As a DaVinci — a smart, creative person juggling many ideas, talents and projects — you’ve got a lot to contribute.  Maybe too much.  You may be giving SO MUCH input, you’re inadvertently stifling the contributions of others. Or, worse, irritating them.

Does this sound like you:

1.  On the phone or in meetings, do you tend to speak at the same time as others?

2.  Do you think out loud?  Do you start speaking, formulating your sentences as a way of figuring out what you want to say?

3. Are you a super-verbal person? Do you speak quickly and extemporaneously?

4.  Have you been described as intimidating –especially in meetings?

If yes, rest assured that you are not alone.  Many of my coaching clients find themselves ‘over-contributing’.  Like you, they are fast thinking, creative people who generate a kajillion ideas every day.  It’s natural to want to share thoughts as soon as they occur.

So what’s the problem?

Look at the people with whom you’re interacting. How are they responding to your contributions?  Are they responding in kind?  Or does it seem like they’ve given up trying to get in the conversation?  Do they seem happy — or frustrated or annoyed? If your colleagues are fully energized and engaged by your passionate contributions, terrific.  HOWEVER, if they’re not — if they seem withdrawn or irritated or bored, your zeal may be inadvertently damaging your working relationships.

Okay, maybe my colleagues don’t look delighted.  What’s the solution?

It’s great to have a lot to contribute.  And it might  behoove you to adapt your delivery a bit, for the sake of improving your working relationships.  Specifically, when you have something to say, employ a Five Second Delay before you speak. Use these five seconds to

(a) formulate your point completely (yes…before you begin to speak), and

(b) decide the best way to contribute it, if at all.  Does it make sense to blurt out your point verbally in this particular moment?  Would it serve you (or others) more to receive it via email or in an off-line conversation later?  Does it really need to be said?  By you?  At this particular time?  Use your considerably brain power to consider your options and to choose what makes sense.

Why implement a Five Second Delay?

1. You’ll enhance your verbal power.

When you use the extra time to formulate your point, you’ll be able to express it more succinctly, clearly and effectively.

2.  It will literally slow you down.

Your mind works much faster than the average person.  Given your rapid-fire cognitions, your verbal input can seem almost like you’re ‘pouncing’.  By pausing a few seconds, you’re less apt to be ‘pouncing’ and more likely to be ‘presenting’ your point.

3.  It’s nice.

The five second delay is a polite way to share your contributions — as a way of  adjusting your pace so others feel more comfortable.

4.  It allows others to participate. 

You don’t need to be the one conveying every idea.  By pausing a few seconds, you may find that someone else has the same idea — but hasn’t had the opportunity to express it.

Especially introverts.  Whereas most extraverts think aloud like you do, introverts compose their thoughts completely prior to uttering a word.  Even when you know this, it can be painful for an extravert to wait for an introvert to respond. For example, when I ask my husband, a rabid introvert, a question, the several seconds it takes for him to formulate his response can seem like an eternity.  Even though I *know* he IS actually answering my question, I can get impatient if something urgent is going on.  If I start to hop up and down, he’s learned to hold up a hand and say “processing” to remind me what’s going on in his head.

(Yes, the Five Second Delay technique can be profitably applied to personal relationships, too).

5.  You’ll get more information.

When you give people more time to answer, they’ll tell you more.   There’s a natural human urge to fill any lull.  By creating mini-lulls, you’ll create more opportunities for input.

***

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

How are you treating yourself?  To what extent are you taking good care of your talents?  Are you finding yourself frustrated with your work?  Overwhelmed with domestic responsibilities?  There is an alternative approach.

“Stewardship” is a stodgy sounding word that can provide a breakthrough to DaVincis — to smart, creative, multi-talented people like you.   Stewardship means taking good and thoughtful care of something.  It’s a warmer, cozier, more competent way of approaching the many responsibilities in your life.  Rather than thinking ‘Oh god, I have to do X, Y and Z!’, it’s a shift to calmly managing whatever comes up for the purpose of taking good care of what’s important in your life.

Here’s how:

Step #1:  Put Yourself First

To take good care of the many projects, people and activities in your life, your top priority is to take good care of yourself. You’re not an effective steward of your career if you’re stressed out and working yourself sick.   If you’re not cultivating your talents, you’re  shortchanging yourself (and the world).

