The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do

I could, of course, tell them I run a website selling online
products but that I’m not really an entrepreneur—not like
my friends who run furniture stores and restaurants and
such. They have staff members and a storefront. My
business is just me. I write, speak, and look for ways to
support my family. That’s what I do.
The truth is I do all these things—they are all a part of
me in their own way. And although each task might be hard
to fit into a single job description, this is what I do. I learned
there is a term for such a lifestyle, and it’s not ADHD.
“It’s called a portfolio life,” my friend Keith told me.
“A what?” I said.
“A portfolio life. It means you aren’t just a writer or a
husband or a dad. You are all those things, and you need to
embrace them.”
“Oh,” I said. “Cool.”
Not long ago, I had lunch with an author friend. As we
both scooped spoonfuls of gumbo into our mouths to warm
ourselves against the winter air, I mustered the courage to
ask a question.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, if you
don’t mind getting a little personal . . .”
He looked at me but said nothing. I continued.
“Um, so, uh, how do you make a living? Is it just
through book advances and stuff? They can’t be that much,
can they?”
I knew for a fact he was writing a new book every few
years, but the way his publisher stretched out the payments,