“So…what’s next?”
I paused.
I knew what they were expecting to hear. “I’m writing a new book!” “Speaking engagements!” or even something random like: “I’m writing and producing a musical!” None of those answers would have surprised them.
I can’t really blame people for making assumptions about my plans based on what I’ve done in the past or based on my (very public) identity as a multipotentialite.
I think I’ve truly shocked a few people recently though… Because my answer wasn’t, “I’m writing a new book.” Not even close.
Here was my answer:
“My wife and I are expecting a baby. So…I guess, that’s what’s next.”
😀
I guess you can consider this my official announcement, putty-friends! Valerie is pregnant, the due date is December 5, and we are so excited. I literally can’t stop daydreaming about spending time with this baby in the first few months of their life, and then at every stage of their growth. It’s practically all I think about these days.
Having a baby as a same-sex couple was a big, (obviously) intentional project. It was logistically, financially and physically difficult at times—but a great adventure, too. Without getting into specifics, I can say that I feel very lucky to have such supportive friends and community, and to live in a time and place where all this is possible.
I don’t want to elevate child-rearing above other types of pursuits—it’s not for everyone, and it’s certainly not the end-all be -all of life. But I also don’t want to denigrate it by placing it lower on the “meaningful scale” than career-oriented projects. What we consider meaningful is very personal to us, and it can change many times over the course of our life.
Along with my sharing my heartfelt excitement for the my next big multipotentialite project, I want to share this with you:
It’s okay if your next big multipotentialite project happens inside your heart or inside your relationships.
Our projects don’t need to lead to money, fame or career success to matter. They don’t even need to be public. Sometimes working on our mental health, building community or spending more time with loved ones is the most meaningful “project” we could possibly pursue. Meaning is specific to each one of us. May you find fulfillment in the things you’re cultivating and building, whatever they are.
Lots of love from your pal and fellow multipotentialite,
Emilie
Your Turn
So…what’s next? 😉 For real, I would love to hear about any personal, professional or creative projects you have in the works and are excited to talk about. No value judgments. If it’s meaningful to you, that’s what counts. Scroll down and share in the comments.
Eek, congratulations, you two!! I’m working on an online course called Befriending Creative Blocks that I cannot WAIT to share with the world. I’ve also just moved to Seattle so I hope to meet your little one when borders open again!
Hi Nat! Thank you! Your course sounds awesome. Congrats on the move. With you being in the pac NW, I’m sure our paths will cross at some point! So nice to hear from you.
Congratulations, Emilie! Meeting and getting to know your baby is such an exciting time.
Thank you for this post. It’s exactly what I needed right now. I finished a PhD in May and my son just started preschool for the first time since March 2020. I’ve been flailing about trying to figure out what comes next and intuitively just wanting to care for myself, family, and home. Thanks for the reminder that those count as projects.
Congratulations again!
Congratulations!! I just watched your TedTalk this week and started reading your book, so I guess my next big thing is stepping into my identity as a multipod!
Yay! Enjoy, Cami.
Hi Kimberly,
Thank you! I’m so glad this was helpful. What you wrote (“intuitively just wanting to care for myself, family, and home”) is really beautiful. I totally understand that urge to want to figure out what’s next ASAP (it can be so uncomfortable not knowing), but sometimes letting that urge rest and focusing on enjoying your life and caring for your loved ones is the best thing to do. Enjoy the time!
So happy for you!!
Thanks Janet! <3
Hey there and biggest congratulations! That is amazing! I love reading your regular emails but I know I have never really commented or responded. But safe to say, I read and consider all the good tips and direction, news and insights about leading a multipotentialite life. Still improving it myself. In terms of a personal projects, I have a few. One has been to get involved in advocacy groups relating to inclusion and diversity. I have always been involved on the fringes and through inclusion and diversity leadership training I was specially nominated for (by my management team)..I decided to really progress this. Though I am white, privileged and from a middle class background, on the strength of my “manifesto” of what I could bring to the table, I have been invited to attend one of a series of sessions to discuss how inclusion of BAME colleagues could be improved and supported in my industry. Kind of commercial still but brings no money in. My other personal thing is I am complimenting mental health training with delving into the world of teaching meditation, furthering my reach in mentoring colleagues, friends, graduates and school leavers (again unpaid and in my spare time). Oh, and I am a co-chair of a book club seeking to search out and read the heavy, the political, the diverse books that try to educate all of us in the group.