Ask yourself:  how can you take good care of yourself?  What’s working well in your self-care?  What gaps need to be addressed?  How is your health?  Your energy level?  How are you treating your body?  Your mind?  Are you treating yourself to simple pleasures you enjoy?   What can you do to take even better care of yourself?

Step #2:  Identify what’s most important to you.

What — or whom — do you want to be taking good care of?  Your family?  Your relationships — personal and professional?  Your home?  Your career?  Your finances?  Something else?

Answer thoughtfully and candidly.

Step #3:  Reframe “To Do’s” as Stewardship

Take of the important aspect of your life you identified in step #2.  Now ask, for each:  how can you take better care of this?  How can you cultivate an attitude of caring stewardship for each important life domain?

What currently seems like a burden?  How might you translate that into more positive terms?  For example, if your domestic responsibilities seem overwhelming, it might help if you reframe your chores as taking good care of your home. “Ugh. I have to clean the kitchen.  Again.” becomes “I’m making my household cleaner and safer”   or “I’m taking good care of my household members.” If financial tasks make you squeamish or avoidant, try approaching them as “Taking good care of my money”.

By thinking in terms of caring stewardship of what’s important, it’s possible to remove a lot of negativity, dread and procrastination about the many things on your plate.

***

What about you? How do you approach what’s important in your life?  We’d love to know in the comments section below.

***

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

Art by Sarah Zimmerman www.sarahzimmerman.net

It’s Valentine’s Day…and while romance is in the air for many people today, there are some things that are feeling decidedly neglected and lonely.

It’s your talents.

Like any relationship, they don’t thrive on being ignored, taken for granted, discounted or put off till a  ”someday” that never seems to come.

So why not give them some flowers and candy today?

My hubby and I are about to leave for some surprise V-Day activity (I think involving a boat or a balloon; stay tuned) but here is how I will be celebrating Valentine’s with my talents today:

1. I’m recommitting to a creative project I have left on the back burner for Waaay too long. I still don’t know where I will find the time, but I also realize that without a commitment I never will, and with one. it’s not just possible but inevitable.

2. I’m hiring an assistant to take the burden of day-to-day business stuff off my plate so i can concentrate more on things that only I can do (and things i actually WANT to do)

3. I’m making it OK and forgiving myself that I’ve allowed myself to ignore my talents. we all get busy with the day-to-day, and put ourselves, our dreams, desires and needs on the back-burner in favor of what’s urgent to us or someone else. The great thing about talents is, unlike some people, they don’t hold grudges. Just come on back – no matter how long the absence, and you have them at “hello.”

Here are a few ways to love your talents today:

If you have not already, download and do the wonderful (if we do say so ourselves) planning tool “Making the most of multiple Talents in 2012.” It will remind you how awesome you are, and spark idead for how you can enjoy and use your talents even more in the year ahead.

Make a play date with one or more of your talents. Decide when it will be and what you will do, and round up or buy all the supplies you will need. (Fun!)

Dust off ONE project that has been languishing in a corner, and either recommit to it or say goodbye. Allow yourself to experience joy either way. If you decide to recommit,  make at least a rough timeline for what you will do when, and schedule next week’s  activities into your calendar so they are real.

What ideas can you share about loving your talents? please post them below! Because we show YOU love, if you have a blog, it will get an automatic backlink to your post.

To quit or not to quit, that is the question.  To pack it in or press on?  We’ve all been there — at a crossroads with a creative project, wondering whether or not to proceed.

When you are in that situation, the first thing is to consider your own state.  What’s going on with you:   What is your energy level?  Your emotional state?  Are you bored?  Are you afraid?  Are you depressed? Are you overwhelmed? Are you fatigued?

It may be that you need a break.  Or to get re-energized.  Or some support.  Or it could be that you’ve gotten what you needed to from this particular project and it’s time to move on.

What does your gut say?  Is the issue with you –  or with the project?

If the answer isn’t clear, consider the project itself:  Does the project still interest you?  Does the project still serve you? Why are you feeling differently about it?  Have you suffered a setback in the project?  Are you stuck?  Do you know how to proceed?

