The MultiPod

Eden Tadesse joins The MultiPod this week to share her remarkable life story, which is very much only at its beginning.

One of 12 children, including 9 daughters, born into a very patriarchal society in Ethiopia, Eden grew up with a father who chose to raise his daughters as "fierce, bad-ass women," empowering them to pursue their dreams, believe in themselves and not let anyone or anything stand in their way. 

Eden was a proud multipod and non-conformist even from a young age, and her father cheered her on every step of the way.

She and her siblings grew up in the slums of Addis Ababa, yet they went to the top private school in the country. Witnessing the stark contrast of what life is like on both sides of the economic spectrum has given her and her family profound perspective on the nature of relationships, wealth and opportunity.

In this remarkably wide-ranging conversation, Cristy, Vanessa and Ted chat with Eden about her many passions and projects. From developing a passion for IT as a student, to her university experience in India, her ambition to fight human trafficking by working at Interpol, her fascination with cybersecurity, the NGO she founded to serve refugees and displaced youth, a different NGO she also works for empowering youth in Africa, her new podcast on women in STEM, her upcoming book "Relish Through Rebellion" that tells her life story, and her recent discovery that her ikigai is to become a productivity coach, it's a biography that will leave you amazed, astounded, inspired and excited to witness where she'll go next.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

What are your thoughts on jellyfish?

What's a memory you have of where you changed your mind about something?

When's a time that you were brave?

When did you realize you were a multipotentialte?

and of course,

Do you prefer pudding or jello, and why?

Five amazing Puttypeep join host Vanessa to bring you their take on these questions, and more thoughts that spring from them, in Part 2 of Puttycomps #6, the Audio Extravaganza.

---- MultiPod Extras is an ongoing project of The MultiPod, where the hosts test out new podcast ideas in a bonus, typically one-off format.

Members of the Puttyverse can pitch their podcast ideas too! Email [email protected] with the show that you would like to demo. The MultiPod team can help you put it all together.

Do we ever "figure it out"? For good and forever? Is that even an attainable or worthwhile goal?

Today on The MultiPod, special guest Jessica Tudos sits down with co-hosts Cristy and Ted to share the story of her amazing multipotentialite life, knowing instinctively even from a young age that she couldn't just do the "one thing." Even after commiting to something as incredibly intensive and driven as Olympic-level gymnastics.

Jessica shares her Olympic journey, how she started out in gymnastics at 8 years old and went to the Olympics representing Canada at age 15. For some athletes, this could represent the beginning of lifelong immersion in a sport and a career therein. How did Jessica make the transition from an all-consuming activity to pursuing all kinds of other interests and opportunities?

Jessica's "portfolio career" has led her to having 66 "jobs" over the years, mostly by design and intention! 

These days, Jessica is an "Edupreneur," with training in formal education, especially experiential education ("learn-by-doing").

As an educator, she teaches college courses on life skills, that are applicable to all kinds of work and daily situations.

As an entrepreneur, she helps people manage their clutter and overwhelm, both in a physical and psychological sense. She created the "Tudos Technique," a 5-step system that helps eliminate clutter, whether files on your desk, files on your computer or the files in your head.

We chat about finding the courage within ourselves to "defend" ourselves and our career choices, when facing the inevitable pushback from peers and associates who say, "why don't you just choose one thing?" 

And yet, who, in the end, has given her the greatest resistance?

Fortunately, joining the Puttyverse has helped her define herself and her career. Just like filling our "buckets," we each need to fulfill our core elements. No matter what you may do specifically, if you can satisfy your core elements - the things that you need to do, or a certain lifestyle or structure - you're on your way to finding contentment in the moment.

Jessica's life is the story of an adventure of opportunities presenting themselves.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

Can you have three businesses at once, and live the multipod dream of variety, control and fulfillment?

Sarah Hockett is doing the thing, all the things, and finding that balance as we speak. But it has not come easily or quickly, nor without a fair share of obstacles and vulnerability along the way.

Sarah has always been a side-hustler, in addition to regular jobs, and was working in non-profits not so long ago. But bad bosses and toxic workplaces drove her to self-employment, full time. A visit to the Everything Conference in the fall of 2019 was a life-changer. Putting her story - her challenges and successes - out there started the process of finding the people who needed to find her.

Co-hosts Vanessa and Ted, and new special co-host Cristy, sit down with Sarah to discuss her approach to work/life balance, multitasking and how to carve out a path for yourself that allows you to help others.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

Did you know that there is another podcast out there that talks to multipotentialites?

It's called Hat Collecting, and we're happy to share it! https://www.hatcollecting.com/

Lacey Artemis is the host, and she is also a renewed member of the Puttyverse, returning to the community in early 2022 after many years away.

While The MultiPod starts with the multipotentialite people and gets to know their professions and hobbies, Hat Collecting starts with multipotentialite careers and activities and discovers the people who work in them.

That, and it is primarily a video podcast, something we haven't branched into yet on this show, but you can also find Hat Collecting on your audio podcast apps.

Lacey was fascinated with meeting people who have different hobbies and jobs, that seem to have no link to each other. For instance, a dog trainer, a makeup artist and a mushroom hunter (Episode #11). She was looking for a podcast or YouTube channel that explored this but it didn't exist, so in 2020 she created it herself.

