CAREERS Author: Don't focus on one job

The author sees specialism as the enemy of creativity and contentment.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
David Heenan leads a double life. He thinks you should, too.
You've gotta admire a 62-year-old who runs one of the nation's largest land trusts, writes soul-searching business books and does both within view of Diamond Head in Hawaii.
Not a bad life, if you can get it.
That's just the point, says the head trustee of the $2 billion-plus James Campbell estate. You can.
His latest effort, "Double Lives, Crafting Your Life of Work & amp; Passion for Untold Success," profiles 10 modern-day da Vincis who manage to do a number of things extremely well.
"This is a frontal attack on the so-called specialist," says Heenan during a recent visit to Dallas. "For years, you and I were told that to make it, we had to focus and specialize."
'Mummy track'
He calls such narrow focus "the mummy track" because you walk mindlessly, wrapped in somebody else's definition of success.
Hierarchical companies find this difficult to hear, Heenan says, then mocks: "'Charlie's working his buns off. Don't come in and screw with his mind. We want him in the office crunching until 10 at night.'
"This is not a message they want blabbed around the universe."
But some are catching on. He's speaking to a large law firm in Los Angeles that wants to tell its young associates and interns it's OK to leave work behind at 6 o'clock -- or earlier.
Smart companies understand that balanced employees strengthen, not weaken, the organization, Heenan says.
Heenan's epiphany came 32 years ago, after he learned that Michael Crichton wrote "The Andromeda Strain" as a 26-year-old student at Harvard Medical School.
"They have like eight minutes of discretionary time in their days. How could he write a best seller?" Heenan says. "People like Michael Crichton lily-pad jump from one career path to the next. They're always reinventing themselves."
The same could be said for Heenan, who has been a Marine pilot, professor at Wharton and Columbia graduate business schools, a senior executive with Citicorp, business dean at the University of Hawaii and the CEO of a multinational holding company.
"My double life has been my writing," says Heenan. "It's like creating a trust fund, only it isn't dough. You feel good about yourself being able to do something else. Then if it all hits the fan, as it has for many people in the last couple of years, you have a fallback."
An example
He offers Winston Churchill as the quintessential example. Yes, he was an unrivaled statesman and orator who helped shape the new world. But people forget -- if they ever knew -- that the great Briton was also a Nobel Prize-winning author and prolific painter. Money from his writing, Heenan points out, kept Sir Winston financially afloat.
For Sally Ride, "changing skins" comes easily, Heenan says. The first woman in space, who never intended to be an astronaut, is an author, entrepreneur and a daunting tennis player.
But Tom Lynch, the small-town Michigan undertaker who writes poetry and essays, is probably his personal favorite.
"I couldn't have all Mensa-type geniuses, because that excludes me and a lot of other people," Heenan chuckles. "These are all people who want to max out on their potential. They don't want that nagging feeling that their lives should have, or could have, been more fulfilling."
His tips for creating a second incarnation include:
UListen to your heart. Begin with an inspired obsession.
UTake one step at a time to build confidence and create momentum.
UMaintain a maverick mind-set. Push your comfort zone so new ideas can take root.
USavor serendipity. Double lives are often happy accidents.
UStart now. Don't let procrastination, excuses or regrets steal your dreams.