The Next 90 Days

One of the things I think I've struggled with is coping with many interests and abilities.

People often say things like "niche down," but it just couldn't work for me.

I just couldn't not bring myself to box myself into one thing. I couldn't water down or ignore my growing interests in other things.

And while some people have genuine talent for some things. I have a "grace" to become good at anything I do.

I could pick up coding now, and be extremely good at it. And so my value keeps increasing.

I become a walking potential. Many interests, many abilities, all bottled into one body, one personality, one person.

The advice to niche down was always loud, but "I get coconut head."

If I listened to them, I'd probably have attained some success, or probably far greater success than where I am.

I probably would have gone farther.

I mean, the market rewards specificity. It rewards niche. It rewards specialisation. And being and doing many things, whether related or unrelated might not be a good signal.

So maybe I should have chosen one path.

But in the end, I'm not sure I'll feel fulfilled. I would always wonder what if, what if, and eventually still pursue that path.

Maybe I'm where I need to be, or I am right where I would have always been. I would have probably chosen this path either ways.

Sometimes, I describe myself as an accountant by day and a storyteller by night. I do finance as a day job, and tell stories or work creative stuff at night. I do business by day, creativity by night. Probably a walking contradiction.

But even at that, I love them both. I have interests there. I have great abilities there. And I just can't leave it to be.

For many years, this was a dilemma. A silent one. I couldn't bring myself to focus. To pick, to say this is the one.

And then I discovered that I wasn't alone. That was the first time I heard the word "multipotentialite." People who could do many things and had potential in many areas. People like me.

I felt so seen. I felt like I had a community. We necessarily didn't have to be in the same room or WhatsApp group. All that mattered was that I wasn't alone. There were many me's out there. What a relief!

These people also fought against the idea of niching down, choosing one path, and being known for one thing.

It's not that the advice was bad. But it just wasn't for me.

Why choose, when I can be all?

And for me, it gets more personal.

I feel very uncomfortable with the idea that I have the ability to do something, and can contribute that part of me somewhere, but I suppress it for profit, identity, or for some other capitalist move so that the society and market favours me.

I feel it is a disservice to my community, my society, to my world, and even the generation after.

I have these talents, gifts and abilities for a reason. I cannot bury them for conformity. I must do something about them.

I first became aware of multipotentialites circa 2021, and even at that, it has been an endless journey of self discovery.

I have somehow in that journey learnt how to manage multiple interests, desires, abilities, and talents.

It's not perfect yet, but I think I'm handling it way better than I did 5 years ago.

So far, from recent reflections, I live a more fulfilling life; I am not trying to fit in a box; I live a happier life; I live a more interesting life. I am just me, contributing, adding value, and not losing any part of myself.

And so, this is for the multipotentialite out there. You have many interests, many abilities, many talents, many gifts. You don't know how to handle them. You don't know how to express them. You don't know what to do without crashing or clashing. You are a walking contradiction. People think you are disorganised and you cannot just focus. But you feel that fire; that burning within you that you just cannot quench. You cannot just let it go.

You need to ventilate. You want to express. You want to let it all out. You want to squeeze yourself dry. You want to die empty.

If those gifts and abilities were not useful, why then did you have them? These questions bug your mind and keep you up at night.

And you want clarity. You want to be able to live your life unapologetically. But you also want to live a good quality of life - afford things, make money, be a model citizen. You want to make an impact. You want to be truly you.

You want to live your best life.

If this is you, then follow me for the next 90 days as I share my story.

If you sat to ask me how to balance everything, I don't think I have an answer or a framework to give you, except maybe you asked the right questions. But even at that, the answer would only emerge in between the lines.

Over the next 90 days, I'll share my stories. Not necessarily my journey of how I got there but different stories from my life especially with respect to my many abilities and talents and gifts. And a sneak peek to how I am actually doing it. The structures, systems, and everything in between.

I am not trying to give advise or instruct you. I'll share wins, losses, sell some things to you, ask for your help, get your opinions, and just be me. But most definitely, it would be me in my elements.

I don't necessarily have a script or a pattern or a calendar. I'll be as authentic as I can be. I'll be as real as I can be.

I hope that in between those stories, you draw lessons; you find wisdom; you get clarity; and you have direction and permission to live life fully on your own terms, without apology, while serving the world with all you've got.

P.S: I will publish here everyday. I'll also share across social media in different formats. LinkedIn and Substack gets daily dose of my stories though. So follow me everywhere.