulations, unnamed puttypeep!
The contest
As you guys know, we will be opening up the doors of the Puttytribe to 50 new members on Tuesday, April 17.
We’re limiting the number of Puttypeep we let in that day because we really want to make sure that we have the energy to devote to the group, and that it’s an awesome experience for everyone. If you’d like a spot in the Tribe, you may have to be a bit nimble with the fingers that morning… Or you could just enter this contest. š
We’re giving away 2 free lifetime memberships to the Puttytribe. That means that if you get picked, you’ll have free access to the Tribe for as long as it exists. Pretty sweet.
How to enter
All you have to do is leave a comment answering the following question:
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
The deadline is Friday, April 13 at midnight, and the two winners will be announced in next Monday’s post.
Good luck, multipods
I’m a little nervous about the idea of going tribal, but I want to throw my name in the hat. Intelligent folks who share my particular dilemma of being a multipotentialite and who are sustaining themselves through embracing complexity and variety are people whom I would love to know and connect with.
I think the Puttytribe would be awesome to give me a much needed kick in the pants, encouragement as well as information. I have a ton of projects on my plate at any given time, and overwhelm is a major issue with me. Like hide under the covers bad. š Plus I’m always looking for something new to add to my (already overflowing) plate, and I’m sure there is someone in the Puttytribe that could help me learn my new interest, give advice, etc.
Now I’m off to grab more coffee!
Well it is the only community I know of that encourages building a sustainable life around ALL my interests. I keep feeling like I have to choose one thing or another, and people seem to encourage me to stick to one thing and always tell me I’m trying to do too much. Yes, I AM trying to do too much. . . but I HAVE to! I have to do it all! I could really use some support to get past thinking that I’m just sabotaging myself, and find a way to make my hyper-interest in LIFE support my survival.
This is an amazing offer!
I only found the puttylike website a couple of weeks ago after following a link from another blogger and I am so thrilled to find others out there like me…
I feel like the Puttytribe is the perfect community to help me build a sustainable life around all my interests as I have yet to find a ‘real’ person (as in not online) that is the same as me and to be in direct contact with other multipotentialites will really help me to grow. I am a mummy of two and still feel totally lost, I was unable to go back to work after having my kids and really need something to keep me going, it’s so hard to have all these ideas and be held back by the kids, not that it is their fault because if I was at work I still wouldn’t be able to go off on my little ideas……any way, I’d love a place in your tribe š
So, I was just recently sent to this blog by a good friend. I spoke to her about that fact that I was changing my major…again. I was feeling bad about it, because it meant (in my head) that I was quitting something else in a long line of things that I’ve “quit” in my life. But the thing is, I feel so good about what I am doing now because it is something that I’ve been really interested for a long time. The only reason why I didn’t want to pursue it earlier was that I was afraid of what others may think. Well, I am tired of this attitude. When I first started reading this blog, I couldn’t get enough. And to know that there are others out there like me? Well, that’s just icing on the cake. I’m really very brand new to the whole multipotentiality thing and sometimes feel that people will still look at me like I’m crazy. What I really need is a community of like-minded people to help inspire me. I can’t say as I need it more than any of these others, but I would love the opportunity.
Hey Emilie,
The point of differentiation between you and everyone else I’ve encountered online is you want to help us create a sustainable LIFE. Not just a business, not just a hobby, not just an intellectual capacity…life. Like, all of it.
And you don’t cap it at two or three interests to turn into putty and mash ’em all up in brilliant ways. If we come with ten things we’re passionate about then all the better. I’m really excited to see the doors open and find out more about what’s inside!
I would love to win this, because it’s like a yo-yo in my head where all of my interests keep pulling me in different directions. Even when I decide to do one thing, other things come in, and more often than not it’s frustrating to see a litter of million projects never finished especially when I know I am perfectly capable of finishing them. So what I need is focus to tie it all together, make it all work, and that’s why I think puttytribe can help me. And if it saves my sanity I’ll be forever grateful!
One word: support! I find it so difficult trying to build a business that includes all my interests when I am surrounded by people who donāt understand what Iām doing. All of my friends and family are still in 9-5 cubicle jobs and look at me like Iāve got bananas growing out of my ears when I try to explain what I have in mind for my life. I would love to be part of your community where we can all support one another in our efforts to build a life which includes all of our interests.
I started building my business from a place of zero knowledge in web design or blogging. I had no idea what I was doing and was overwhelmed every time I thought about it but I slogged through day after day, moving down my list of tasks that had to get done. I am not yet launched but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is only in the last couple of days that I have realized how much I have learned! Itās absolutely mind-boggling the amount of information Iāve absorbed from doing it all myself from scratch and the sense of accomplishment I feel from doing something I didnāt think I could do.
I would love to help others feel this proud of themselves! I want to be part of a support system for those who feel overwhelmed with information and have no support elsewhere. I would love to help them take the baby steps they need to get started so that they can move forward confidently! I believe everyone who wants to do this absolutely CAN, we all just need the right support system and a knowledgeable community in which we feel comfortable asking questions. I can’t imagine a community that better fits this description than the Puttytribe.
The puttytribe is a perfect tribe to help me build a sustainable life around ALL my interests…because it’s about two things: building and community. I think one of the worst feelings I’ve had as a multipotentialite is feeling that because of my multipotentiality I’ve ‘flitted’ from job to job and not ‘committed’ to things because I’m afraid the interest will burn out and I’ll get bored. Building something sustainable and knowing I have the community around me will be the best start to being able to inspire Others to be who they want to be. I’ve started taking baby steps with so many of my interests but know I will be streets ahead if I know I have friends cheering me on!
