Are you a bonafide scanner, too? Hi, edina speaking here. 
There’s a good chance you’re reading this article because you’ve read one of my bios somewhere out in Internet Land and you wondered to yourself:
“So just what the h*ll is a bonafide ‘scanner’, anyway?”
The movie, Scanners comes to mind, or peeps who stare at goats… but that is NOT what I mean by the term, ‘scanner’.
Let me explain …
One of the perks of being the older woman that I am is that I’ve been reading books since the 70’s. Long before Internet days. There are a lot of gems from those days. While many people keep rushing for the next fix of new. Some of the old is new, too. Deserving of revisits from time to time.
Evergreen.
As relevant now as they were when first written.
Barbara Sher’s books are like that. In the nineties her books were topping book charts for years. I remember “Wishcraft” being at the top of those lists for a good long while.
Naturally, when it came time for me to start building a few new businesses, I quickly realized that I needed some simple tools to help people discover what they want in the world.
Queue here: Barbara Sher. Live the Life You Love, Love the Life You Live.
The number one barrier for a new entrepreneur in achieving success is a lack of clarity about what they want!
Most people have some ideas about what they don’t want. Lots of people struggle with knowing what the DO want. And knowing what you DO want can make all the difference in getting it.
Barbara Sher’s books were so popular because they helped people discover what they DO want, what they LOVE.
Along the way in the journey of her life, she discovered a few surprises that weren’t being talked about by the expert career advisors of her time. (And are hardly mentioned in our time, too.) She discovered a unique breed of folks that she fondly refers to as “scanners.”
This discovery was so liberating to Barbara that she wrote a book, or few, sharing her discovery with the world. And lo and behold, an entire tribe of scanners emerged and found each other.
Life’s beautiful that way, ya know.
I’m one of those people who also became liberated from the tyranny of specialization when I read Barbara’s books.
Yaay Barbara!!!
Yaaay, edina!!!!
And if you’re a scanner, too, yaaaay YOU!!!!!
[ctt template=”3″ link=”QdkWv” via=”yes” ]Never be bored… Celebrating bonafide ‘scanners’ everywhere![/ctt]
One of my defining qualities is that I am a bonafide ‘scanner’.
In fact, if you don’t know this about me, you may misunderstand just about every thing else about me. And if you don’t know this about yourself, … if you are also a scanner, you may misunderstand much about yourself, too.
Another way to phrase this is to say I am multi-passionate, and a lifelong learner. In modern terms what some call a constant learner.
A friggin’ energizer bunny of learning, to be honest, … drives some of my loved ones bonkers. (Can you relate?)
But, if I try to ignore this about myself, if I try to conform to society’s ideas about what they think humans ought to be, I get unhappy, very fast.
This is why I like to tell people about this aspect of myself upfront. Saves folks lots of frustrations.
It’s also why I write about a wide range of topics. I’m all over the map with my interests.
I’ve always appreciated the idea expressed in the quote below:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” — Robert Heinlein
It’s perfectly wonderful to be a specialist. And it’s also perfectly wonderful to be a ‘scanner’, too.
See, ‘scanner’ was how most people used to be before the industrial age. And especially before the “space” age race to the moon in the sixties. (1960’s that is.) It’s our natural human nature.
Barbara lived during that “space-race age” transition time. So her life experience gave her insight into the plight of trying to peg hole a human being into a tightly-defined specialty, or expertise.
The world is changing again. Coming full circle so to speak. And the unique gifts of ‘scanners’ play an increasingly useful and valuable role in the emerging human economy. So, if you’re a scanner, too, embrace it. Celebrate it. Celebrate YOU.
There’s beauty in being a bonafide ‘scanner”, in being wildly human.
Humans are wonderfully diverse, wild-minded, free-spirited and spiritual beings who defy categories simply by being human.
We are beautifully weird. A lovely mess. Perfectly imperfect. Happy accidents full of delight and surprises for the rest of creation.
Here’s to celebrating your Unique Soul Purpose (a new spin on USP, if you will).
Never be bored… Celebrating bonafide ‘scanners‘ everywhere!
______________________
To help you navigate my beautiful weirdness, I’ve arranged my blogs and websites with both scanners and specialists in mind. This allows me the freedom to explore to my heart’s content. And still allow people who are interested in a single topic or two, to read without frustration and discouragement. (That’s the plan, anyways.) 🙂
Here’s the navigation layout:
edinalimpola.com (The big bucket, or main hub, where all the parts can be accessed. Synergy at its finest.)
H3B (Honest.Health.Home.Business. Most of what I write falls into these four main categories. Simple.)
Edina – Master Key (My journey with the Master Key Master Mind Alliance) (MKMMA)
A Future of OUR Choosing (What doesn’t fit into H3B, fits in here. Observe.Understand.Respond.)
Aui’a Media (Along the way to learning how to blog I’ve learned a few things about media. Practical matters on media.)
And my one main thing: Renaissance Humanity (Join the movement…)(Coming soon.)