Sheila Wilkinson has many titles: attorney, social worker, coach, speaker, and educator. She is known as The Joyful Lawyer™ because she loves what she does and who she helps.

I met Sheila at an entrepreneurial conference in October and was intrigued by the many different threads she pursued in her work. She is a perfect example of an entrepreneur with a Portfolio Career.

Last week on Creating Your Encore Career, Sheila and I discussed the concept of Portfolio Careers. We talked about why freedom in your work and life is so essential, no matter what stage of life you are in, and how our culture is transitioning to be more receptive to that. Sheila also gave us some great ideas for how we can create our own Portfolio Careers.

Point A to Point B

Because of the variety in her work, Sheila paints a great picture of a Portfolio Career.

 

To sum it up, she says that she does whatever she feels like doing. She used to do just what she thought she was “supposed” to do and decided to be done with that. Now, she operates in freedom and also helps others not do all the things they thought they were supposed to do. 

 

Practically, Sheila does this as a lawyer, coach, business consultant, educator, facilitator of workshops, and more. For her, it's really about helping people figure out who they are and what they want so that they can actually make solid, aligned decisions about the direction they want to go. 

 

Many of us think we want to go from point A to point B but we don’t even know what those points are or why we want to go there. Sheila takes people through that whole process. She helps them figure out where they’re at, where they actually want to go and why, and how to get there.

 

The Power of A Portfolio Career

 

Too many of us pigeonhole ourselves into one direction for our lives. We pick a career and go after it. All the while, we abandon our other interests and skills.

 

Take lawyers, for example. Many lawyers Sheila knows are repressed creatives. They’re musicians, writers, artists, and sculptors but somebody told them that they can't make money doing those things. As a result, they suppressed that part of themselves.

 

When we fall into this trap, we end up not doing what we actually want to do. We just wait until we retire to do the things that bring us joy. 

 

Why don’t we pursue all of our passions now? This is what Sheila aims to help her clients with and what we should all do by creating Portfolio Careers.

 

Is there something that you've always wanted to do but thought you couldn't do because somebody told you that you couldn't? This is where expectations come in. Most of us make decisions because of expectations.

 

The truth is, you can change what you're doing. You have the freedom to pursue anything you want to pursue, no matter what other people think. You don’t have to settle for one career but can, instead, go after everything you’re passionate about.

 

Human Design

 

All of this also ties into the concept of “Human Design.” Human Design is a tool that helps you reflect on what you feel and how you behave.

 

Each of us has an external personality that shapes how we show up in the world. We also have an internal personality that is how we're actually designed to be. 

 

Sometimes, your inner self (also called your inner child) doesn’t want to do something but your outer self decides to do it anyways. Human Design helps you reflect on why you do these things.

 

Sheila and I talked about so much more when it comes to Portfolio Careers and how to create them in our conversation. Be sure to tune into the latest episode of  Creating Your Encore Career to learn more!