I would be grateful to win this.
Why me and why this community?
Well I have been a formative member of many communities in my life around (unsurprisingly) many different subject matters…philosophy, play, mythology, sports, health, food to name a few.
So I love the nascent sprit of the Puttytribe community and feel like I can really be of service to others as well be served.
More than anything I want to live in a culture of advocacy where people who really get and align with each other speak for and advocate for other fellow multipods…to me this is more powerful than traditional marketing. I believe that it can be scary to be a multipod in our unidirectional world and that being a member of this community can not only reduce fear but build relationships and potentially serve others in the future.
The answer is pretty simple: Figure out how to take the discordant, seemingly unmarketable ideas, talents and skills that I have and somehow combine them into some kind of wonderful, synergistic, marketable “thing”.
But….
I’m not sure I am quite at a place where I can take full advantage of this membership yet. Someone who has the time and drive to use it RIGHT NOW ought to win it. With that said, I hope that person wins AND thanks Emilie for such a great offer š
It is pretty funny to think about how I have been turned on to some of the most important and dramatically life changing books, pieces of information, concepts or (as in the case with Puttylike) Web sites. My wife sent me a link to your blog post about talking with strangers because she thought I’d like it. I sure did. I ravenously binged for several hours that day and was struck by the concept of multipotentialities and everything here just resonated with me instantly.
It was freeing to hear that there are many others people like me and that I can actually thrive and use my multipotentialite traits to my benefit. When I was a kid a very successful friend of my Dad’s used to ask me every time he saw me, “What are you going to do? Where are you going to go to college,” and it would freak me out every time and I’d have nothing to say other than, “Uh, I don’t know.” And then I’d feel like shit. Even now when I try to pin myself down to apply for a job or tell somebody what I do I find myself at the same loss for words. I’m into so much stuff and I’m hard to define. A lot of the time I end up overwhelmed and end up doing nothing. When I read about how you are pursuing tv and screen writing, something I also have developed a recent strong interest in, I realized how glad I was to have stumbled into the Puttylke world.
As much as this has all struck me, I still do not have a great understanding of how to to integrate my wide and sometimes fleeting gaggle of interests into a good life. I need constant support from a community of likeminded people to bounce ideas off of, get encouragement from and get called out by. I think I would be a great, positive and valuable addition to the tribe.
in lieu of my blog launch at the end of the month, the puttytribe would be the PERFECT platform for me to step it up, have a thriving community (or dare I say mastermind??) that I’ve been searching for, and help me monetize my blog. I want a life/business that can easily flow from one thing to the next. I have so many interests — web design, graphic design, writing, social outreach, art, perhaps even life coaching (??) — that I want a group that could help me make sense of it all and figure out how best to shine. I’d love to make likeminded people and feel that would be the catalyst for me.. I absolutely hate wasting my time at my current job. I realize more and more that I just do not know how to operate as an ’employee’ and I can’t do this… I’ve got 6 months to build my business/tribe and I’m going to DO THIS!
I think Barbara Sher said it best, when promoting her scanner retreats… that you need people like YOU to hang around, so the puttytribe would be that community of support. Very cool idea.
A lifetime membership to Puttytribe? I couldn’t think of anything I could use more right now! I am the spitting image of a multipotentialite…two and a half businesses, a million hobbies, two different degrees and a certificate, and completely in love with it all. What I would absolutely love right now, is to be a part of this community of like-minded people to learn how to expand and strengthen my businesses without the overwhelm that can accompany loving so much. I’ve already devoured Renaissance Business top to bottom and started redesigning my business around it. Additionally, I think I have many skills that I can bring to the table to help the others in the group. I’ve got a very keen eye for design and also have some business knowledge that I can share with the others. I specialize in helping creative entrepreneurs enhance their image, but I also just love helping people in general. Thanks so much for the opportunity! Fingers crossed!
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
Because I feel like I lead a double life (correction: I do). I have young ones at home, and a thirst for MORE and it’s a balancing act. I want to figure out how to make life at home just as fun, to fuel my other projects. And definitely a people person, who likes to brainstorm and help others reach their goals as well.
I can’t imagine anything better than being surrounded by multipods – aka “People who GET ME” – while I work to smoosh together my varied interests in a way that works perfectly for me! And I love brainstorming with fellow multis so it’s just going to be awesome!
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
It’s a startling thing to find out that your “flakiness” is something shared by a group of people, I don’t know any multipotentiates in the real world, so bringing together an online group to share and support one another is a brilliant idea.
Let’s turn Jack of All trades and master of none on it’s head and make that a positive comment not a criticism.
So I’ve recently quit my cube job and my 2 hour (total) daily commute to work from home. I want to return to making art and venture more into selling it. I’ve never done that before. My main challenge these days isn’t motivation to work. (I’ve been splitting time between art stuff and book promotion) The challenge lies in figuring out how to organize my time and best practices for getting out there. I know from experience that it’s really helpful to have a group of people from whom you can crowdsource ideas and solutions to problems. I’m pretty independent, but I respect the power that a community has to foster growth and provide motivation.
Since discovering Puttylike, I’ve felt an indescribably, nearly overpowering feeling of home. I’m 34 years old, and I’ve only known in the past year that it’s okay that I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, that it was actually fine that I could have a hobby passionately for two years, and then never to return to it. Here, I’ve felt the kind of enveloping acceptance that, frankly, I’d come to believe didn’t exist.
It’s that cynicism that keeps me from participating in online forums. I’m always there: listening, taking notes, assembling and curating the information. But the knowledge that no one would understand has always caused me to hold my tongue.