Your new projects/roles all sound super interesting and fulfilling, Stacy! Thanks for sharing and for being here.
That is awesomely badass news!! I’m excited for the two of you & from all I’ve seen via my connection to the Putty-verse, I have absolute faith that you’re going to raise one smart kick-ass new little human <3 I'm excited for you. It's the most magical experience I think anyone of us humans can have.
~ Brandi
Thanks so much, Brandi!
Congrats on your soon-to-arrive Little! Get all the sleep you can, while you can, because y’all will be too busy watching your Little grow to ever sleep again. Ha! Thanks for sharing the news, Emilie!
I am working on self-paced learning, so I’ve a couple of courses while working full-time, because why not?
Haha you can never have enough learning (says the multipotentialite)!
And thanks! Definitely taking some extra naps now in anticipation, lol.
Absolutely awesome news. You both will love this. As for me, living still in Boise, ID, but it is growing by leaps and bounds. Still editing and publishing others’ works, and putting up writing classes this fall, to help move writers through some of the preliminary ‘stuff.’ Can’t wait for pictures, and my bd is Dec. 4, so am thrilled to be welcoming another Sagittarius onto the planet of life.
Thank you, Susan! It sounds like you’re really enjoying the direction(s) of your work, and that is awesome.
Also, I couldn’t agree more. I love sags! 😀
Congratulations! I’m new to your space but most definitely identify and relate to all you talk about! And I have similar news :D. I’m pregnant with my first child and she’s due Dec 3rd – our due dates are super close! I’m pursuing this as a single mother by choice via IVF and it’s been and I’m sure will continue to be quite the journey. Thank you for the reminder that this is just as much a “creative project” to lean into as any of my others. I’ve had some mental struggles with flipping back and forth between embracing this and then feeling like I’m somehow falling short by allowing my new adventure as a parent to be my biggest joy and focus right now. So hearing your story is comforting and affirming <3. Thank you!
Hi Leah, congratulations to you, too!!! IVF is no joke—definitely qualifies as a serious project. Not to mention the choice to parent on your own. Good for you! I have one good friend who made that choice and another who’s thinking about it right now. I think it’s fantastic. Hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly!
Congratulations! This is lovely news.
I also want to share that, on that same tip, many times my “projects” are relationship-based, mental health-based and family-based and reading that in this post reminded me that yeah, I AM “working on stuff” all the time.
Our whole family is doing a lot of emotional work and relationship work and while I can’t necessarily share that with everyone, it’s BIG and IMPORTANT for us. Thanks for validating that.
I love this, Becca. So beautiful. And I also really appreciate the way you talk about parenting. I hope we can connect more on this topic in the future! <3
Congrats! Thanks for sharing your happiness!
Thanks Marcelo!
Hey Emilie! Congratulations to you three! 🙂 AND, also, thank you for this. I’ve been reading Ren Biz and How to Be Everything, and thinking about my career, and I want to do a phoenix thing. This post came at a good time for me, because I’m coming to the conclusion that Working on Me is the next big project. I’m turning 40 in 2 months -so for me this is a particularly good time to Know Who I Am and what I want next. Are my strengths and weaknesses just stories I’ve been told? How much variety and meaning do I need – and how much recognition? How much of my career plan comes from what I think I’m ‘supposed’ to do? 🙂 So, yeah, answering this stuff is My Big Project right now. (Plus making weird papercrafts for halloween)
Wow! I think getting to know yourself better is one of the most worthwhile projects there is. Good for you, prioritizing that!
Oh Emily ! I am so… sincerely happy for you!!! This is a very special Project! and a long term one! 🙂 Congratulations to you and Valerie!!!! Regarding myself, I am in Break on Contract of my main job for another 20 days.. and after some travelling (within Italy), I am trying to write a book with a friends and prepare some lessons about it… but.. often, I am just enjoying this end of summer with my son, swimming, biking. etc.
Thank you, Elena! Sounds like you’re really enjoying life, and that is so wonderful. <3
Congratulations! I’m the mother of five children, and in my opinion, multipotentialites make great parents. We enjoy all the changes our kids go through, and we teach them that trying new things is awesome.
My current project is a master’s degree in instructional design. If it works out right, I’ll spend my work life getting paid to learn stuff!!!
Wow, five!! Amazing. Yeah, I’m excited for that aspect of parenting. It sounds so fun to learn/discover with them as they grow and become interested in different things.
