“What you are is a multipotentialite.”

The other day as I was at the grocery store, I bumped into somebody I was once acquainted with. We exchanged pleasantries about what we were up to, where we worked and how life was generally going.

When the subject of daily life came up, my friend groaned and we both agreed, “day to day life stuff can be pretty challenging,” add in a 9-5 and sometimes we are just simply working for the weekends.

After the exchange I got back home and something jumped out at me. It was a photo of my best friend and I on top of my window seal. Braces, messy hair, big coats, gangly bodied teens just enjoying life. I remember that day together so vividly. We were 14, on the Oregon Coast and had spent the morning trudging with her mom to a coffee shop, practicing our long jump techniques and jumping into the waves.

I remember being so content, so happy to just be in my sweats, dinking around with my best friend and her family…. Yet, somewhere along the way carefree days seemed to subside and life became school and practice and work.

Anxieties cloud my mind far more than they used to…How am I going to pay this bill? Did I send those numbers to my boss? Where is my laptop? Why does my bank statement not match my book? Are my friends upset that I cant come visit more? Marriage, what!? People are getting married? The biggest is… Do I love what I do?

What I do, implies to work, I think anyone working full-time can agree that at some point in their life, they have wondered if they are doing what they love.

I recently watched this Ted Talk titled, why some of us don’t have one true calling, by Emilia Wapnick. The title says it all. It’s true, we are not just realtors, firefighters, secretaries or electricians. Most of us are not designed by one true fate. Could this be why I, and we, feel like this? We hit a roadblock where we wonder if it even matters, if we love what we are doing and where we are going within our career.

When Chris explained my marketing position to me, I had a very fixed mindset. Okay, so I market for clients and houses. That’s my role…or so I thought.

Our belief here is to better the community and the way of life here in Boise. Sure, I create ads, pull numbers and write remarks but there is a freedom to what I do here at CCRE that I believe truly benefits the work environment.

I am allowed to be creative and express my ideas in my own way, as long as it is following our Superhero mindset. Now, as someone brought up in a culture where you have to be one thing when you grow up, you can see how this freedom may have hindered me.

What do you MEAN I get to run events, volunteer, create a podcast or funny vlog!? That isn’t real estate!? Aren’t we supposed to sell homes!?—This was my exact rant to Chris

His response couldn’t have been better… Simply put, he wanted me to focus on what I love; to help not just our company grow, but our community. Here I am allowed to create and run marketing in the way I see fit, not just for CCRE but our clients and everyone in the Treasure Valley.

I took a long hard look at what I love and what I need out of life. If you haven’t done this I would highly suggest trying.

Here are mine:

1. Helping and saving animals
2. Having time to travel
3. Being able to better other people’s lives on a daily basis
4. Being part of something ‘bigger’
5. Writing
6. Reading

I believe when we are given the freedom to be who we are, life slowly shifts back into perspective. Here I was, needing a career that let me be me, and let me. Then what do you know? I find a path and a company that wanted just that… and I resisted. The resistance we feel, that we blame on our jobs, at least in my experience, only comes from two things; our fixed mindset and the surrounding culture.

Within this Ted Talk, Emilia talks about just that, how we are designed to believe we need one career… If we stretch our wings to allow us to be our true, multipotentialite selves, the possibilities within our career and lives are endless.

You’re truly allowed to always be that carefree kid chasing waves on the coast, while making money. You’re allowed to be more than just a position at work. When you combine all of your skills and strengths into one, just think how fulfilled & powerful that would make you

So, in your career, especially real estate, are you still feeding the need to do what you love? When you help someone find the home of their dreams, what do you do to make that moment stick out? When you’re in the office for longer that 10 hours, how are you making the most out of the rest of your days…or heck, what are you doing while at the office that truly feeds your soul?

— We would love to hear from fellow ‘adults’ on just how their work-life balance correlates with what they truly want out of life!

Link to Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/emilie_wapnick_why_some_of_us_don_t_have_one_true_calling#t-494242