You’ve created a community where I can feel safe having a voice. And so it’s fitting that I take the chance and use that voice here, to enter your contest. Because if nothing else, Puttylike has taught me – finally! – that I don’t have to be silent.
There are so many things I want to do but not sure how to put it all together. I want to write about addiction, making music, and learning new things in your forties and beyond. I’m confused between the concept of finding a niche and going deep vs. finding an overarching theme. I would be interested in learning more about fitting everything under “one roof.” I just can’t see how this would work. For example, I just can’t fathom the concept of someone wanting to learn about writing songs, not being put off by seeing information on addiction on the same site.
I have registered four domain names and am starting to build out pages for them. Perhaps the Puttytribe could help me gain some clarity on this whole process.
Like so many other folks who love Puttylike, I’m surrounded by well-meaning friends and family who are firmly entrenched in the concept of having not only a single career path but choosing a career based on whether its projected to be lucrative in 10, 15, or 20 years. What happened to encouraging dreams and doing something that we love? I’m not looking solely for support for myself, but for ways to support all the peeps around me who are struggling with how to be a multipod in a world which believes in singularity and financial goals rather than dreams and living passionately. I want to help parents and teachers learn how to encourage their children and students to embrace their multiple talents and interests and build up their self-esteem and confidence rather than trash it and have children flounder as they feel like failures. Would love to be part of and provide encouragement for Puttytribe folks who are encountering the similar road-blocks along their path. Thanks, Emilie for your vision.
I have read somewhere that entrepreneurs are much like artists, to strategically create businesses from ideas. Within Puttylike where like-minded individuals energies merge together to support each other is a fascinating phenomenon, and thank you for creating this blog, this community that you, Emz, (can I call you that) have created. I would love to grow and expand on my freelancing gigs and support others on their entrepreneurial journeys. But most importantly with like minded people, I think having that rapport of challenging each other to go beyond comfort zones is the most important support one can have through Puttylike.
Why is puttlike the perfect fit for me: I felt like a misfit until I found puttylike. I felt like a boat with no rudder going this way and that following many interests. I wished I could just hurry up and figure out what I was supposed to be doing. Now I get it: I don’t have mutliple hobbies, I have many things that I do. Still, though, I’m just at the beginning of figuring this out and could really use some help sorting out an overarching theme and next steps. I’m making steps toward living my dreams, just could really use some help seeing what that could look like. (Please, please, please, universe…)
Why? Because if I’m going to build something, I’m going to need a knowledgeable and like minded team of builders around me. Granted, our culture tells us that we can do everything ourselves – just pick one thing…but truth be told, one person trying to build anything on their own is left to do it – one dimensionally. Shutting out insight, ideas and wisdom and worse leaving you burned out in the attempt to do it all. While I may like many things, I cannot do everything and anything worth doing, is worth doing well. This community is aiming at doing all you love well. If I’m going to build a sustainable life around ALL of my ineterests, I’m going to need a solid community of people to support me as I do it. A multidimensional community of influence to support me as I pursue a multipotential lifestyle.
Why is it perfect for me? Cause I know what I like but better yet, I know what I need. With the tribe behind me, anything I attempt to build is possible. Outside of that? This group just plain rocks and I want in.
Thanks Emily for the opportunity, you’ve forever changed our view and made it acceptable to be different.
Can I give 3 reasons?
Well, I’m gonna anyway…
1 – The Online world can be a lonely place and even if you do find others, they may not be like minded others – this would be my top reason for joining such a tribe
2 – because I was intrigued from the first moment I heard about puttylike – I learned what a scanner is (I am definitely one of these) and I think I would like to find out more (as well as contribute more assuming this really is about a community)
3 – getting to try such an offer for free, among many other offers out there competing for my time and money, not to mention my own interests (via a simple comment such as this one) makes it compelling enough to throw my hat in…
thanks & best wishes,
Alan
When I first read about this stuff, I was a little blown away… Here was a spot full of people who found focusing on one topic as tedious as me. The people on this site are truly inspiring on how they take a ‘weakness’ and make it the strongest point in their life. I technically run four blogs right now, and I’ll dabble on one really hard for a week or so, then migrate to the next one. It’s okay, but I bet it’s not as satisfying as actually figuring out how to make them smooshed together.
Thank you for this site. It’s kept me awake at nights dreaming!
Well, to break it down completely… I was born a multipotentialite!!
When I found your site my view of my self completely changed. I have completely embraced my multipotentiality as a strength rather than a weakness. I NEED Puttytribe!!
Best yet, I’ve found my overarching theme! Now I need this community to help me being all my branches together under my theme: Ethical Idealist. I feel I have so much to being to the community. I am a born listener, understanding, and nonjudgmental. I give more than take. I need to be needed.
Bring, not being!!! Lol
For one thing, I’m looking for a group of people (& hopefully friends) that can give me advice/encouragement from an understanding viewpoint. Few people around me really understand why I have such a hard time trying to make my dream a reality. They can’t give me the feedback I need on tying it all in because they don’t have a clue how to do it, either because they aren’t a multipotenialite or they are too scared to accept their puttylike tendencies.
I really had no clue how to explain what I was before I found Puttylike. I just thought I was the oddball that couldn’t make up her mind or was destined to fail because I was a little bit of everywhere. While some of my favorite creative coach blogs are amazing, this one seems to always hit the nail on the head with what I struggle with most.
I have a blog, but I want to grow from there…the only problem is there are times where I feel lost as to how to really get across everything I’m about. I feel like becoming part of the PuttyTribe will be a huge step to getting there…unfortunately the money is a problem right now. So that’s why I’m jumping for joy at the chance to win a membership.
