Connecting The Dots with The Renaissance People

Get ready, folks, this one’s a doozie! This solo episode became a “manifesto of sorts” as I shared my current definition of the “Renaissance Mindset”. This mindset is a philosophy that helps explain the complicated, sometimes seemingly contradictory actions of Renaissance People that set us apart.I look at survey data from past guests to explore what it means to be “multi-passionate”, and I dive headfirst into research around being a “lifelong learner”. I once again share neuroscientist Paula Croxson’s elegant explanation of the “left brain vs right brain” myth. I discuss patterns in how Renaissance People think and act, where we shine, the critical role we can play in today’s world and so much more.If this conversation sparks ideas for you (even if it’s a challenge to something I’ve said), reach out and let’s connect! You belong in the Renaissance People Community!Promised Show Notes Materials (take a drink):Sign up for updates on my podcast and what’s happening in the Renaissance People Community.Work with me to Find Your Golden Thread Join the Renaissance People group on FacebookSign up to learn more about Fertile Grounds, a monthly virtual gathering of multi-passionate Renaissance People tentatively schedule to launch in late summer 2026Lifelong Learning in the Educational Setting: A Systematic Literature Review by Win Phyu Thwe and Anikó KálmánProfiles of epistemological beliefs, knowledge about explanation norms, and explanation skills: changes after an intervention by Eric Klopp, Theresa Krause-Wichmann and Robin StarkLifelong learning tendency scale: the study of validity and reliability by Yelkin Diker Coúkuna and Melek DemirelPatrick Meaney’s LinkedIn post about shaping your career like a brambleSara’s LinkedIn post with her Left Brain, Right Brain artificial choice rantA Brief History of the Resting State: the Washington University Perspective by Abraham Z Snyder and Marcus E RaichleReview of the split brain work that Brenda Milner was part of (credit also to Mike Gazzaniga for this research)Range: Why Generalists Thrive in a Specialized World by David EpsteinHabits of a Renaissance Man: Learning how to learn from Leonardo da Vinci (curriculum PBS Learning Media)This episode includes clips from all of my guest episodes so far! Here are the links:Ep. 2: Operating at the Intersection of STEM, Creativity and Fun with Nancy Scales Coddington, Multi-PassionateEp. 3: Embracing an Outside-the-box Mind with Melissa Vining, Boundary SpannerEp. 6: The Secret Lives of Multi-Passionates with Marika Luneau, Multi-PassionateEp. 7: Pitching Your Own (Ph)uture with Stephanie Castillo, Jill-of-all-tradesEp. 8: Bringing Worlds Together Full Circle with Jess Rowell, Renaissance WomanEp. 9: A Mind for Memory with Brian Skellenger, SurvivalistEp. 10: The Forever Revolution with Jenni Gritters, Multi-PassionateEp. 11: Side Quest Unlocked with Elin Filbey, Multi-PassionateEp. 12: A Different Kind of Wonderful with Paula Croxson, Renaissance WomanEp. 13: It’s All or Nothing with Morgan Anderson, Multi-PassionateEp. 14: Capture the Flow with Alycia Buenger, Multi-PassionateFollow Sara Kobilka on Social Media:LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSkyA few themes I discussed:00:59 My podcast categories choices01:56 Survey says…we’re passionate!04:45 Lifelong learner rabbit hole10:38 Going wide AND deep12:34 Live hard, play hard14:04 Paula Croxson explains the myth of “left brain” vs “right brain”17:28 Expansion and boundary spanning19:49 Our intensity20:51 Learning and sharing22:04 Systems thinking23:25 Comfort with nuance24:01 Defining Renaissance Person27:11 Why not “generalist”?30:25 Your Fertile Grounds invitationIf you’re extra curious, check out Renaissance Woman Consulting to learn more about some of the many types of work I do.And should you care to support the production of this podcast, I’d love it if you’d buy me an oat milk cappuccino, my caffeinated beverage of choice.This podcast is hosted and edited by Sara Kobilka.Theme music is by Brian SkellengerPodcast distribution support provided by K.O. Myers of Particulate Media

It took three tries to schedule the recording of today’s episode of “Connecting the Dots with The Renaissance People” with multi-passionate Alycia Buenger. We are both moms of young children, educators and entrepreneurs. So, between childcare challenges and work commitments, we repeatedly had to push back our recording date. But we made it happen (otherwise you wouldn’t be seeing this). And giving ourselves the permission slip to reschedule the interview was one of our answers to the question Alycia regularly grapples with in her research and writing, How can we live, work, and be well in modern times (for ourselves and each other)?In this episode we talked about this required flexibility of caregiving and business ownership among MANY other topics listed below (in classic Renaissance People