{"id":1879,"date":"2015-09-24T09:09:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T09:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anartfuldogger.com\/?p=1879"},"modified":"2016-02-18T00:12:55","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T00:12:55","slug":"the-multipotentialite-advantage-an-asset-to-the-pet-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/anartfuldogger.com\/the-multipotentialite-advantage-an-asset-to-the-pet-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Multipotentialite Advantage: Why My Wacky, Eclectic Background Is an Asset to the Pet Industry\u2014and All Other Industries!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Contents<\/p>
<\/a><\/p>\n Passions are like potato chips. No one can have just one.<\/p>\n That’s how we multipotentialites\/polymaths\/scanners\/Renaissance personalities\/Jacks and Jills of all trades roll. We flit from one interest to another, picking up a bunch of stuff and diving deep into it, then ditching it, going to the next new thing, then back the old thing again. Repeat cycle ad infinitum.<\/p>\n I’d always been A-OK with my plural nature\u2014until society said that it wasn’t. And it’s still sticking to its guns. There’s always been real pressure to specialize because financial security is top priority, especially if you come from an immigrant community like I do.<\/p>\n I’ve always been a swan in a pond full of ducks. For the longest time, I’ve felt alone and inadequate, being judged for not being able to settle with one thing permanently.<\/p>\n A lot of us multipotentialites have been branded as freaks, slackers, flaky, unfocused, irresponsible, and easily distracted. (SQUIRREL!)<\/i><\/p>\n Yes, I’m definitely freaky and guilty of squirrel pursuit, but slacker? Heck, no.<\/p>\n It takes a lot of effort to spin many plates. Multipotentiality isn’t for couch potatoes.<\/p>\n Many pro pet sitters boast <\/span>advertise that pets are their one true, full-time calling. Not that there’s anything wrong with that per se. I know many fine specialists who are dear friends and colleagues to me. But it gives folks the wrong impression that only specialists matter. Full-time specialists are often touted as true professionals, the real deal. Everyone else is just a dilettante or a pin money chaser.<\/p>\n However, multipotentialites bring plenty to the table. We all know about Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Oprah Winfrey, but did you know that there were also significant Renaissance personalities in the animal world?<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The famed Albert Schweitzer<\/a>, a physician, medical missionary, theologian, philanthropist, philosopher, writer, musicologist, and musician, was a vegetarian and champion for animal rights. He was credited for the Prayer for Animals<\/a> and the Reverence of Life, an ethical concept.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>Mikao Usui<\/a>, the founder of Reiki, a holistic healing modality and spiritual practice, was a perpetual student of life. A restless soul, he held many diverse jobs and was a scholar of many disciplines including history, medicine, theology, and astrology. His multipotentialite approach in combining universal elements of different spiritual and religious practices, including Christianity and Buddhism, helped shape the practice of Reiki. Although Reiki wasn’t originally practiced on animals, it was eventually incorporated into professions involving pets. Animal Reiki has increasingly become more popular these days. Had Usui been alive today, he’d be probably very pleased to see this!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am proud to be in the multipotentialite number. This is what makes me different from the rest of the pack. I am not any better than any other pet sitters nor they are better than I am. We all have our individual uniqueness. Different is better than better, as Sally Hogshead points out.<\/a><\/p>\n In Time Enough for Love<\/a> <\/i>and many of his novels,<\/i> Robert A. Heinlein makes the case for multipotentiality:<\/p>\n A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I may be currently a local pet sitter and house sitter based in Redlands and Riverside, California and surrounding areas, but I like to think globally. In all I do, I like to use my multipotentialite superpowers as my mentor, pal, and fellow multipotentialite Emilie Wapnick<\/a> highlights in the TEDx talk video below: idea synthesis, rapid learning, and adaptability.<\/p>\n