Thanks Emilie for all you do! You’ve been a huge help so far & I can’t wait to keep learning & growing.
This fall, I’m launching a website & community to connect two very different spheres- inside/outside, mind/body, physical/spiritual. I’m using my favorite things, yoga & Photography, to help people see both their body and soul as beautiful, powerful and amazing. I’m teaming up with creatives all across the web- authors, writers, coaches, photographs, yogi, artists, and more to share their ideas for a more rich, full life with those who may only be interested in looking good on the outside & being physically in shape. I think the Puttytribe would be a fantastic place to help me pull all these divergent ideas and people together. I’m an engineer by day, with little practical blogging or writing skills, but I’m passionate and exhilarated by the thought of launching such an ambitious project that creates a bridge between beauty on the inside and outside. I need this tribe to keep me focused on making my dream a reality through my zeal for yoga & photography. Thank you!
I think that this has been the major stumbling block for me my whole life, in building a foundation of any one thing I am forced to set aside a great many other things.
I have always been interested in wide variety of things, which has slowly led me to pursue a design-centered self-employment where I can hop from personal styling, coaching, organization and filing, to teaching, to weaving, to invitations and package design, to screen printing and textile yardage, to tackling social ills via artistic media, to crafting up cute little ornaments, to diy hydroponic plants, to encouraging industrial adoption of natural dyed plants, to eco-friendly fashion endeavors, to beauty consultation, cosmetics application and skincare, to finding solutions to the not-so-standard retail fashion sizing, to studying the effects of color in a living space, to reimplementing creativity into k-12 education.
I would be greatly helped by the Puttytribe community because you get it. As I am building my life, the university system by which I am gaining expertise is set-up to funnel down to a single major and a narrow track for employment considerations. We all need encouragement, and this is the perfect melding of minds to legitimize the great worth of our multipotentiality in a world that reaaallllly just wants us to pick something. We know that we do not operate as the specialists do, those singularly devoted to a single topic of study. It only makes sense to draw on our strengths, which is that we can be excited by a great number of things.
Puttytribe will help me build that foundation solidly, with confidence.
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
New communities get created all the time, with varying results, but once in a while the seed of something truly magical is planted. Puttylike is one of those ideas. I would love to be involved because sometimes I underestimate myself, despite my talents, and this is a chance to show what I have to offer. I value clear, encouraging dialogue and constructive feedback. I feel a lack of community right now in my life and community is what I need as a sparkpoint – a place to find synergy to fuel the next chapter in my life. Instead of directing us, you are empowering us to create our own community and that is what excites me. I would love to be on board as this little nugget of amazeballs sprouts into something unlike anything out there. Wheeeeeee!
I have been searching for my “one” passion for years, trying and discarding more options than even I can remember, continuing to try new things, getting bored and moving onto the next thing that caught my attention. Constantly searching, trying to find that elusive, just out of reach passion/calling that everyone else seemed able to find. I read every book I could get my hands on, attended multiple seminars and worked with several coaches all in an attempt to find my calling -I just kept coming up empty or I couldn’t narrow it down to one thing.
I was just about to give up when I found Puttylike. It was like opening Pandora’s box! All the pieces started falling into place and finally it all became clear as to why I couldn’t find my one true calling, my passion. Finally, I got it, I wasn’t losing my mind. And I wasn’t the only one!
To be a part of the Puttytribe, to correspond with others just like me, would be such a liberating experience! To learn from others who have been able to take all of their interests and SMOOSH them into an overarching theme. To be a part of this support system, to help others with their personal challenges, to be a cheerleader, a shoulder and a friend.
Thanks, Emilie, for the opportunity!
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
In a world where one is expected to specialize or find ONE niche for a business and stick with it until the sun goes down, Puttylike has offered a place for all of us “Multipotentialites” to commingle, and not feel so isolated. I used to refer to people-like myself, with more than one interest and set of skills as “Hyphenates”, I’d savor any article written on an individual, such as an actor who also paints or sings or sculpts i.e. who is accomplished in another discipline. Such articles made me feel it’s possible to focus on a gathering of interests rather than that ONE THING.
Puttylike’s existance finally makes public the fact that there are others out there, but support is key as without it one can become unfocused and depressed due to outside criticism, and lack of understanding from those close to you. One needs approval from a supportive tribe, as many tribes i.e. family, friends could be offering less than helpful advice.
The Puttylike community serves to serve like-minded people with multiple interests and talents, I know I could benefit from this service and in turn would like to offer support so others may benefit as well.
Suzanne Urban
I’m looking forward to the Puttytribe opening. You could say I’ve been waiting my whole life, but more accurately for the last few years. I knew I couldn’t be alone when I started blogging years ago, so I went searching for kindred multipotentialite souls (I tend to use the term polymath). I found around two dozen or so over the years. The problem was that none seemed to have a community. Many just had trouble consistently blogging at all, let alone at a level of high quality. I’m fortunate to have found Emile here at Puttylike. Her passion has turned this dream of ours – a community to share our uniqueness together – into an awesome reality. Multipotentialites – polymaths – renaissance people are rejoicing everywhere! Great job Emile!
Yay for someone else who likes ‘polymath’! š
Hey I am voting for Joel and Colleen, Best answers Yet! And Mike Carlson Is pretty awesome as well!! Go team! woot woot
I am currently on the upward slope out of a depression, which I have realised partly is because I can’t see any further learning at my workplace. The depression caused me to miss the Productivity for Multipotentialites course. š
I think PuttyTribe is the perfect support-group for me. Not that I want you people to be my therapists, just a place to hang out where being a sysadmin/author/ā¦/massagetherapist is considered normal and not deviant. I have a couple of friends who are supportive when I try completely new things but I think only one really *gets it* (she is of course one herself). Knowing more wouldn’t hurt!