fashion). Take a listen and be sure to sign up for my newsletter for updates on upcoming podcast episodes and what’s happening in the Renaissance People Community.Promised Show Notes Materials (take a drink):Sign up for newsletter for updates on my podcast and what’s happening in the Renaissance People Community.Work with me to Find Your Golden Thread and confidently tell your multi-passionate story.Ep. 12: A Different Kind of Wonderful with Paula Croxson, Renaissance WomanFlow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihály CsíkszentmihályiSarah Shotts (they/them) is an artist-mother based in ArkansasThe Neuro Nest (previously called Kindle Curiosity) is Sarah's podcast about neurodivergence, motherhood, chronic illness, and creative workA conversation with Sarah Shotts about creative capacity and inconsistent practiceRange: Why Generalists Thrive in a Specialized World by David EpsteinEp. 9: A Mind for Memory with Brian Skellenger, SurvivalistMagnet Theater in Manhattan, NYC. Performance schedule for Brian’s musical theater improv team, Lil’ Spoon.Unravel Your Journey Podcast: Alycia's year-long project with Kati Overmier to "unravel" big ideas within day-to-day lifeEp. 1: Hello! I’m Sara Kobilka, Renaissance WomanA Bit of Optimism with Simon Sinek, Episode 68: Embracing the Fall with Carla Hall, Apple Podcast | SpotifyThe Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan HaidtThe Tin Can phoneThe Creatrix Spiral (as Alycia describes it) is renewable, expandable, and open to individual and collective interpretation of experience. It’s based upon varied spiritual teachings, including the Chakra System. The Creatrix Spiral is the foundation of her online studio and mentorship offerings.There are so many resources to explain and consider the chakra system; Alycia's favorite from yoga teacher training is Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea JudithEp. 10: The Forever Revolution with Jenni Gritters, Multi-PassionateYouTube video on how to create an electromagnetic nailArticle on why not to use the term “Middle East”Radiolab (not Invisibilia as said in the episode) podcast episode on the “discovery” of interstitiumBuy Me a Coffee (actually an oat milk cappuccino that I will purchase at a locally-owned coffee shop while working)Alycia’s website and SubstackFollow Alycia on Social Media:LinkedIn | InstagramA few things Alycia and I discuss:3:30 Alycia’s winding path4:51 The interconnection between physical movement and creativity5:51 Flow in creative people8:13 Flexibility requirement of caregiving9:59 Creating structures for flow11:07 Inconvenient inspiration16:58 Improv as flow state21:34 Being a natural rebel23:20 Inspiration in waves25:59 Answer the dreaded question by providing of roadmap and starting point30:13 Not taking advice in business32:55 Building trust in your gut and handling failure48:31 The Creatrix Spiral and the seven chakra system53:59 “Western medicine” vs “Eastern medicine”56:32 Fairtrade coffee and ecotourismQuotes from the episode:(Sara) Flow can be hard, especially when you are a parent of young children and you don't feel like you've got a lot of capacity just because you're being pulled in a thousand directions and you're just trying to keep these kids alive and fed and everything else that you're dealing with. But that ability to float along the river and let the kind of the, the path of the stream take you where you're gonna go. If you fight it, you're not gonna win. It's like a rip current. If you fight the rip current and try to swim back to shore, that's how people drown. It's when you swim parallel to the shore and get out of that like force that you can finally make your way back.(Alycia) I don't think we can always force flow. I think it's kind of relatively spontaneous, but we can kind of create structures around our work or our daily lives that would encourage flow and the flow state to kind of show up. And allow us to kind of capture it when it's there.(Alycia) I would ask questions. You know, like, where, when does inspiration strike? What are you doing in that period of time? What are you thinking about when that's happening? What are you doing before and after? And how does it feel to like not capture that idea? Does it come back to you? I have a lot of questions. And if we can answer some of those questions, I think you can kind of find your own path there, if that makes sense.(Sara) Yeah, it seems like kind of almost pattern recognition. When is this happening? What's the cadence of it?(Alycia) So I think part of the challenge that I have is that I'm like a natural rebel. So anytime I like see rules or I find rules, or I find that pattern and put it in place, I'm like, okay, now I'm gonna go do something else. 'Cause like I just naturally have to push back against even my own rules. It's a deeply annoying part of who I am. But I will say that as someone who has to do these things in order to make an income, I have...

