The Multi-Passionate Handbook: The Art of Multi-Path Living
Welcome to the multi-passionate handbook — the ultimate guide to pursuing many paths.
I’m taking a brief pause from my instrumental music project to work on this blog, before returning to my music — but not before tinkering on my unfinished travel video and digging deeper into my newest no-code-app-development side quest (which I’m deeply passionate about).
If this sounds familiar (potentially validating), then you’re in the right place.
This is the handbook to realistically and sustainably pursuing multiple passions. Because the truth is, this lifestyle is more possible than ever before.
In fact, it’s your freaking superpower.
Table of Contents Show
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What Does Being Multi-Passionate Mean?
Multi-passionate refers to someone who has many passions and/or pursues many paths in life.
And I think this lifestyle is way more common than it ever has been.
We subsist off of a constant feed of fresh shiny objects, new tools to build empires and creative ways to travel the world, pursue your passions and collect side gigs along the way.
It’s exciting. And I’m happy.
But it can get disorienting and whiplash-y.
Multi-passionate living has always been a struggle. While in many ways, it’s easier now than ever before, it’s also more difficult.
This post aims to fix all of these issues.
Multi-Passionate Personality Traits
You may not have all of these traits. But these are some things I experience or notice in multi-passionate people:
Intuitive
Creative
Spontaneous
Always curious
Can easily feel restless
Struggles with structure
Often bored with the details
Can pick up new skills easily
Intense motivation (followed by burnout)
Fantastic at starting things (but less so at finishing them)
Multi-Passionate Examples
Modern Creators and Creatives
Have you ever noticed how so many creators and creatives have multiple projects, interests and accounts. It’s because they tend to be multi-passionate.
But the multi-passionate creative isn’t anything new (it sort of comes with the territory).
But here are a few multi-passionate creators who come to mind:
The Multi-Passionate Entrepreneur
Creators aren’t the only multi-path personalities dominating our social feeds. So many modern entrepreneurs are actually just multi-passionate creatives (vice versa).
We have so many epic tools available nowadays that bootstrapping multiple micro-SaaS companies, passion blogs and side projects is more possible than ever before (if for no other reason than to test an idea or follow your intuition).
Multi-Instrumentalists and Multi-Artists
As a musician and artist, this was my first experience with the multi-passionate life. For example, I started with guitar. But I quickly started craving more. So I started learning piano, then singing, and then music production.
I think this is common for many artists. Just like painters who become mixed media artists or actors who start singing.
Perhaps, to be an artist is to also be multi-passionate. We all may have a principle “instrument”, but the dabbling is never done.
Multi-Hobbyists
If you feel like you have too many hobbies, you’re probably just a multi-passionate person.
I think we’re splitting hairs about hobby vs. passion, but for simplicity, a hobbyist’s goal may be less professional or public.
Still, the multi-hobbyist is every bit a multi-passionate. And when they’re ready to turn any of their passions into something more, rest assured they totally can.
Multi-Passionates Have A Superpower (here’s why)
If Dan Koe is right, then the age of the specialist is over. And that means that multi-passionates can step into the spotlight and thrive.
And I agree with his thesis. I’m living it and finding it’s a serious advantage — a superpower.
I was recently reading The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition by Peter Hollins, and in it, he talks about the benefits of not becoming the top 1% of your domain, and instead becoming just good enough (which is far better than most people) in many related skills.
He argues that reaching the top 1% of your niche is incredibly hard, and pretty unlikely for most people. Although, getting to the top 10% (or even the top few percent) is much easier.
But here’s the exciting part. By stacking multiple skills this way, you end up becoming irreplaceable and extremely competitive.
This exemplifies the power of multi-passionate living.
You don’t need to be the best at any single thing. But getting pretty dang good at many things makes you totally original and outstanding.
Of course, that’s not to say you shouldn’t at least try to become the best. For some, that is your path.