Among my relatives, being a Multipotentialite is just a convenient label to gloss over the “fact” that I am lazy and lack stamina and determination, so there is no support from that direction.
We All have our interests!
A Tirbe is what we need, a type of a linkedIn for scanners.
Our interests could help each other, not just ourselves; if we can have the ability to find people that we understand, with skills we might need… we would all benefit š
After all; what a polymath community can achieve, should be incredible!
I’m hoping the tribe could help me reel in and smooth together the crazy diverse list of stuff I love to fill my life with and do well. Overwhelmed is definitely a word I can relate to. At 29, I refuse to go niche’ hunting and specialise in ANYTHING. And I’d be really interested in any input of an overarching theme that pulls together crochet, Japanese and figure skating!
I would love to be part of the Puttytribe, because as a multipotentialite, I’d be with like minded tribe members who get my need to be able to use all my interests to build a sustainable life, not just focus on one interest. That’s like eating yogurt every day – okay, I do eat yogurt every day. We could share our dreams, encourage one another and share our successes.
I’m sort of solitary by nature, but I’ve been learning, recently, that there are people like me, people who want to write for a living and who have a wide variety of other interests. Finding this site was a revelation, and I would like to take the experience to another level. See, my problem is that I have no innate head for business–but I’m also entirely unsuited for working for someone else when I don’t care about or feel valued at where I’m working. I want to change that by starting my own business…and I have no idea what that would be, other than involving writing. I need help! And I’m going out on a limb to ask for it, since I’ve never been one to ask for anything. I’m learning that I need to just be who I am, but the world is still trying to tell me that that’s not how things work, and I think being in the Tribe will help me buffer that. The problem with coming out of a funk is that I’m remembering how to feel–it’s good for my poetry and writing, but terrible, too, because I’d almost forgotten how pointy the world is!
~:)
Woo!! What a great opportunity!! š
That’s why I LOVE coming here!! š Puttylike is an AWESOME site & I just ADORE it!! š
hmm.. Puttytribe people are AWESOME and imaginative (and would probably kick my ass) I’m ENJOYING a scanner life and doing awesome things like RL and online (helped save 7+ people’s lives, helped many with advice, doing RL and online activism) and meeting scanners in RL too (just met a guy who finished 3 universities and is consultant and has multiple houses – ah!) how to make it work financially though and avoid overwhelm?? (And learn to delegate, work with people better etc)
– a sustainable life around ALL your interests? I’m not sure if it’s possible or if I can give enough time to help others adequatly on the way too, it would be kinda FUN though probably? š
Been doing some difficult things and it would be kinda AWESOME to have the greatest (or wackiest? :)) minds in history to help brainstorm on some of the problems? š
I’d love to jump into the Puttytribe because I’ve been hovering right on the brink of believing that I, too, can design a life that honors and includes all of my interests and skills. I am 100% certain that Everyone Else can do it, but I think, for me, it’s going to take the support of a community of likeminded co-conspirators to help me get out of the daydreaming phase and into the action phase of making my multipotentialite life a reality!
In all of my virtual wandering, I have yet to come across another space like this…and it’s so exciting to see proof that the multipotentialite community is a real, living thing. Kudos to you, Emilie, for creating this place.
This is an amazing offer! I recently found this website and I’m excited beyond words that I’ve found my peeps. It’s a fantastic moment of “you mean I’m not just scattered/commitment-phobic/lazy/ADD? Wow!” I’ve been paralyzed for YEARS struggling to find my “niche” . . . finding my “one thing” to focus on. The idea of being able to combined interests under a thematic umbrella is so exciting to me. And finding a tribe of like-minded individuals — mind-blowing!
I’ve “been” so many things — each time thinking it was my “one thing”. And have this seemingly never-ending list of more “one things” that I want to do. A community like this would be an amazing place to shift my paradigm from the “one thing” to the “me” thing! I love it!
And to not have to worry about the $$ attached to interacting with the tribe as I’m shifting from cubicle-land to entrepreneurship . . . heaven! ‘Cuz my kids like to eat! š
Both my husband and I are jacks of all trades. I have always been made to feel like something was wrong with me and my jumping from one like to another or trying to do several things at once. I think for me this would help channel the various drives and likes and also make me not feel like an immature freak or something.
Thanks for the chance!
Having been freelance for 26 years as a kind of jack-of-all-trades, or more appropriately “The Renaissance Chameleon” (my business name), I finally had to clear my plate a bit and condense at the end of last year due to medical issues. I am working on my Masters degree and had to stop taking clients so, needless to say, I could gratefully put a lifetime membership to good use.
Being very eclectic in my interests, I have always been a big multi-tasker. As such, I cannot tell you how many times business people have looked at me and told me that I was in denial and scattered (despite being an incredibly well-organized go-getter able to juggle more baby geese than you could shake a stick at). These same people though, oddly enough, still come to me for help. I enjoy working for myself and know that I can do so much more than I have been. I have always focused on the projects of others so this year is my “Year of the Phoenix”.
This year I am focusing on what I can improve while living a creative daily life. My skills in illustration, writing, graphic and web design are all going to help me move forward. Add in charity work, handmade crafts (sewn and otherwise), two girls who love paper arts, and we have a pretty fun household.
I am blessed to have a husband who is incredibly supportive and, because he works albeit less than full-time, I am able to homeschool my daughter and develop my own enterprises at home. I want to do more though. For my Self, for him, and for what I am going to leave behind for my daughter. Having the support and encouragement of others who see me as something other than “unfocused” would be something I have not had before.
