Navigating Multiple Passions: Friendly Tips for Balancing a Creative Career, Life, Motherhood and Everything In Between

The “Why, Oh Why, Can’t I?” Podcast: Season 1, Episode 1

Stop asking how someone else is able to and discover the power of asking “why, oh why can’t I?!” This week on the podcast, we’re talking about balancing multiple passions and sharing practical tips for navigating the complexities of juggling multiple pursuits. Our host, Christy Keane, will be sharing her own experiences as a multi-passionate content creator and mom, and we’ll be discussing:

• Actionable steps for prioritizing your passions and finding ways to make time for what matters most
• Mindset shifts that can help you overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome
• Strategies for balancing multiple passions and career goals
• Personal anecdotes and insights from our Christy on her experiences with pursuing multiple passions

Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and let us know your ‘happy little hyperfixation’ of the week! We’d love to hear what you’re passionate about and how you’re navigating multiple pursuits. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at @christykeanecan – we can’t wait to hear from you!

Episode Transcript

 [00:00:00] If you are a multi-passionate person like me and you struggle with the idea of picking just one thing and sticking to it, then you are going to like today’s episode because the truth is it is possible to balance multiple passions and career goals.

And I promise there are plenty of people who have been able to find fulfillment in the process along the way. 2023 as the perfect year to really organize and share and create in all aspects of your life.

Hello, all of you. Happy little Bluebird. I’m so happy you’re here today. I can’t wait to dive into this topic with you, but let’s start the episode with this week’s happy little hyper fixation this is just a quick segment that I’m going to start the podcast with because I really just want to have fun and normalize the fact that so many of us tend to hyper fixate on so many new and wonderful things, and it’s easy to feel guilt around that, or it’s easy to feel a little bit of shame about that because for whatever reason in the world, it seems like we are not supposed to branch out our thoughts and learn new things, doesn’t that sound dumb [00:01:00] when you say it out loud? But this is basically just a little tiny segment that I wanna start each episode with because I just wanna have fun and normalize the fact that many of us as content creators, love to go on deep dives and new topics, and learn new things, and that is definitely something that I do all the time.

This week’s hyper little fixation of the week for me is doing a deep dive into ai, art and AI automation of content. And you guys, these language models are insane. And I started talking a lot about my interest in web three last year.

One of my other big hyper fixations and people were very resistant to it, but I think that you will see, you cannot be resistant to this in, 2023. These are definitely tools that are going to help multi-passionate people like us be. To put our eggs in literally as many baskets as we want.

And we better do that now because I tell you what, the machines are going to be taking those baskets from us and all of our eggs here very soon. So I. I’m doing it all [00:02:00] while I can still have a captive human audience, and I’m not even kidding. There is a very big chance that in the next few years, podcasts that we listen to might be synthetically made podcast.

But yes, that’s my happy little hyper fixation rant of the week, and I want to hear what your happy little hyper fixations are this week as well. Post them in a story and tag me in them so I can share them. I really do think the more that we make people aware of how fun and interesting it is and how normal it is to have these hyper fixation, deep dive type of Creative personalities

I think that more people will embrace it Okay, so back to the episode topic. As I was saying when we started the show as multi-passionate individuals, we struggle with the idea of nicheing down, and we are in a world that is so obsessed with nicheing.

and because this is the first podcast episode, I am finally going to put into the public airwaves , what [00:03:00] my motivating mantra is for this, because if you were somebody that is drawn to this podcast or a multi passionate person, then you will understand. Why it grinds my gears when somebody says the riches are in the niches.

I cannot stand that phrase because it makes me feel so ashamed. It makes me feel so small, it took me a lot of mindset work and reframing to get okay with the fact that there are other methods to success without the need to niche. And as we’ll talk about in future episodes of this show, you can be a multi-passionate person and have different niche down topic content somewhere else, but still be able to explore many of them.