Visit Hat Collecting to watch or hear the latest episodes, your preference!

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

As the calendar ticks over into 2022, The MultiPod bursts into its 5th year of existence since debuting in January, 2018.

Here to celebrate is someone who recently fêted his own 4 year Puttyversary: Ryan Cina, a regular stalwart in the forums and the new host of the Fortnightly "accountability" aka social group.

Co-hosts Vanessa and Ted welcome Ryan to chat about the Puttyverse experience, including recognizing that feeling of overwhelm when you first sign in, or perhaps for the first time after a while, and you're hit with all kinds of interesting topics and headlines, with lines of little faces staring back at you.

Ryan likens it to a story of meeting president Theodore Roosevelt back in the day, who was "bursting with energy like popping a champagne bottle."

So where to begin? Ryan suggests simply taking it one thread at a time, and remember that everything has its beginning. It's a similar lesson that he imparts to his staff, which led us to talking about his Einstein job, and a very difficult, challenging situation he found himself in about a year ago.

We often talk about entrepreneurship and business on The MultiPod and in the Puttyverse, but following Einstein's example and simply having a good, decent job to give you stability and structure is a perfectly valid option as well. Ryan's experience was a tough one, but did it leave him questioning the process?

Tune in to meet Ryan (if you haven't already!) and enjoy the conversation.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

Native Capetonian Levi joins us today on The MultiPod, for a moving conversation on expectations, change, adaptation and perseverance. 

Fynbos is a South African plant known for its brilliant colours, rich scent and importance to the water cycle, but also for its life of blossoming, then burning out through brush fires, followed by rebirth.

Levi's journey mirrors this experience, as he tells a remarkable story of growing up in South Africa, coming to Chicago on a tennis scholarship, studying pre-med, and then, 3 weeks from graduating, finding himself in the hospital, in the psychiatric ward.

From there, in the throes of burnout, came the need to recognize and understand a feeling of disconnection to his own body, and to reconcile with different parts of himself: gender, faith and family.

Today, Levi embraces the rebirth stage of his journey: a burgeoning teaching, tutoring and counselling business, many diverse projects and ideas on the side, and finding an inner peace with his gender transition.

It is a powerful, candid discussion about releasing ourselves from expectations, and discovering deep, profound honesty.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

Puttystar Jef joins us today on The MultiPod, joining host Ted for an engaging conversation on the value of community and the support it brings, as we navigate major life changes.

Jef completed his Masters degree in engineering this past year, an experience that left him feeling that classic multipod mix of excitement about opportunities and adventures, while apprehension towards making the right commitments. 

The support of community not only helped him in finishing his degree, but also encouraged him to forge his own path and be confident in figuring out his journey. And it even led to him finding a roommate!

Ted and Jef chat about the strengths of both online and in-person community, and finding the right amount of reliance on digital tools, including knowing when to reach out for an in-person meetup. Jef recently celebrated his one-year anniversary in The Puttyverse, and it is a delight to get to know his story!

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

1: A jellyfish named Jerry, who figures out they're a multipotentialite.

2: You might be a little wary of listening to this one if you're afraid of heights, or you can come along for the face-smashing thrill!

3: Do you prefer jello or pudding? It's a smackdown! (with sound effects).

These are the first three entries in Puttycomps #6, the Audio Extravaganza, coming to you today in Part 1!

Puttycomps = putty + compilation, and it’s pretty much exactly as it sounds. Basically, we choose a medium and, over the course of a month or so, whoever wants to can submit a work in that medium.

It’s an opportunity to try something new if you’ve never worked in this medium before, or continue with something you enjoy. We also usually have someone more experienced lead a workshop for beginners.

So far, we’ve created a book of comics , a book of love poems, a mix tape, a series of short stories, and a clever entry into photography.

We are using audio as our medium this time! There are a few guiding questions, and people can explore their approach however they choose to, in audio format.

It could be a poem, a TED style talk, creative and out of the box, or you can literally just answer the prompts and record your thoughts. You can add music, sound effects, fun audio filters, anything goes.

Coming soon: Part 2!

---- MultiPod Extras is an ongoing project of The MultiPod, where the hosts test out new podcast ideas in a bonus, typically one-off format.

Members of the Puttyverse can pitch their podcast ideas too! Email [email protected] with the show that you would like to demo. The MultiPod team can help you put it all together.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.

The MultiPod is back with regular episodes, kicking off with a great conversation between hosts Vanessa and Ted, and special guest Kaytu.

We begin by recounting K's journey through a summer of discovery, adventure, challenges, injury, opportunity and a classic multipod awakening moment, leading to a passionately complete and unexpected career change.

Kaytu emphasizes however that The Puttyverse played a central role in this experience. From advice, support, ideas and suggestions, supportive shoulders and open minds, the community came through as it always does.

And so our conversation today evolves into a celebration of joy and appreciation for this wonderful group of people, for those who keep it running smoothly, for those who donate their time and expertise to help out strangers that become new friends, and for the existence of a positive, welcoming space that is a rock in our lives.

Stream more episodes of The MultiPod on our site, or on your favourite podcast app.