Hello friends. It’s been a while since I’ve really written anything. It’s ironic; I lost my job back in June and had nothing but time while looking for a new path. In those six months, I could have focused on an intense workout routine and lifestyle diet that would have put my health back in shape. I could have written and self-published at least 4 books with all the ideas I have.
I could have deep cleaned my house, thoroughly gone through and discarded unnecessary belongings, and finally got my pictures from 2012 and on sorted into albums. I should have been able to easily reach my Goodreads goal of a book a week instead of reading maybe 3 books the whole time.
And yet… here I am and seemingly accomplished nothing.
It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. I couldn’t even tell you where my time went. I can’t say I was on social media, socialized, read, or played Royal Match more often than I did when I was employed. I did concentrate my energy on better understanding who I was and what I wanted out of life, so that turned out to be a pretty important accomplishment in my book.
What I learned about myself was a little unusual. It all started when I first lost my job, and the thought of getting back into another bureaucratic corporation made me cringe. But being the “good girl” that I am, I diligently updated my resume and LinkedIn page and set to work sending my resume out to whoever looked like a good bite. And for anyone else out there in my position, you know how dry the employment well was. If AI didn’t find the right keywords, you “weren’t the right fit”—even if you were perfect for it.
The whole time I was in this mode, all I kept hearing was a little voice saying the word “dabble.”
I’d dismiss it because it sounded so ridiculous to consider. How on earth would I “dabble” and keep a roof over our heads? That’s not responsible. That’s not a good enough security blanket. Time and money were running out, and one leftover second part-time job was not going to cover me for long.
But then I kept getting little signs and nudges from the universe about it being possible. I could work multiple “gigs” that equated to a full-time income. One of the only two interviews I was called back for was for a writing class for homeschooled children. It would only be very part-time, but it also came with an opportunity for tutoring. I was hired, and while my start date was delayed until spring, I have this child-like excitement over being able to share my love of writing with little ones.
Then my part-time second job approached me with an opportunity to take on more—more hours, more pay. Okay, that was going to help. What else could I get myself into? I then began looking into part-time office opportunities that would use less of my brain—just pay me to show, organize, cheer up my environment, and go home. That seemed more promising but again, the market was tough and I was way too “overqualified” and passed on because they assumed I’d be wanting to further myself up to executive level at some point (even though I clearly said I didn’t want that).
This concept of doing a few jobs instead of one though was furthered by another revelation: the discovery that by Human Design, I am a manifesting generator.
This opened my whole mind and world up to a greater understanding of why I was feeling this pull to dabble instead of loyally commit to a one and only. Apparently, my “design” is such that I crave bringing multiple projects together and then handing them off and moving on to something new. When I look back at my long-term career, I realized that when I did do that—move from building an intranet to starting a marketing department to creating a company culture to establishing a structured proposal process to helping to write the corporate biography—I was at my happiest and most productive. At my lowest was when I was relegated to outputting proposals like a robot… and that was for many years.
And then I thought about the life of my career, all the skills I acquired that went beyond my professional writing background. Self-taught website building and CRM administration. Developing nutrition-based lesson plans. Survey analysis, non-profit coordination, event planning and management, and even public speaking. I went back to school for a Masters in Psychology and became certified as a life coach, learned how to read astrological charts, and had my own talk show on YouTube for a few years.
I used to wonder why I would be drawn to learn all these different things that seemed to be unrelated. So imagine my heartfelt surprise (and relief) when I realized that I was actually meant to do different things.
It all began to resonate and make sense the more I read about my particular human design. Not only did I receive confirmation about my ability to juggle multiple tasks, but also I learned really interesting insight into my body’s strongest sense (smell – yes!), its diet preferences (hearty meals after a productive burst later in the day), and my most connected chakra when I am aligned (sacral—the more I create, the more I am aligned!)
Armed with this new information about myself and still having the issue of being not fully employed, I started having ideas on how I could make some passive income. I dived right into designing an online retail store that sold sassy t-shirts, mugs, and journals (though I only had one sale). I added another published book to my collection, knowing that one day, when I am found, book sales will completely take off.
I also revisited my ideas for written astro reports, which once set-up correctly, would become super automated. I found a weird opportunity on Upwork to record staged medical conversations, which I roped my daughter into helping me with. I signed up for InstaCart! Do you know how fun it is to SHOP and yet not spend your own money?
I was excited as I took on these new creations. And while none seemed to bring in any money, it was enlisting me in a new vibe of creativity and possibility.
I let go of the need to apply to full-time jobs and started following my intuition. I saw how these mini opportunities started adding up to a decent income where I could cover at least rent and utilities. I had other income sources that covered food. All I needed now was one more juicy opportunity to cover the rest, like car, phone, and other bills. I did what I could to streamline payments, but I was still needing something solid to count on.
I gave up trying for the holidays, and the opportunity found me. And it is more amazing than I could ever expected. I reconnected with an old colleague, and I was instantly hired to run his advertising department. In a short amount of time, it’s developed into so much more than that, and I feel incredibly valued, grateful, and motivated by what I am creating. And then another opportunity for a smaller company still in start-up stages showed itself as a part-time, contracted Chief of Staff.
So here I am today. Loving doing multiple projects. Being valued by every client I work with. And by value, I don’t mean pay—though I feel in my gut my investment in pay cuts will yield generous abundance in the future.
What’s most important to me is that I proved to myself (and possibly to others) that it IS possible to survive and thrive as a dabbler.
That you can be “of all trades” and still be a master of all of them. Those skills build upon each other in such a beautiful way I never expected. You can be who you are authentically and be appreciated for your innate talents. You can find those gems of opportunity that light you up and make you realize how miserable you truly were when following societal structure.
I won’t ever go back there again (to corporate America). I may be working for companies, but I’m not working for money-focused organizations. And that has a huge impact on culture—it actually means something and isn’t just a catchphrase.
So if you’ve ever wondered why you have a wandering career eye, it could be that you yearn to be a dabbler, too. And I’m here to tell you, yes, it is a risk, but a risk I am so glad I took. I could not be happier with this new path I manifested. I’m happier with me.
To check out all my different sides, I’ve compiled all websites and services into one: www.jennydeeauthor.com. If you want to see what successful gig-ging can look like, take a peak and hopefully be inspired to take that leap. You have at least one supporter behind you xo
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