How to Be Everything

A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up

By: Emilie Wapnick

Narrated by: Allyson Ryan

What do you want to be when you grow up? It's a familiar question we're all asked as kids. While seemingly harmless, the question has unintended consequences. It can make you feel like you need to choose one job, one passion, one thing to be about. Guess what? You don't.

Having a lot of different interests, projects, and curiosities doesn't make you a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none". Your endless curiosity doesn't mean you are broken or flaky. What you are is a multipotentialite: someone with many interests and creative pursuits. And that is actually your biggest strength.

How to Be Everything helps you channel your diverse passions and skills to work for you. Based on her popular TED talk "Why Some of Us Don't Have One True Calling", Emilie Wapnick flips the script on conventional career advice. Instead of suggesting that you specialize, choose a niche, or accumulate 10,000 hours of practice in a single area, Wapnick provides a practical framework for building a sustainable life around all of your passions.

You'll discover:

• Why your multipotentiality is your biggest strength, especially in today's uncertain job market
• How to make a living and structure your work if you have many skills and interests
• How to focus on multiple projects and make progress on all of them
• How to handle common insecurities such as the fear of not being the best, the guilt associated with losing interest in something you used to love, and the challenge of explaining "what you do" to others

Not fitting neatly into a box can be a beautiful thing. How to Be Everything teaches you how to design a life, at any age and stage of your career, that allows you to be fully you and find the kind of work you'll love.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Emilie Wapnick (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Must-read for multipotentialites

This is a fantastic book for people like me that have a myriad of interests and passions, and that want to pursue several of them professionally. The world promotes us to focus on one career choice and looks down upon those of us with a wide skill set or range of expertise. And there is virtually no promotion of life-long learning, at least not in general. But this book helps you break free from the less is more conditioning and helps you to realize that having many passions and skills is actually a good thing, and gives you tips on how to pursue 'passion projects' or become an entrepreneur.

Multipotentiolite must read

Multipotentiolite must read. Book was easy to read/listen to, narrator good, glad to know some new facts.

Great book

All of my adult life I felt I was a bit different from other people like something was wrong with me for not knowing or not settling for just the career I studied, thanks to this book I now know I'm just a multipotentialite and I know there is nothing wrong with me and that there's people out there just like me. This book gave me confidence to continue my path as I chose to, instead of just following what society's norm dictates. It encouraged me to continue to persue whatever interests me and guidance to do it better.

This Audio book could save my life.

Growing up I was asked the same stupid question: 'What do you want to be when you grow up or what do you want to do with your life?' I thought I wanted to be a chef but I didn't have the drive to pursue it. I thought I wanted to be a scholar just to look smarter, but it turns out I just wanted to please everyone including my strict family. During highschool, my interest in music grew stronger but my mother wanted me to be a pharmacist, lab technician, or research assistant. I had so much potential in high school but I didn't know how to live up to any of them. Early in life, I was obsessed with gaming and had a fascination for cartoons. I would imitate what cartoons do. So then I thought voice acting might be my calling. My purpose in life. This audio book has taught me that it's OK to have many interests and passions. It taught different projects on how to go anywhere in life with different skills. I'm glad I found it.

Feels like coming home...

So many moments of recognition, laughter, sighs: this is so me! Another meaningful contribution to understanding who I am. Thanks for sharing.

Loved it

I really feel connected with all that Emily Wapnick had to say in this book, It's been really helpful to find my niche in this world, and answering some of my questions about wether or not there's a place for someone like me in the work world.

Powerful & Enlightening!

I was introduced to your Ted-talk by Chris Reck! I deeply appreciate the information and tools you offer in your book! Life changing for me! Multipotentialite🥳
I highly recommend this book!
Thank You, Emilie!

muy útil

me encantó, fue bastante liberador conocer más sobre este tema, ya no me siento tan perdido

Discovering Me!

This book would have been an amazing guide for me when I was a Senior in HS. I could not think of one thing that I wanted to do until age 65; the trend to stay in one field. I had so many interests it was overwhelming to choose just one that I wold enjoy that long. At 62, my journey now makes sense and I no longer need to feel like I am at cross-purposes with myself. I am known to be multi-talented and I use my strengths to fulfill my needs and others. Through this book, I also found I have a people; multipotentialites! Who knew! ❤️

I needed this book 10 years ago!

I loved this boo.k. it spoke to me and opened my mind to my own potential and value in a way no other book has before! I am ready to march forward into all my jams empowered.