Remind yourself of why you started this in the first place.  What were to be the benefits of this project?  Is that still the case?

What are the consequences of proceeding?

What are the consequences of packing it in?  If you don’t finish it, which you regret it on your deathbed?

Is another project or activity competing? If so, which is more important?

Here’s an important point for DaVincis:  given our many ideas and talents, it is impossible to complete every project we begin.  Luckily, there is no rule or law that dictates that we must finish everything we start.  There is no reason to feel guilty or badly when it’s time to move on.  So give yourself permission to abandon a project when appropriate.

Another important point:  when you leave a project unfinished, it is not a failure.  Avoid treating it as such.  Instead of griping about ‘wasted time’ or ‘wasted energy’, focus on what you’ve learned.  Value the experience of working on the project for the time you did.

Believe me, I understand the temptation to despair.  Here’s an example:  I had spent a dozen hours making a complicated silver ring in a metalworking class.  It was almost done…and when I was soldering it together, I accidentally melted the metal into an unsalvageable puddle.  I burst into tears.  “Weeks wasted!” I wailed and proceeded to beat myself up accordingly.

My sage teacher took me aside and pointed out, correctly, that

(a)    The point of taking the class was to acquire skills, experience and knowledge…not to produce particular products.

(b)   The time and energy I had put into the ring was not, in fact, wasted.  I had learned a lot during the process. (And I learned a heckuva lot more because of the psychological processing sparked by melting my ring).

(c)    I’ve wasted much more time on much less important, less interesting activities in my life.  The dozen hours spent on the-ring-that-wouldn’t-be was a relatively short investment in a relatively interesting activity.

This was a turning point for me.  I realized how focused I’d been on the final product…and how dismissive of the process — a process that I do truly enjoy.

As a result, I cultivated a far healthier attitude to my metal projects.  I became a soldering ninja…and someone who really didn’t mind the apparent setbacks along the way.  Sure, I’ve ruined more silver in the interim…but I haven’t shed any more tears over it.

How to Pack in a Project Properly

If you do opt to pause or leave a project unfinished, do it deliberately and respectfully.  Make a clear and firm conclusion to your efforts.  Put away your project materials. Take a moment to list what you learned from your project.  File your notes.

In her excellent book, Refuse to Choose, Barbara Sher recommends packing up your half-done projects and adding them to your ‘project shelf’ – a shrine-like collection of former projects.

Above all else, avoid beating yourself up, feeling guilty or otherwise icky.  DaVinci himself didn’t finish more projects than he did.  When you stop and think about it, not finishing is a badge of having many talents.

*****

What about you?  How do you know when it’s time to quit a creative project?  Let us know your experience in the comments section below.

*****

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/.

Want the fastest way to better  yourself or get back on track? Hang out with a better class of people.

No, I’m not talking about turning into a snob…not really. But I’ve discovered my tribe has a bigger effect on me than I think.

Associate with people who are likely to improve you.
— Seneca

I’m on my way to an event in Salt Lake City that I am sponsoring with coach David Neagle as a coach  & copywriter for entrepreneurs. It’s going to be three days with 300 creative entrepreneurs (current and future) looking to improve their lives and express themselves and prosper in their own businesses. I’m looking forward to swimming in that ocean of ideas and positive expectation, and of making the “right” kind of friends whom I can support and vice versa.

I also belong to a mastermind of kickass female entrepreneurs. We meet several times a month, in person or virtually, to celebrate each others’ victories, commiserate over the trials of running a solo business (or in a DaVinci’s case, several) and share tips on everything from the latest WordPress plugin to how to handle a cantankerous client.

But the biggest thing I get from these women is just being around them. We’re all committed to going for the brass ring, and fairly often one of us grabs it. Someone creates a great product or makes her biggest-ever sale.  That instantly gives the rest of us the belief that we can do it too. And we don’t have to recite affirmations or try to convince ourselves it’s true.

There’s the famous story of the four-minute mile. Everyone thought it was impossible until Roger Bannister broke the record and became the first person to run the mile in four minutes. That same year, a number of other runners did it too.   (A powerful example is worth a thousand affirmations! ) And now, high school kids do it. What once was impossible has become commonplace.

