“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living.”
~ Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
I think about this line often.
About how so many creative entrepreneurs live with the quiet, constant beckoning of unlived lives and paths we never took.
Sometimes it’s because we’re in ‘the dip’ of building something big.
Or trying our darnedest to commit to one thing so we’re taken seriously.
To be seen as strategic, and useful. Like we’ve got our shit together.
Many times it’s simply because we’re needed.
So we often edit ourselves down for clarity. Simplify our story for the pitch.
We try to sink into our “one main thing” because some coach or consultant told us that’s what converts.
They’re probably right. But it’s still hard to keep that ‘other’ part of you quiet.
But what if you’ve lived too many lives to be just one thing?
Re-written so many different chapters that your past lives have baked into your skin.
No wonder it’s hard to be “understandable” to people who haven’t started from scratch again and again.
Who don’t juggle ten identities daily.
What if your breadth of experience isn’t the problem… but your superpower?
What if your range IS the offer?
The strategist in you.
The builder.
The artist.
The protector.
The operator.
The predictor.
The one who’s been through the mud and still shows up with fire in your chest.
That unique mix could be the exact reason you notice patterns no one else sees.
And solve problems that specialists can’t.
Your ability to connect dots, shift contexts, speak multiple languages (strategic, creative, emotional, operational) — maybe that’s the product.
And maybe it’s fine to release the pressure to become a commodity.
To realize it’s okay to outgrow a container that can’t hold everything you’ve become.
After all, it’s much easier to create things that last when they’re built from actual life.
Let your work stretch to fit your range, and your message sound like your whole nuanced self.
Because as the world continues to shift faster and bigger than ever before – people are going to need someone who’s seen some shit… and still knows how to hold it together.
Someone who’s experience makes them fast to pivot, flexible in their thinking, and deeply intuitive.
Tell me – what’s one life you’ve lived that people don’t see on the surface – but still shapes everything you do?
I’d love to hear what lives are stirring in you.
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