You’re a multitude of things and not just one specific. As it applies to your life, you know that. But how true is it for your life online?
There’s this prevalent idea that to succeed as a creator, you have to limit yourself to doing less things. And I get that. If you spend all your time doing one thing without distractions, you’re going to go far faster (at least in theory). And when you’re selling your creations, customers will appreciate the coherency (at least in general).
Lately, I’ve begun to question these assumptions. And they stem from my hope that they’re wrong. Let’s investigate:
Going Far Faster
It appears that some manage to suppress themselves and go all in on something for years. Now, it might be they have fewer interests than I, but either reason, I’m not that kind of person myself. I’ve tried it, and I feel limited doing so. To me, writing is a big part of my life, but I wouldn’t quit music production, running, going fishing, or even gaming for it. There’s something about being and communicating all who I am that’s liberating.
Sure, it will slow me down, if the measure is hours spent doing one thing. But combine all my interest, and the hour-count might be the same. I guess I’m really only slowing down the development in one specific area, and not the development in my life. Besides, I want that latter development to be as rich as it can be. Now to be clear, I still put in decent time on one thing, it’s just that I’m not doing only that thing.
What about limiting how far you can go, e.g., your level of success? Here too, I believe the answer is no. Personally, I see success as being able to do the things you love. And limiting those things seems to act against that definition. Besides, there’s something about doing multiple things that inform each of the areas. There are crossover effects. That’s how it’s been for me at least, with writing and music in particular.
Is it the best approach in terms of productivity? I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that for me, it’s the best approach in terms of motivation, creativity, and overall well-being.
Now, even if you see success as money/status/impact/etc., the answer still appears to be no. Take Elon Musk as an example. Sure, he’s successful in terms of those things. But he’s also successful in doing what he loves, doing multiple things and following his interests. Another example that comes to mind is Rick Rubin. He’s one of the most notorious music producers of our time. And he succeeded by making records in genres as diverse as hip hop, heavy metal, and country.
Coherency
As modern creators, we use social media to showcase our work. Now, marketers talk about the importance of consistency and predictability, as customer-satisfaction tends to drop with increased complexity. And that’s a fine principle to follow, if your primary goal is to sell something. But to me, art isn’t primarily about selling. It’s about understanding and expressing who you are.
Personally, just to give an example with one of my interests: I want to write about whatever I find interesting. I don’t want to repeat myself over and over; I want to understand new things about myself, and then express those things to the world. And there’s another point too. As a psychology student, I can’t help but think that the way you act online influences the way you live offline. You see, there are no hard barriers between your internal and external environment. Limit yourself, and perhaps that’s precisely what you end up doing.
But I diverge. The question is, can you still make a living showcasing your multitude? First of all, there’s people out there that handle complexity, and even finds it interesting. So there’s that. And secondly, there’s people out there who aren’t only reactive customers, but proactive supporters. And the only way they become that is by interacting with you, first and foremost, and your creations second. Sure, they might first discover you for your work, but they will stick around for your personality.
Let’s use the same examples again. People don’t follow Elon on the sole premise of Tesla. They follow him because he’s Elon. And similarly, people don’t listen to Rubin because he produces hip hop. They listen to him because his essence exists in whatever genre he does. The thing they’re selling is beyond a specific product; it’s their whole authentic personality. And to play on that marketer’s principle I mentioned, that’s a factor that’s more or less consistent.
Concluding remarks
Don’t limit yourself. It’s not worth it. If you have multiple interests, allow them to unfold. Be you; all that you are. Personality > product.