Okay,. Let’s go back to that phrase, if we’re saying the phrase, the riches are in the niches in 2022, it’s pretty clear that they are talking either a monetary gain or a vanity metric gain.

So if you want to. Have more subscribers. If you want to [00:04:00] make more money, if you want to get more views, create these very niche down topics. Niche down brands, and that’s apparently the recipe for success. But to me, and I think this is important for everybody to remember, and I think it’s why a lot of content creators and influencers are experiencing burnout, a rich life is more than just money and vanity metrics.

I know that sounds crazy, but to me that is not what makes me feel. Human and alive and fulfilled and worthy. It just isn’t something that makes me feel good. Honestly, if I had to just stay in one lane, I would be so sad and I am so like envious of people who can do that. I think that’s amazing that we are all just created so differently and our brains are so different.

My brain does not work that way. If your brain also does not work that way, I am going to tell you the phrase that you tell yourself. Anytime you’re listening to any [00:05:00] guru’s advice that says the riches are in the niches and it’s getting you feeling insecure or ashamed. You stop that thought in its track and you say, niches are for bitches.

 Sorry, I know it is a not a good word, but, and I’m not saying that niches are for bitches because honestly, if a niche is something that makes you happy and you’re finding success with it, and you are feeling fulfilled by all means, like niche down. I’m not saying that you’re a bitch, I’m just saying as somebody who has had to listen to feeling like a failure because the riches are in the niches and you somehow feel poor.

I’m just saying we have a new saying. We are gonna say niches are for bitches, and if you made it this far in the podcast, you are officially going to sound like one of the most confident speakers ever because.

 I have listened to pretty much every self-development professional development book and podcast there is out there, and I can point out, which I don’t even, I don’t know if it’s ever even happened [00:06:00] with the big people that I listen to.

If somebody can be sharing a thought or an idea. or value, and they bring up the word niche and they can say it without having to say niche or niche or niche or whatever you say, if you can just say the word niche and be confident, and that’s how you pronounce it. It is like very at attractively, confident now you always remember an easy way to say it and not stutter because when somebody says the riches are in the niches.

You say niches are for bitches. But also I know the struggle of just feeling torn between being so interested in so many things and not knowing where to put that priority or how to pursue everything without spreading ourselves too thin.

But we are gonna talk about how to balance that in a way that is fulfilling and that works. . I just wanna illustrate this point and share that, I have so many different passions in life and I have. Many different careers along the way. I was a NICU nurse. A Navy Nurse Corps [00:07:00] officer a sports medicine nurse.

 A personal trainer. I am a Fitness America bikini champion of Southern California Rock Climber. Photographer, videographer. I have a media company, like so many different. Things . On top of being a mom of three and a military spouse, it is overwhelming and it’s hard to try to balance all the passions and goals, especially because a lot of these things require a lot of time and it’s really important for me to establish.

Right out the gate, my values and where that time needs to go the most, which has always been my family and being present with my children like at five o’clock in the weekends. My goal is to not do anything work related because a happy and content life for me or anything that I am building behind the scenes is for those hours so I can be home with my kids, creating memories so that.

One little thing to keep in mind along the way, when [00:08:00] you prioritize your time and your passions, you really make room for them all because you can be organized and strategic. For example, I schedule dedicated times for many of the things that I do.

That includes like down to my personal time my me time every day is putting on my makeup and listening to a True Crime podcast. It is something that is a non-negotiable and honestly, when I was learning about being a makeup influencer, which was one of my hyper fixations and a big part of my 2022 journey.

One of the reasons why I really didn’t wanna continue that path was because I could not stand having to stop and film myself and make it art for somebody else to enjoy, because that’s the time of day that I enjoyed and it was sucking the enjoyment out of it. And even though it is something that I love, that I knew I could turn into a successful and profit.

 Area to niche down , I didn’t [00:09:00] really want to do that, and that’s perfectly fine. But I tried it and now I have awesome connections with really amazing makeup brands, it was such a fun time I find fun in the moments where I’m really digging into what I am creating.