What if that could happen with your “impossible” creative project or Davinci-esque time-management challenge? Not only doesn’t it have to be impossible, if you hang with the right people, it won’t even seem that hard.

The late great personal development guru Jim Rohn (and others) say you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. So choose carefully, because no matter how much of an  independent thinker you are (and DaVincis usually are that in spades) the company you keep will rub off on you.

Here are a few suggestions for up-leveling your “company” and your life:

1. Join a writers group or other creative association where people actually do the work and have some success, not one where you all support each other in your procrastination.

2. Spend as much time as you can around people who are doing what you want to do at the level you aspire to do it. If possible, swallow your ego and join groups where most or all of the people in it are better and farther along the path than you.

3. If you can’t find them in person, read about them, or go online and make them your virtual friends. What you pay attention to becomes your reality.

4. Don’t hang with whiners under the guise of “support.” We created this community for us to share our strategies with each other for dealing with DaVinci challenges like procrastination, distraction and lack of focus,  fear and issues of life balance. But while it’s great for us to have place where we understand each other, we’re not trying to host a pity party here. The focus is on creating breakthroughs.

5. Avoid the downers like the plague. If you hang around with naysayers who routinely dump on your dreams or your put down “davinci-ness” of course you will feel smaller and less powerful. You can’t change them but you don’t have to stay there (that’s what divorce and the other coast or other continents are for).

“Curating” your friends and associates and upgrading where necessary can be the fastest and easiest way to improve your skills and success and achieve your goals.

Activity: 

Look at every are of your life and all your goals — creative, personal, and also business, financial and health. Who could you rub elbows with who would challenge you to be better?

Are you the beneficiary (or the victim) of the company YOU keep? Share your experience below!

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

How do you describe yourself?  How do others label you?  The  words you choose shape how we think about others — and how others think about us.

The most powerful words on the planet are the ones we use to describe ourselves.  We might not even be aware of what those words are — or where they came from.  As DaVincis — multi-talented people juggling many ideas and projects — we are likely to have internalized others’ complaints about our diverse activities.  “Dilettante!”  “Flake!”  “Irresponsible!”  “Unrealistic!”  “Grandiose”  “Dilly-dallier” are just a few of the brands we’re apt to have attracted.

One helpful task in Julia Cameron’s Vein of Gold is a two-part activity that addresses these negative labels we may harbor deep down.  The first part of the assignment is to identify ten of the derrogatory labels we recall from childhood.  You know — those hurtful things someone branded us when we were young — things like “dreamer” or “foolish” or “not focused”.  Those spoken syllables that chided us when we were too naive to know that such descriptors were just that person’s opinion — and probably said more about that person’s issues and personality than it did about our own.

The second step Cameron prescribes is to convert these negative labels into something more positive, helpful…and probably more accurate.  For example:  “Dilettante converts to interested in many things.  Dreamer converts to powerfully imaginative…. Eccentric converts to original.”

It takes courage to dredge up the complaints that people had about us when we were children.  For example, my father used to call me “Lady of Leisure”.  I don’t know why.  I had a ton of extracurricular activities and part-time jobs and volunteered on top of it all. Yet every time he caught me daydreaming, he’d call out, in a teasing sing-song voice, “Hello, ‘Lady of Leisure’!”  He probably meant it jokingly, but it stung every damn time he said it.

Or, I distinctly recall the afternoon when one elementary school chum, with whom I’m still pals, expressed her exasperation that I “start all these different projects and never finish any of them!”  Now the truth is that I started many different projects and I finished many of them — and the cosmic Truth is that no-one HAS to finish EVERYTHING they start.  In fact, the physical reality is that it’s absolutely impossible to do so.

It’s painful to reflect on those labels that stuck through adulthood — in my case, things like being called ‘intense’.  I don’t enjoy being branded ‘intense’.  It makes me wince.  And yet, when I think of the people in my life I would describe as being ‘intense’, I don’t mean it as a complaint.  For them, I think of ‘intense’ as a synonym for ‘passionate’ or ‘scary smart’ or ‘focused’.

Which leads nicely into the second part of the Cameron exercise:  turning, in her words, “dross into gold”.  Reframing the negative labels into something more helpful and positive.

This is a very gratifying — and beneficial — activity.