I look forward to getting to know all of you better and to sharing all of the knowledge I have gathered over the last 26 years. Thank you for this opportunity Emilie, and for what you are doing.
Bright blessings to you all and good luck!
The Puttytribe is the perfect community to help me build a sustainable life around ALL my interests and my family’s. What I have seen so far is that your sight helps you learn to love yourself. We are a family of artists. As a single person I had a delusion that I could organize my life. Now we are all together making and grow thing on our family farm. I home school and life if full of beautiful interesting things..If I could only get dinner made!You can imagine the distractions and how much reasonable work needs to get done while we paint, pot, dance and learn.
Your website and community helps me to still love and learn how to love myself and my creative family! I want my daughters to learn to live in this world and thrive. I believe Love is the key to making life work. Puttytribe an help.
Hi! š
What a generous (and popular) offer!
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
I am having difficulty launching my sustainable life around ALL my interests. I was lucky enough to meet with you, Emilie, twice when you were still living in Montreal but I didn’t have a stable revenue or a comfortable home. Post graduation was a big challenge. I finally have a comfortable to call my home that I share with a lovely roommate and a decent job. My basic needs are met now it’s finally time for me to dig deeper and get more from life, meaning and passion. I want a little help making my dream come true, and I love helping others. I found Puttytribe perfect because there are caring, inspiring and inspired individuals who are strangers so they me in a fresh way, they easily will see me for who I am now and I believe will be a tremendous help in achieving my goals and potential! On the other hand, I really miss making a long lasting and positive difference in others’ lives as my work now isn’t related to that as my previous job was.
I really hope I get the chance to be part of the group!
Support is crucial to success, and I want to start a successful Renaissance business. With Puttytribe you have created a safe, supportive, encouraging environment for multipotentialites and I want to be a part of it….not just for the benefits it will bring me, -I have skills, knowledge, and life-experience to share as well.
A long-haul flight will impede my chances of success at the April 17 sign-up, but I am determined to somehow become a part of this wonderful community you are building.
I am so happy to have found this wonderful site a short while back. I’ve always known I wanted to create something yet I’ve never managed to find anything that held my interest longer than last nights leftovers. I’ve always known exactly why this is (I like so many things and I get bored easily) but not how to fix it. I guess I’ve always thought I would have to deal with it or give up the idea of making money for myself. I still don’t have an answer to that yet, but puttylike has given me hope that I will. So, the puttytribe community is sure to get some gears in my head turning. I feel that it could give me some insight from all angles and very possibly be the thing that truly unleashes all that is in me.
I say let everyone in who commented. They want it badly enough to speak up and share why it means so much. I don’t mind if I don’t get in, just happy it exists and there are other folks like me. =)
I just found this site yesterday. I’m so happy to know there are others like me out there who are successful. I’ve always had many interests, and they change all the time, as I make new discoveries. I’m embarking on a new chapter in my life, and being able to talk with like minded people would be helpful. I hope I can make a positive contribution to the puttytribe myself. In any case, I know your site is making a positive impact on me and my life.
Puttytribe is the first community I’ve found that speaks to all of my interests, talents, and dreams. It is also the first place where I feel I have contributions to make, because it’s based on process rather than experts talking down to neophytes. Emily’s blog posts and videos have already inspired me and made me more productive. Since one of my projects is about inspiring and helping creative/artistic types complete projects, this is a particularly apt community for me. There is no other group like Puttytribe, and I would be honored and ecstatic to be able to join.
I’d like to throw in a word of support for my sister, Tia. She kinda freaked out when she came across your manifesto, and she’s been a fan ever since! We’ve always been crazy creative types. She changed her college major more than once, and always has exciting side projects going. Her focus on motivating creativity in others is so inspirational. I’d be so happy for her to be able to join the Puttytribe!
Well, it’s the perfect community to help us build a sustainable life around “ALL” our interests because it’s the only one… And because the founder of the community is one of us.
No need to argue. It’s obvious !
Hi Emilie,
I think it would be great for me to join your Puttytribe because I want to be with like minded people. Multiple talents and passions. Yup, that’s me. I would want to contribute as much to the tribe and grow and learn from you and the members š
Let’s make the world an awesome place by sharing our talents and passions š
The Puttytribe community and its purpose sound like they have been sent from a sacred place in the universe for me to link up with. I have struggled throughout my life with the challenges many multipotentialities have. My interests are wide and varied. Family and peers have not understood these, and prefer to chastise and insult me over the way I become ingrossed in a new interest. Further, I suffer from disabilities that make it challenging to maintain momentum in many tasks.
My disabilities have made it impossible for me to hold a traditional job. I suffer from chronic migraines over half the month. I cannot work while taking medications for me the migraines, and certainly can’t work while in the midst of one. My ability to perform is inconsistent because of my disabilities. This has led me to be seen as a lazy slacker because I cannot maintain a consistent performance level, instead having periods of high productivity followed by periods of average to low production. Support from fellow Puttytribe members could help me feel better about what I can do when I can do it, and help me in my quest to find a way to work with my wildly varied interests and my frequent, unpredictable migraines.
A global, online community is a perfect component because I don’t live anywhere near a city, and there are few support groups. Expressing intellect or a global viewpoint is frowned upon where I live.
Most of all, I suspect the Puttytribe community would accept me and all of my interests, no matter how controversial the interest/idea. It doesn’t matter whether or not members have common interests. What matters is acknowledging the validity of a person’s interests even if I personally don’t share said interest. What matters is embracing each person’s interests and helping each other find a way to create a sustainable life around them.