But if you're multi-passionate, chances are you can’t focus on any single domain long enough to reach that level of mastery (unless you’re a prodigy).
Luckily, creative specialization is no longer the best approach.
Being great at many things makes you nimble and more likely to draw unique connections. You’re flexible and adaptable. It’s like having a diversified stock portfolio.
If one of your investments crashes and burns because of another Reddit short squeeze, it’s okay.
The multi-passionate lifestyle also builds authenticity, which is one of the most powerful assets for modern entrepreneurial life.
So if you’re destined to follow multiple paths, rest easy — you have the upper hand.
How to Live a Successful Multi-Passionate Life
1. Really Know Yourself
If you have a smartphone, you can pretty much do anything. This is awesome, but also overwhelming.
So now more than ever, it’s essentially to really and truly know yourself (to help narrow your focus).
For example, start by identifying your:
Values
Interests
Experiences
Skills and bottlenecks
Knowing these things about yourself will help you focus on the passions that most align with who you naturally are. This is super helpful.
Because exploring new or random paths is great for curiosity, creativity, making unique connections and building novel skills — but if you don’t have an anchor to come back to, then this dabbling starts to look more like spaghetti.
A multi-passionate life means having multiple goals. And a little bit of clarity makes that a whole lot easier.
2. Be An Intentional Polymath
If you’re multi-passionate, then congrats, you’re also a polymath (somebody with wide-ranging skills and knowledge).
And as a multi-passionate polymath, it’s super easy to slip and go off course — because everything is interesting and important, so rabbit holes abound. But adding even a little bit of purpose will keep things tight.
Multi-passionate success is a matter of intention.
So when you find yourself exploring new ideas or skills to add to your stack, pause and ask: how does this fit with my current map?
But of course, I wouldn’t expect dogmatism here either.
There will always be times for completely new pivots and learnings. But the more you can stack related passions on top of each other, the closer you get to multi-passionate clarity and success.
So follow your intuition and take your side quests. But always look for an interesting connection or a shared theme.
Be an intentional polymath.
This is why I always define my through lines.
3. Find Your Through Line(s)
Through lines are what connect your many passions. It’s the thread that pulls things together.
Like a connecting plot in an epic story, your through line adds clarity to seemingly unrelated ideas or projects.
Or (to make another simile), your through line is like a meandering river, which may bounce left and right and even split off, but it’s still the same river.
Consider a creator who makes music, films and paintings and writes novels too. They may realize that creative storytelling is their through line. They love the art of telling a good story and that’s the driving theme for their branding, content and projects.
So, when reviewing your passions and projects, try to find your through line(s). It can help to consider your personal values for more clarity.
4. Use Flexible Workflows
“I hate structure. It doesn’t work for me or my non-linear life. But that doesn’t mean all systems are bad. Sometimes — to really juggle many paths — the right workflow is essential.”
The perfect system (or workflow) for the multi-passionate lifestyle is one that’s flexible, adaptable and allows for spontaneity and easy management of multiple projects.
For example, my creative workflow is made up my favorite productivity methods, such as:
Focus loops. This is my personal system for rotating between many passions and managing multiple projects.
Peak performance time. I’m more creative in the morning and the evenings, so I schedule my most creative work during these times.
Microproductivity. I focus on small steps over time, which compound and lead to lasting change and progress.
If you’re not sure where to start, I’d first play around with different systems and workflow strategies. Pay attention to what you like and what you hate — then piece together the best parts and create your own.
Explore more:
➤ My Favorite Time Management Styles
5. Leverage Modern Tools + Resources
Modern tools make the multi-passionate lifestyle possible.
Social media removed the gatekeepers. AI removed the bottlenecks.
Together, these things make us unstoppable (as long as we stay motivated 😬).
So which tools do you use? That depends on you. Because the perfect tool is always the tool you like the most.
But when it comes to leveraging tools like AI, here’s my general rule of thumb (especially for authority or personal branding):
Automate what you hate, keep what you love.