It’s time for another blast from my past! In the very first episode of Connecting the Dots with The Renaissance People, I talked about a pivotal program from my childhood called Youth in Government (YIG). This episode’s guest was one of my best friends from that program. Morgan Anderson’s career has taken him across the country and through multiple industries (which I will NOT list ahead of time because I feel there is such great joy in being surprised and peeling back the layers of a story.)In this episode we talked about YIG and why it was so impactful for us, the Renaissance “All or Nothing” mentality and how Morgan has employed it repeatedly in his multifaceted career, and the unifying feature of caring about people and supporting them that Renaissance People share. We also discussed selling confidence (compared to the many other things Morgan has sold).I will share one little tidbit that I couldn't include in the show because we discussed it after I stopped recording. I’m a huge fan of the reality TV show competition Top Chef and Morgan was once in the running to be on the show. Shows like that have archetypical characters they cast for (sorry to ruin it if you thought everything was completely real). When it comes to the season where Morgan was in the running to appear, they had already filled the role of “prodigal chef/kitchen villain” for that season so the opportunity passed by. By the next time he could have been cast, he’d already moved on from cooking. Intrigued yet?Promised Show Notes Materials (take a drink):Sign up for updates on my podcast and what’s happening in the Renaissance People Community.Work with me to Find Your Golden Thread Episode 1: Hello! I’m Sara Kobilka, Renaissance WomanMorgan and I were involved with the Minnesota Youth in Government (YIG) program in high school but the YMCA of the USA has Youth and Government programs across the United States.Where are they now article about me on the Alumni and Friends page for the Center for Youth Voice (the current home of Youth in Government within the Minnesota YMCA programs)Alton Brown’s video of burping sock puppets Good Eats – Dr. Strangeloaf YeastsObituary for UW-Madison Plants and Man professor Tim Allen (yes, I'm recommending you read an obituary) and another article about himAuthor Mary Roach’s websiteBook Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human CadaversIowa’s RAGBRAI bike rideFollow Morgan on Social Media:LinkedIn | YouTube (aka the Critter Gitter)A few things Morgan and I discuss:3:11 Why Youth in Government was so impactful in our lives12:37 The Renaissance “All or Nothing” mentality15:26 The first of many zigzags for Morgan16:54 Morgan’s early success17:19 Alton Brown love fest22:19 How Morgan lost his passion24:5 Morgan’s travels around the country33:13 Turns out you really can go home…at least in Morgan’s case34:45 Science’s allure draws Morgan in39:41 Selling confidence48:06 Improv Game53:54 Find Your Golden Thread57:03 Rapidish Fire QuestionsQuotes from the episode:(Morgan) Have fun, get things done. Man! I haven't said that in about 30 years!(Sara) It's that live hard, play hard mentality. I think a lot of Renaissance People and multi-passionate are good at that. They are both good at having fun and playing and being curious and creative. But then when there's stuff that needs to get done, they're also really good at like putting their heads down and getting things done.(Morgan) Oh, that describes me to a T. You nailed me there. Because if I get into something, it's all or nothing.(Morgan) I tell everyone this. I had my passion for food beat out of me and it was my own fault.(Sara) Do you think it could come back ever? Or is it, do you think it's gone?(Morgan) It has. Not so much like it used to be there. But I have an absolutely amazing time cooking and teaching my wife how to cook.