If that was my one time of day that I was relaxing , I just turned it into work. And what? I still really do go down rabbit holes about makeup, especially makeup for maturing skin and beauty,

 And even though I struggle with this, I have also realized that I don’t have to monetize or make a career or a brand out of all of my. . I am saying that on the podcast today because I want to give you permission to just have some of these passions and interest because they fill you up.

Let the richness that it’s bringing to your life just be the joy and excitement and the rush of energy you get from learning it and experiencing it but on the flip side of that, we can also make money out of things that make [00:10:00] us really happy It’s all about just figuring that out and being honest with yourself.

At the end of the day, this is your life. This is the life you are creating. 

I know a lot of us have entrepreneurial spirits and entrepreneurial brains I understand that most of us do want to create some sort of an income to fuel this life through these passions. So in order to balance all of these different ideas it’s important to delegate task and outsource when necessary. delegating a task and outsourcing doesn’t mean you are giving up creative control of any of these things. It doesn’t mean that you are not successful in doing it on your It just means that you are freeing up time so you can focus on what’s important to you and in different seasons of life, you might have to delegate different tasks as you grow and learn, you will figure out which of those make a lot more. And you just have to trust your gut on it.[00:11:00] if your brain sounds anything like mine, I promise you we cannot do this alone.

I always reference myself as a MacBook or an iPhone, and I’m trying to explain this to my husband. imagine a MacBook 265 gigabyte computer and Safari and Google Chrome are open, and there’s actually probably three windows open for each browser. and within those windows, there’s probably like 15 tabs open on the different topics because I didn’t wanna forget about them on the different topics.

And then there’s probably a couple other tabs open within those subjects about something completely random that I wanted to remind myself that I want to look up when I get back to my computer. On top of that, I also have other apps running I still have the calendar app .

 I have the photo and video editors open. I have Adobe Audition open for the podcast. I have all these different things open on my computer. And it just starts slowing down [00:12:00] all of a sudden the windows in my Safari browser aren’t open as quickly anymore.

 None of the creative work that I’m doing is able to process in time because the computer is just literally in overdrive and my friends. That is who we are When we get into these multi-passionate zones of genius and we don’t ask for so with your computer, you gotta close out the tab.

you gotta close some of those different apps that are running in the background so that other ones can run better as far as help, you can get on a faster wifi network. You can have somebody come in and make things faster. Maybe they can edit faster on their network. Maybe they have better software on their network where they can edit that work that you’re doing on your computer and give it back to you faster than.

You might have somebody who can just clear that email notification that says like 2,377 and just windle it down and it makes you feel so good when you look at your computer screen and it’s not full of red notifications and to do [00:13:00] errors and it’s functioning properly because it only has open what is absolutely needed.

So you are MacBook 264 gigabytes and if you have to get yourself some ram, if you have to get on a different network, if you need to just restart that computer. and just rest and let it regather its thoughts and boot back up. Then you do it. . What I’m trying to circle back to is the fact that delegating task and outsourcing is absolutely necessary if you want to be successful at balancing your multi-passionate interest.

A huge mindset tip for me that has been very helpful and that is something that I’m guiding me in 2023, is the fact that it’s okay to be consistently and consistent and it’s okay to prioritize my interest differently as they change and evolve, and I’m really grateful for that.

I want people to expect from me that I am creative and they might see me learning and sharing new things, but I [00:14:00] also want them to know that they’re gonna get that from me consistently. Because. . In the past, I’ve been inconsistent about sharing that because of shame or because of embarrassment. And honestly, it has really held me back. It has held me back creatively. It has held me back from opportunities and just from pursuing what I love, out of that fear of what other people think, which is something.

 I know many of us struggle with . Even as I sit here recording this podcast, I have the faces of the people that I fear what they’re thinking about me, which is just something that is a mindset thing. And then we are gonna work on that together because I know you know exactly what I’m talking about.

