supposed to work.
A Portfolio Perspective
By the year 2020, 40 to 50 percent of the American
workforce will be freelancers. By 2030, it will be the
majority.^2 Some of these people are being forced into self-
employment caused by mass layoffs due to the strain of a
struggling economy, but others like myself have chosen
such a path. Now, why on earth would we do that?
People are not robots, programmed to do one thing. We
are multifaceted creatures with many varied interests. And
though we may like to believe we were born to do just one
thing, or perhaps we’re comfortable with only having one
career, the reality is most of us are hardwired for a handful
of activities that when combined lead to our greatest
satisfaction and best work.
The numbers are clear. A portfolio life is inevitable. The
challenge, then, is not whether you should start building
one, but when. We are complicated creatures, full of many
interests and assorted passions. What do we do with all of
them? We are not what we do for a living, but our life is
made up of what we do. So how do we take this complexity
into account? And what if our calling will never pay the
bills? Do we give up the pursuit? Take a vow of poverty? Or
is there another way?