I have been been trying to find a way to combine all of my interests into a sustainable way of life for a long time. I have an Etsy store for the painted silk clothes I make. Making these clothes makes me happy, because they combine two of my passions, painting and sewing, making me feel more complete somehow than when I do these things seperately. However, I know I will probably never make a decent living from this activity. If I worked on this all day, everyday, and sold everything I produced, I still wouldn’t make very much money, and just the thought of doing the same thing all day, everyday, depresses me. I have other interests! And I need to cultivate my inspiration.
When I found your website, I thought you were really onto something, and I would love to be part of this community and share experiences, guidance and support.
I’ve always thought of myself as a self-starter, and I’ve recently realized that I’m the type of person who is better suited to create their own livelihood and own income streams rather than work under someone else’s ideas. I feel confident that I can take that challenge on, but I get confused and frustrated about where to start. I have so many passions in my life, and feel that sometimes not being able to focus on one at a time caused me to get in my own way. I want to use everything I’m passionate about to create change and progress in the arts. I want to be a leader in my field, and I want to use my multiple interests to give something to the performing arts community. I feel that the ‘job’ I was meant to have hasn’t been created yet, and that I need to create it myself. I feel really alone in these types of struggles because no one else in my life shares these difficulties. I truly believe that having like-minded, successful people to congregate with and motivate each other would be the best thing I could ask for.
For me, Puttytribe is a perfect, sustainable way for lots of intelligent people to network and create a truly global phenomenon that embraces people’s differences and establishes a way for people to be creative and innovative AS A RULE rather than being the exception. Multipotentialites today rarely have the opportunity to work like this in normal corporate businesses (I work for one, so I speak from experience) which means they end up depressed and their abilities wasted. For some, they are working in a puttylike way “on the side” which becomes exhausting and isn’t as satisfying.
Puttytribe is the answer to everyone who thinks they are a Jack of all trades but master of none but instinctively know that being the Jack of all trades is actually very valuable!
Why is the Puttytribe the perfect community to help you build a sustainable life around ALL your interests?
I too have only recently found the Puttytribe, and I too was delighted to find it! I am an artist who works around countless swirling ideas all the time. I have created my own tribe that is the Botanical Beauties & Beasties. That alone keeps me as a “Multipotentialitesā. My tribe is Eco Creatures that I create with photographs, digital drawings, and imagination. They exist to be a creative outlet to me as well as to tell a story of “Live Green/Live Kind.” To share them with the world I write a blog, create new characters and drawings regularly, keep up with Social Media of FB and Twitter, and work on new āone-onlyā original art pieces that stem from them on recycled canvas, with drawing and collage components. The canvas idea is a new one and I am excited the see where/what it leads to. The Botanical Beauties & Beasties are my passion and my creative muse. On paper they become Eco Art, in front of an audience they become alive inviting interactions and stories. ā¦ and I also work part time.
I am happy to say I am a multipotentialites with skills, talents and ideas towards a focus of creating “art.” New thoughts of ways to create, use, make, share are always in my mind. That is ALL GOOD. I am very happy with all that. That said, it would be WONDERFUL to have a community of real people (verses my mythical magical community of characters) to interact with, to share ideas with, as well as to be supportive of others and to be supported by others on their own searches. Isolation is not really a fun part of an artist life. It would be an honor and fantastic to be part of a group like the Puttytribe!
I believe in a place where having multiple equal interets is not frowned upon but regarded as a good thing.
I believe in a place where it’s fine to be passionate about something and then drop it when it’s done and everybody finds that perfectly normal and sane, even if you spent years growing into a master at it.
I believe in a place where if you stop developing an interest, not because you’re done with it, but because you’re scared of where you might be going, of what people will think, of how it may relate to your other activities, friends will rise up and not only remind you why you had that interest in the first place, but also help you bust the fears with their experiences and support.
I believe in a place where you start a conversation about one thing and end up with ten different (un)related subjects that changes how you see the world.
I believe in a place where any choice rooted in love and passion is regarded as valid and encouraged to be pursued.
I believe this place is a community meant to embrace what it is to be human, follow our passions, and support us to be fulfilled, and I want to help build and foster it.
I believe that is what Puttytribe is meant to be, and that’s why I want to be part of it.
I am SO glad and grateful that I found puttylike (or that it found me)! I have been developing as a multipotentialite/scanner for a couple of years now, and I am just getting to the point where I am fully accepting everything I am and not trying to “hide” in a specialist world. I appreciate how candid you are on your site, and I aspire to be just as brave.
I am a loudmouth, Ć¼berliberal, “flexible” (read:bi) writer/artist. I moved to Sweden. Not my absolute best decision, as the lack of support here for anyone “different” (like me) has been extremely difficult to survive. This is the most isolating place I have ever lived. Everyone wears the same H&M clothes each season, everyone buys the exact same food, everyone watches the same TV shows. There is no variety or individuality in anything. Those that are outside the norm are treated maliciously when they aren’t frozen out entirely. Everyone is expected to fit comfortably into a clearly labeled envelope. Racism is rampant, and my lifestyle as well as my relationship have invited sneers/cursing on several occasions.
I would love to join puttytribe, because I want to feel and be useful. I do not want all that I have learned, and continue to learn, to go to waste. Additionally, I want to feel like I am part of a larger internet family of people like me. I have accepted me. Now I just want to spend time in a place where other people accept me too.
I have a background in court reporting, art, writing, translation/interpretation (Swedish, Spanish, some French), and tutoring. I have just started keeping a couple of blogs and I am finishing the rough draft of a book.