It’s that fear of somebody being like, oh, here goes Christie again. , what’s she doing this week? . But just because I’m thinking that doesn’t mean they are saying that, but it also means that they might, but why would that be a bad thing 

Look at Christie learning something new that she’s loving. Whoa, [00:15:00] that’s different from her last really fun, interesting topic for my friends, , I’m like, I am so here for this. I am cheering you on. I love seeing you excited about something.

I love watching you grow and learn. Isn’t it so cool that even though we’re 38 years old, we can still be the old dogs learning new tricks? Come on now. That’s awesome. , cheer yourself on. If you just need somebody, if you just want to DM me and tell me. I do this, but this week I’ve been learning this and last week I learned that just message me. Cause I’m gonna be like, that is badass.

 all of these little things we’re doing have been leading up to these bigger opportunities.

And that is what brings me to one big final point that even if a new interest or a passion seems like it’s out of left field, you never know how the tools and skills that each one of those can come together for in a bigger and a more purposeful way. It is okay to feel bewildered at how your brain is amazing these big ideas, they might seem really big and far right now, [00:16:00] but all these little seeds that you’re planting, all of these little paths that you’re taking, they’re leading you too. That bigger idea it’s always funny when those bigger projects come along and you’re able to reflect and say, oh my.

 I’m so glad that I had that in my toolbox because that is how I got considered for this position or this role that I’m doing, and I’m so glad I had this experience because my kid needs this advice and ah, it makes sense now I had to go through this so I can guide them through this.

These things actually do matter, and they all come together. And when you start to give your interests and your side hobbies and your hyper fixations, when you start to give them value, they give value back to you. So that’s just something that I think we, are trained to not do, but I think you should.

 just trust your instincts. If your heart and soul are [00:17:00] being pulled in a direction to learn something or to pursue something, trust your gut. There is a reason that you have that feeling. There is a reason that something from within you is calling you in that direction and just trust that and feel good about it.

Just know if you’re struggling with how to balance these multiple passions and these career goals and motherhood, and being a good wife and a friend. You are not alone. Okay? I still struggle with this, but hopefully these are just the small things that can help you as well.

Again, schedule dedicated time for each of your passions. This could be a set time each week or each month or a little bit every day. It just depends on the level of commitment that is required and that you have based on you and your life. Don’t let somebody else’s journey and their path define yours.

Delegate task and outsource when necessary. Free up your time and energy. Get your MacBook 2 64 running smoothly. Get that ram, close those tabs. Get [00:18:00] on that fast wifi . You guys when you think of it that way, it really does make so much more sense. Remember that it’s okay to be consistently and consistent.

That’s what we are good at as multi-passionate people. Honestly, it’s probably one of the most consistent things that I have done in my entire life, is just consistently be inconsistent. If that’s who I am, that’s who I am.

Even if your passions and your interests and goals change over time, just keep moving forward. I hope this conversation today was helpful and that you feel a little bit more confident in your ability to balance multiple passions. It’s possible. I would say it’s not easy, but we’re gonna get into in some episodes, it’s getting pretty damn easy in 2023.

Okay. As a human, as long as you are creating and learning and growing out of compassion and purpose and kindness, you can do this.

You can do this gracefully. You can do all of the things gracefully. and I’m here for it. I want to hear all about it. Please. I’m not kidding. [00:19:00] I want to see dms from you about you don’t have to put a story up and tag me. It doesn’t have to be anything for engagement on my side.

I just wanna hear them , I want to how you felt about this episode, if anything that I talked about. a nerve with you or that you could relate to. I’m asking you to DM me about that because I wanna hear that. I am making this podcast not only for you to have community, I am seeking this community.

I am seeking you. I want a friend who understands. So please connect with me on social media. I’m at Christy Keen. Can every. , be kind to yourself, be kind to others. I love what you’re doing. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Y O Y Can’t I? Until next time, keep following the yellow brick code to success, and I can’t wait to see you. Happy little Bluebird on the other side of the rainbow.