Congrats on your masters! I’ve interviewed many, many multipotentialites, and instructional design is actually a very popular topic in our community. Makes total sense to me. I hope you love it!
Congrats and many blessings for your family!
Im putting my space policy masters on hold for a few months to bust out a book on menstruation activism, manuscript due by the holidays! Im also starting a youtube channel with my 76 year old father, so he can have an outlet for his blues music. Its about having quality time with him and helping him participate in the world to try to steer that kurmudgenness in a brighter direction. Hes having a hard time with aging. Projects are important, and can bring us the richness of connection we also need.
Thanks Christina! Oh, I love your project with your father so much. That’s so amazing of you. Enjoy the time together.
Congratulations! Since parenting is nothing but learning and adapting as you go, it’s actually a great place for a multi-potentialite to thrive!
I usually don’t comment on posts in general because I can get so easily distracted and pulled away from my daily priorities. But yesterday I started writing a post where I was drawn back to what I learned from you WAY back when you were getting started 2010-11ish. I was one of the early members of the PuttyTribe. I really started to embrace my expansive set of interests and talents at that time, yet still found myself back in a corporate job having to do too many things I wasn’t interested in and not enough of those I was. Finally back in the entrepreneurial space and an remembering the freedom the comes with honoring yourself and doing what I want to do.
So happy that your unique approach back then has stuck around and become a little more normalized. I admire your grit and determination in leading the charge with your passion!
Thank you, Jenn! That really means a lot. I appreciate your comment so much. <3
Congratulations! My ‘baby’ is heading off to university this fall and that is a big what’s next for me as a single mom. Your advice has been invaluable to me but also in helping me guide my son as the apple did not fall far from that multipotentialite tree.
Hi Karen, that’s wonderful to hear, thank you! Best of luck to your ‘baby’! If he’s a multipotentialite, I bet he’ll love university.
Congratulations on this exciting new journey! And thank you for reminding us that relational projects still count.
My latest project is I’ve just published my first Dungeons & Dragons adventure [ https://www.dmsguild.com/product/366943/The-Lost-Temple-of-New-Thundertree ] It was so much fun to write, I’m now hard at work on my second one!
Amazing, Wendy! Sounds so fun. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this Emilie. And you both look very happy ?
I rarely take the time to read the newsletter, because though being reassured by the concept of multipotentialite when i discovered it, since looking back, it clarified my life path, i did not have the energy for unleashing my creativity into tangible projects.
You have now illumimated my current life by valuing where most of that energy goes: into caring for two young souls and working to pay for what they need. And lately an elderly parent too. That in order to stay true to my potential, i did not have to explore and deliver on all my interests at one.
My side projects always take the back seat and i often feel ashamed for it. Yet my mental health did not allow for more, as with the coming of children, so comes the unleasing of unresolved childhood trauma, which you encounter at every stage your child undergoes linked to your own past. therefore there is a lot of inner work going on, on top of the daily grind.
I guess i am not only thanking you for your words and hoping you will remember them should you find yourself in the same situation, and trust that at some point you will regain that space for concrete creativity, finding that you have grown and enriched in the process of introspection (for meeting your children is also meeting the sometimes unheard – possibly unloved – inner child.). Parenting is not only what we do to our children but to ourselves too, along the way.
And it’ll be also a whole new network and community building, that of other parents.
Hi Esmeralda,
Thank you for the very thoughtful comment. You touched on something really important. Sometimes honouring your multipotentialite soul means saying no to things. Being a multipod doesn’t mean doing ALL THE THINGS at exactly the same time, it just means you have a vast curiosity. Figuring out how to balance and cycle between your different needs and desires is the project of a lifetime.
I really appreciate your thoughts on parenting. I’m naturally pretty fond of on working on myself, and I know parenting will present many opportunities for that. I’m sure it won’t always be easy, but I’m really excited for the journey.
A huge congratulations to you and Valerie! I am so happy that a little someone is going to have such great parents. Thanks for sharing the good news here. Blessings & blessings your way.
Aww, thank you Morgan! xoxo
All the very very very BEST!
Thanks Lynde!!
