Have you ever felt frustrated that you couldn't choose five careers (say journalist, doctor, teacher, artist and engineer) rather than one? Do you feel as though you'll never be able to choose one focus in life, because there are just too many interesting things out there?

If that's you...read on:

There's a new book out by an American called Margaret Lobenstine called 'The Renaissance Soul; life design for people with too many passions to just pick one'.

As soon as I read that title I t could hear a few bells ringing myself. So far (and I'm not too far down the track) I've worked as a teacher, a volunteers coordinator for an NGO, in big business in logistics and corporate affairs, as a sustainability consultant, in film production, as a publicist and a journalist. Add to that all the hobbies + interests I've had over the years; playing piano, singing, drama, dance, rowing, flying light aircraft, sailing, travelling, photography, watercolour painting and you start to get the picture....

Despite that fact that I've been able to make career changes and pick up / leave hobbies without feeling like a crazy person, I've always had a niggling feeling at the back of my mind that I should stop dabbling in a million different things and just focus on one. That focus and steady systematic work on one area is the only real credible way to go, and certainly the only way to recognised as credible, or as an expert. That it's OK to experiment a bit when you're young, but ultimately we all find the ONE thing we want to do with our lives sooner or later.

Ha!

Well thank you Margaret Lobenstein for declaring otherwise. Margaret draws on the image Europeans in the Renaissance period (16C) had of a well-rounded individual; someone who was familiar with all areas of academic endeavour, could speak several languages, hunt, play music and who generally sought to enlarge and broaden their knowledge and interests rather than narrow these down.

She points out that these days, although job insecurity is meaning people do change careers, in western society the dominant paradigm is still one which rewards consistency and focus in a CV over diversity and variety.

But imagine what the world would be like if people were encouraged to go out there and explore all their interests rather than aim to become top of their field. And what about if it was seen as perfectly acceptable to start training to be a dentist at age 45 or if it were normal for people to combine two part-time jobs; doctor/ artist, teacher/marketing exec??

Of course not everyone is a 'renaissance soul' by any means; there are plenty of people out there who are perfectly happy to spend their lives in one chosen profession or occuption. This group (who Margaret calls the 'Mozarts' since that famous composer effectively chose his profession at age 3 when he asked for his first piano and carried on composing until his death) are no better or no worse than the 'Renaissance souls' of this world, we're all equal, however society is skewed in favour of the Mozarts. I think it's time to redress the balance!

If you're interested to know more about the book have a look at www.togetunstuck.com
I'd be really interested to hear your comments too.

Bye for now