Okay, my dad implied I was ‘lazy’, but really, any downtime he witnessed was me “thinking” or “reflecting” or “imagining” or, in my own way, “trying to heal”.

My schoolchum thought I was a flake (and probably still does), but I’m perfectly content to be called “interested in many things.”  It’s true!  I am interested in many things!  I’ll shout it proudly!

When I’m slammed for being ‘intense’ in the future, I’ll translate it internally as a complement that I’m passionate, smart and/or focused.  I’m comfortable with any of those three descriptors.

And that’s the point:  when we can re-label ourselves in a more positive light, we feel better about ourselves and whatever we’re doing.  Our quirks become ‘features’.  Our ‘secret shame’ becomes a ‘hidden strength’.  THAT’s the power of words.  We can wield words to heal ourselves.

Try it yourself:  see how transformational it is to identify the negative labels you’ve internalized, to exorcise them and to transform them into more helpful, pleasant entities:

1.  write down ten negative labels you recall from childhood.

2.  convert these negative words into more helpful interpretations of your behavior.

Bonus activity:  post your ‘golden words’ places you will see them.

What about you?  What unhelpful labels have you been branded?  What’s a different way of looking at them?  What happens when you re-frame these negative words?

***

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

I heard about ‘Unstuck’ — a free iPad app — at a time when I was very stuck.  I thought, “Perfect!”  It’s a program that’s supposed to be like a self-coaching program.  A free self-coaching program?  One lauded by the venerable folks at Lifehacker.com.  Who could resist? I downloaded ‘Unstuck’ from the app store and took it for a test-drive.

Basically, you type in your ‘stuck’ issue and answer the subsequent questions.

It’s pretty.  The graphics are lovely.

It’s interesting. It’s cool to see your own situation play out, as if your issue is the plot of a computer game.

In my experience, it wasn’t very accurate or helpful, however. The resulting ‘diagnosis’ was way off.  The suggested tool was basically a repetitive asking of ‘why?’ — which only gets you so far.

Mind you I only tried it once, for one ‘stuck’ issue.  I might well try it again, out of curiosity.

Hey, it’s free — it only costs your time to test it with any ‘stuck’ situations in which you find yourself.  For me, it was a far cry from coaching — when someone’s actually listening to your specific issue and guiding your thought processing appropriately.

So you may well give it a whirl.

Have you tried stuck?  How did it work for you?  Are there other similar apps you’ve tried?  We’d love to know about your experiences.

Are you feeling frazzled?  Stressed out?  Overwhelmed?  You’re probably trying to do too much.

If you want to do more, do less.

It doesn’t matter how massive or complicated your creative project is.  At a given instant, you can only focus on one aspect of it.

It doesn’t matter how many projects, activities and ideas you are juggling.  At a given instant, you can only do one thing.

“Oh no, not me,” you may insist.  “I’m a multi-tasker.  Right now, while I’m reading this, I’m also composing a song, thinking about a terrific new product line and texting my mom.”

No, you’re not. You may be toggling among those different activities every second…but at a given instant you are doing only one of them.  And by toggling so quickly among them, you’re not doing any of them particularly well.

Frankly, you’re being unnecessarily hard on yourself. It’s much easier to focus on one thing at a time.  And here’s the good news:  when you stop trying to do everything at the same instant — when you focus on just one activity at a time, you will get more done, more easily, with less stress.

Let me repeat that — on the off chance you’re, say, Skyping a client, weaving a tapestry and watching a DVD while you’re reading this.

Benefits of Focusing on One Thing at a Time

1.  It’s easy.

2.  You’ll get more done.

3.  You’ll get things done more easily.

4.  You’ll reduce stress.

5.  You’ll feel better.

6.  You’ll be more pleasant to be around.

How to Focus

1.  Identify and remove distractions. 

What interrupts your focus?  Be candid. Is it email?  The phone? Internet surfing?  The piles of half done projects piled around you?  Your ‘to do’ list(s)?  Twitter?  Facebook? Flipboard or Zite or Angry Birds or any of the other 10,000 apps on your iPad?  Other people?