I recently got married. Meeting my husband here is what has made this Swedish fiasco worth it. He “gets” me. However, my husband cannot come with me to the USA if I leave Sweden, since he does not have a visa yet, and it may take years for him to get one (he is from a Muslim country, and the USA screens Muslims much harder than other people, post-9/11). That is why I stay.
I will be very active in the forums if I win this contest. Things are extremely alien here, and I long for a feeling of “home”.
Living in a town of 400, it is hard to find a group of peers to bounce off and share ideas with. I am at a point in my life where my dreams of more than one home business is poised and close to launch. I have tested the waters in a superficial way with my blogs and Etsy store. The tribal community would help me to improve my focus/ make me accountable, help me to organize, fine tune my goals, and inspire me to execute a new life direction. I am just plain tired of working for other people but would like a solid support system to give me honest advice in my endeavors.
I have read through Puttylike back posts and have begun smooshing and adding a few more jobs that I WILL do! My new life choice and attitude has even made my family sit up and take notice. So even if you don’t pick me… I want to thank you for getting my butt motivated and on the right track. My multi interests were always an asset in motivating others… Well, it is now my BEST asset in motivating ME!! Thanks Emilie!
Puttytribe is the perfect community to help build a sustainable life around ALL of one’s interests because:
1. We move through and learn from mistakes faster
There is an entire community trying things, making mistakes and learning from them with stories and wisdom to share. Together as a community, we bring our personal experiences together, and collectively get further ahead than each of us would on our own.
2. We don’t mistake a brief lapse in momentum for failure
Feeling overwhelmed is discouraging but it doesn’t last forever. Having a support system allows us to keep moving forward one step at a time through the rough patches that ensures our momentum keeps going. Without it, a brief lapse in momentum can seem like failure.
3. We get to articulate who we are
Being allowed to express our interests, even if they don’t seem to mesh together at the time, helps us to discover who we really are. As we continue to grow and learn, we get additional opportunities to keep redefining who we are. And by knowing yourself well, you can begin to pick and choose the things most important to you leading to a sustainable and fulfilling life.
The Puttytribe has and is going to continue to be and invaluable contribution to our society. In happiness, in advancements of all sorts (social, technological) and in sincerity.
Way to go Em!
From your Friend,
Jessica (Canada)
I’m excited by this opportunity to ask for puttytribe membership! My interests are wide-spread and I’m looking for a community to inspire me and help keep me on track to accomplishing my goals. It will also be a safe space where I don’t have to worry about the strange looks when I say I’m studying Computer Science and Urban Agriculture…
Being a part of the PuttyTribe means that we get each other. Its like we speak a common language that more people are starting to understand.
What really resonates with me not just about Emilie, but the entire Puttylike community is that all of our interests could completely change tomorrow and that would not matter. Maybe itās how we interpret something or our own personality that defines each of us. I donāt know that part quite yet for myself. But being a multipotentialite allows me to smoosh, weave, subtract, or add my interests. I used to think this was just me being indecisive. But I have learned some kind of skill or recognized an innate talent from a number of my experiences and been able to apply them somewhere else.
In the end, all of our interests revolve around creating a life. I know that my life doesnāt stop once I define my overarching theme. This space allows us to continue growing and makes it possible to incorporate new things and subtract things if we want because that, frankly, is just who we are. I finally found a group of people who understand that my definition of personal development is something that interests me or that I think is cool and want to try just for the hell of it.
Its going to be really awesome to interact with everyone because we all bring something different to the table. At the root though we know that we are alike. That a traditional life probably wonāt satisfy us. Our perfect job isnāt found on Monstor.com. We donāt want to settle and mold ourselves to fit inside a box. We will share ideas, collaborate, and support each other on our endeavors. Our possibilities, just like our interests and passions, are infinite.
Wowza. Where do I begin? I tear up just thinking about it. Belonging to a group of people like me – people who I can tell my latest and greatest idea of what I want to do next, of what might be possible – and who won’t give me a blank stare and change the subject patronizingly and hopeful that one day I will settle down and get a real job like everyone else – well, I think it would be divine.
I want to live in this magical land where the thought ‘there’s something wrong with you’ does not exist and we are allowed to dream to our heart’s content, put whatever colors together that we want, cut and paste the little pictures of people in different professions into a wondrous collage and shout out ‘That! That’s what I want to be!’ And then make up a cool name for it. And design an outfit. And write a theme song. And dance and sing with my friends, leaving behind the thought ‘I can’t do that’ and replacing it with the question ‘What support do I need to be able to do that?’ And ‘How can I support others to do something just as wild and wonderful?’
I feel so inspired in just the short time I have had a little look around this neck of the woods. To be able to craft a life where we don’t have to leave behind the little one who thought the world was a fascinating place with new delights around every corner – to allow a trip to Vermont to study carpentry just because with no need to rationalize or justify – to live on a farm – to study at a Zen monastery – to start over and study music at a junior college instead of going to graduate school in science. To view the world and ourselves as if through a kaleidoscope. Infinitely varied and beautifully dynamic as nature intended.
Yes, please:)
Well…I’ve been staring at this little comment box for about 48 minutes now(obviously a procrastinator) thinking of some amazing post I can come up with to amaze and woo your heart into picking me as a lucky winner but time simply just isn’t on my side tonight. My fingers are crossed though.
p.s. are you a gemini by any chance?
please disregard the previous comment. my brain is a little slow tonight as i just realized the deadline was the 13th and not the 17th..I have embarrassed myself enough, and as a result, I am purchasing a membership. thank you
Because this is what i need in my life now and because learning that I’m a scanner changed my life and i feel rather lonely because i don’t feel understood here where i live.
Also, i tried to create a community but people are not committed enough, but in puttytribe i bet they are.
It would be amazing to be able to be there š