Hey Emilie, congratulations to you two, that’s wonderful ! And you seem sooo happy and excited on the picture ! 😀
As far as I’m concerned, my current project is about earning the revenue I’d like to earn. Or say, stop procrastinating, self-sabotaging, and findind a million reasons not to get there. I want to focus on that so I can be proud of myself for persevering, and doing it my way (#nohustle). This has been a non-achieved objective for too long, and I want to get to the next level, where I’ll finally be able to say I accomplished it. I think it’s more about me overcoming my self-sabotage, than the financial objective itself. But the objective is rather high, which makes it an interesting challenge for me. 🙂
Thanks for sharing with us your new project.
I always love to read you <3
Thank you, Isis! And proving to yourself that you can do something and do it your way is definitely a worth goal! You might want to get yourself an accountability/support buddy or group. It’s so much easier to take those steps when you’re meeting with someone regularly who’s doing a similar thing, and cheering each other on.
Wow! Congratulations on the big news! Curiosity is a big part of the cognitive development of a child. Unfortunately a lot of people loose touch with this curiosity as we get older and our responsibilities racks up with establishing a family, getting a mortgage and so on. Recent research shows a clear connection between the decline in curiosity & cognitive development (as a result) and the development of Alzheimer’s as we age. As a multipotentialite it is now your duty to your child and yourself to make sure you both hold onto this curiosity. It is literally the biggest gift you can give your child and yourself. All the best on the exciting journey ahead for the three of you! Best regards Endre, fellow multipotentialite and father of two curious kids:)
Thanks Endre! And thanks for your comment. I somehow don’t think holding onto curiosity will be a problem. Exploring different subjects together is one of the aspects of parenting I’m most looking forward to. 🙂
Congratulations!! I am really glad for both of you!!
Thanks Maria!
Congratulations!!!!
The first time my friend told me I was a multipotentialite over coffee, and led me to your test, I was like ‘this is so me’. Today, I am confident enough to comment on one of your articles ?
So whats next for me?
Honestly, I am trying to decide so much i don’t know what is next. Between work, my podcast, wanting to go back to school and being intentional about being in a relationship, I feel swamped . I know I will figure it out soon. I havent been imtentional about either of them
Hi RIOBA,
Yay! Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. 😀
It sounds like you’re pushing yourself really hard to make a decision. I bet “what’s next” will come to you naturally with time. I always find answers like that come to me when I’m not focusing too hard on the questions—or at least taking breaks from that brainstorming work.
I wish you three the best. Health and joy may be with you.
Thank you, Susan.
Hi Emilie, Thank you so much for sharing your great news to all of us. Super congratulations to you and Valerie. Can’t wait to see pictures of the new baby and happy moms!
Loved your short and sweet article as well – have been working on a personal mental health project during COVID and it is going well. It is nice to be reminded that it is as important a project as all my others! Thanks and all the best! Rosemary
Wonderful! Thank you, Rosemary!
That is the best photo, you are both just beaming with joy. Congratulations Emilie and Valerie!!
I am working on making time to get back to the Verse. I dabbled a very little bit, lots of pondering but not really making time for “the writing stuff down bit”. I have changed jobs after 24 years working as a Registered Nurse in theatres. Before Nursing (that was a mature age Uni thing), I worked in hospitality, costume design & construction, tailoring & patternmaking, etc. I loved & thrived with so many jobs on the go. It was crazy, but I really buzzed on it. Then I committed to Nursing & although a great job & career, a bit of me was dormant doing such a demanding full-time job. Now I have left full-time nursing to take a 12mth contract as an information officer for the nurses & midwives union in our state (so, I am learning about industrial law, real fast). Man, it is challenging, I have never had a desk job, it is weird good. I hope to make this work so I can continue on with the freedom of this role & get back to myself creatively & my multitude of projects.
Omg!! Congrats!! How awesome! For me, I am finally done moving! Moved in with my girlfriend. I am finally done with grad school and I found a new position within education that doesn’t eat all of my time so I will be telling more about my personal story with adhd through my blog and content creation…again? For once? I I’ve always spoke about it… picked up projects along the way, but never sat down with a game plan and excuted!
I hope to get 2 posts up a month and at least one well executed reel every week ?
Congratulations. That’s wonderful news. 🙂
My projects have been centred around improving my mental health over the last year after burning out. I got some empowering answers and have actively been working on self care and kindness. As related side projects, I’ve improved my diet and am training for a marathon – which has taught me that I can do more than I think.
I’ve put too much pressure on finding a fulfilling job in the past – but I see now that that strategy wasn’t working for me. I’m now looking for a ‘good enough’ job that can leave me the band width to work on creative projects in my free time.