Take a moment to write down what tends to interfere with you sticking to one thing at time.  Now, brainstorm ways to remove or reduce those temptations. Schedule time at the end of your workday to do those things that need to be done (e.g. check your email, return phone calls, etc.)

2.  Pick something to do. 

What’s your top priority right now?

3.  Set a timer for 50 minutes.

Devote the next 50 minutes to doing only your top priority.  If something else comes us — let’s say you get a great idea, make note of it quickly, then get right back to the task at hand.

4.  Give yourself a break.

Take five or ten minutes to do whatever you need to do — rest, eat, jump up and down, stretch, feed your pet, stuff a load of laundry in the washer, read, listen to a great song — whatever.

5.  Reset your timer.

Focus on your top priority for another fifty minutes.  This might be the same task you were working on in the previous focus session — or it might be a new priority.  You choose what makes sense for you do work on for this next fifty minutes.

6.  Take a break.

7.  Repeat. 

Try this “Focus” approach this week and see how it works for you.

***

What about you?  What helps you focus?  What benefits do you notice when you stop multi-tasking and concentrate on one thing at a time?

***

Want to re-publish this article? Go for it – just include the author’s name, a link to this original post and the following text blurb:

Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

Taking Stock Department – I recently passed a big birthday with a zero after it, which prompted me to play the “woulda coulda shoulda” game even bigger than I normally do. Like a lot of other DaVincis, I often ruminate about the roads not taken, the accomplishments that “should” have happened by now and all the time I’ve wasted.

While I am able to stick my head in the sand for long periods and pretend that time is not passing, big milestones force me to face facts. My next college reunion is coming up (again with a zero after it), and while I am childless, many of my classmates have children who are now attending or (GASP!) graduating. There was that aforementioned birthday, which I tried to ignore but which multiple bouquets of flowers (giving an unintended but decidedly funereal air to my living room), some with cheery balloons reading “Over the Hill” made impossible. And then I learned that the ad agency where I had my first job out of college was leaving its venerable old building on Madison Avenue after 85 years.

I was devastated. I loved that place, and still popped in when I was in New York to see the few remaining colleagues from the old days, or just to stand in the lobby and reminisce. Now I was getting so old that even my nostalgia trips were moving on.

That first job, as a copy trainee at Young & Rubicam, was a plum that I beat out hundreds of Ivy-League applicants to get. It was the beginning of a promising and, as it turned out, successful advertising career. But now after the passage of time, a decade abroad and other unexpected twists and turns, I am a solopreneur. I’m happy…but I often look back and wonder if what I have made of my life is worthy of my lofty career beginnings. Had I done enough? I never liked my own answers to that question.

A week or so after the news of Y&R’s impending move, a 41-year-old woman who worked there stepped into one of the elevators. The doors closed on her leg before she was fully inside. The elevator dragged her up between the car and shaft two floors as the other passengers watched in helpless horror. Her death made the front pages of all the New York papers and wrenched my heart 3000 miles away.

It could have been me. Those elevators had always been treacherous. More than once when I worked there, the doors had opened on the 8th floor, but the car was still on the 5th or 6th.

That woman went to work that day thinking that she still had 40 or maybe 50 years to accomplish her dreams. But she never got to be anything but an advertising executive. Exactly what did I have to regret or complain about?

I’m still here. And there is so much I can still do. The whining stops now.

*          *          *

What about you?  Are you beating yourself up for not having done enough, or because you think “it’s too late” ? What could you accomplish if you just start NOW?

*         *          *

Want to re-publish this article? Go for it – just include the author’s name, a link to this original post and the following text blurb:

Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

Yes, he’s a talented actor who has performed in top TV (Third Rock from the Sun) and films (A River Runs Through It, Brick, The Lookout, (500) Days of Summer, Inception).  He’s written and produced short films including Sparks based on an Elmore Leonard story.  He sings and plays guitar.

But he’s having a much bigger impact that most multi-talented DaVincis.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the creative force behind hitRECord — an online community of 10,000 “writers, musicians, filmmakers, video editors, animators, photographers, photoshoppers, and illustrators” working together to create CDs, DVDs, books, images, live shows, films, animations and more.  It’s a creativity nirvana — mad talents combining in unexpected ways.

Click here to sample one fun collaboration — Joseph singing with Anne Hathaway — in French.