So here are some of my favorite tools that make multi-passionate living easier:
ChatGPT. Treat ChatGPT like your personal coach (and tell it so). Have frequent brainstorming sessions, work out problems, provide tons of context and train it to consider your personality, goals, values and preferences. It’s a game-changer for decision making and creating first drafts for any project imaginable.
AI. There’s a lot more AI beyond ChatGPT (obviously). And AI is one of those harbingers, allowing multi-passionate people to finally pursue multiple passions (without burning out). So explore the different AI tools available in your niches, test them out and choose your favorite. But the bottom line is this: use AI.
Notion. Notion is the ultimate productivity powerhouse for building custom systems and templates. There’s a slight learning curve, but you can pretty much make whatever you want (including nested subpages, tags, visual kanban boards and more).
mymind. This tool is amazing. It automatically saves your favorite links, photos or whatever and then organizes them for you, storing everything in one central location (freaking AI, am I right?). This is an epic way to stay organized and organize multiple passions and remember all your rabbit holes.
And if you’re keen to stay in the loop with multi-passionate living, then be sure to bookmark my blog or check out my newsletter! Multi-passionate living is one of the main topics I talk about 😏.
6. Have Projects
Projects are creative goals that put your passions to work, making them more action-oriented and meaningful.
They make random plans, creative scheming and weekend side quests more actionable and concrete.
Or put another way, projects give your passions a home.
So here’s how to turn your multiple passions into projects:
Give your passions a creative purpose (such as blogging)
Attach clear goals to your passions (like sharpening your skills)
Turn a passion into a public challenge
Build a business around your passion(s)
Create your brand around your passions
7. Be Aware of the Sharing Paradox
If you’re multi-passionate but surrounded by “normies”, there’s a good chance they don’t quite understand you (or fully believe you can do it all).
This leads to something I call the sharing paradox:
The more you share what you’re doing, the less they understand what you’re doing.
Multi-passionate people naturally hop between projects, explore new side quests and will get deeply excited and hyper-focused about new projects.
But often, the excitement fizzles. So one week you may be tinkering on a blog endeavor, but the following link, your heart is calling you to whittle wood (for example).
To the outside single-passion person, this can look flaky and disorganized.
The paradox happens because, as multi-passionates, we want to share what we’re working on because it’s deeply important and exciting. But whenever that followup question comes (e.g., “Hey, how’s that project thing coming along?”), it's not always easy to answer.
It’s not because you’ve abandoned it (well, maybe you have), but it’s because your focus is actually on something else entirely — at the moment!
So for me, oversharing (to the wrong people) creates extra anxiety and self doubt.
Instead, I try to just let my actions and results speak for themselves.
8. Actually Finish Stuff
Multi-passionates struggle to finish what they start. And I know I’m not alone!
Finishing one project takes discipline — but finishing multiple? It’s another level.
Constantly cycling through different passions, choosing between new side quests and always needing to remember where you left off creates slower progress and issues with follow-through.
So yes, learning new skills and starting new projects is our muse. But actually seeing those things through? lol
So here are a few tips to actually move the needle and finish your passion projects:
Aim for milestones, not finish lines
Work in the nano (take small consistent steps)
Work with your mood (not against it)
Stack your deck (create a supporting life context)
Later ✌️
The multi-passionate life is one of adventure, creativity and opportunity. And with modern technology and personal branding trends, it’s more possible than ever before.
Actually, it’s a superpower.
Multi-passionates are polymaths and can make innovative connections, stand out more easily and leverage their mood to stay motivated.
Building a multi-passionate life starts with clarity and intention. Then, it’s all about finding the right systems, tools and methods.
Whether you’re a hobbyist, an artist or an entrepreneur, right now is the best time to be multi-passionate.
And this guide was your crash course on how to realistically embody this lifestyle.
So, what projects are you hyper-focusing on right now?
Want More? Nice. Here’s More.