(Morgan) That’s where the Renaissance Person in me was first realized. Because you'd be working on a project for weeks and on a Monday morning, the CEO looks at me and says, "Oh, we're not doing that anymore, and you have to do a 180 and start over." And it's just like, oh my gosh! You know? So I went from leading a very structured, professional life in culinary and in management, and all of a sudden I'm in this nebulous area where you've gotta orchestrate amongst chaos.(Morgan) You get really good at selling something when you're selling something people don't need like ice cream.(Sara) I think these are the case studies of confidence as a Renaissance Person. And it sounds like for you, it took a long time to really say, “Hey, this multifaceted, well-rounded kid from high school who's traveled around the country and had all these careers and done all this stuff, there's value in me for that diversity of things that I know. Not just because I taught this one class, or I got this one degree, or I worked in this one position.” It's the multitudes that makes you magical.(Morgan) My brother-in-law said something this last summer. There's people that are smart and there's people that have experience. And wisdom is the combination. Mm. You do not have to be smart to be wise, but you do have to have the experiences. And I think in confidence in what we were talking about, where my confidence comes from is the knowledge is the background.(Morgan) I don't half ass anything. If I'm gonna be training my dog, it is intense! Books will show up from Amazon. And treats will be researched. And I will morph my own training program from, you know, reading 36 different books.(Sara) That's like the antithesis of what I think is one of the superpowers of Renaissance People is, we can be creative. We have all these experiences like you're talking about, that we can draw from. And so we're the ones who can come up with those outside-the-box ideas and we can implement them and be like, let's get this shit done.(Morgan) Humans are horrible multitaskers, and I am primed to prove that wrong. Cause there's always multiple things.Follow me, Renaissance Woman Sara Kobilka, on LinkedIn, where I put most of my social media energy, and Facebook.If you’re extra curious, check out Renaissance Woman Consulting to learn more about some of the many types of work I do.And should you care to support the production of this podcast, I’d love it if you’d buy me an oat milk cappuccino, my caffeinated beverage of choice.This podcast is hosted and edited by Sara Kobilka.Theme music is by Brian SkellengerPodcast distribution support provided by K.O. Myers of Particulate Media

In this episode, I am joined by a fellow Renaissance Woman who has joined me in embracing that identity (you’ll learn why near the start of the show). The title of the episode is, “A Different Kind of Wonderful with Paula Croxson” but my alternative was “How Paula Came to Love Swimming in Chop”. That too will make sense later in the show. Paula has been near the top of my “dream guests” since I came up with this podcast idea so to say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement. She’s a science communicator, neuroscientist, musician and athlete among other things. The conversation was free flowing, filled with science, storytelling and metaphors galore!Promised Show Notes Materials (take a drink):Sign up for updates on my podcast and what’s happening in the Renaissance People Community.Work with me to Find Your Golden Thread Jethro Tull (jazz flutist) YouTube video of performance from 1976My LinkedIn Left Brain, Right Brain artificial choice rantArticle from Business Insider where Michelle Obama explains why she too is disgusted by the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver SacksOliver Sacks biographical informationOliver Sacks’ TEDTalk, What Hallucinations Reveal about Our MindsNeuWriteA Brief History of the Resting State: the Washington University Perspective by Abraham Z Snyder and Marcus E RaichleReview of the split brain work that Brenda Milner was part of (credit also to Mike Gazzaniga for this research)Story ColliderPaula’s 2013 Story Collider talk: When Your Grandmother Forgets Who You AreEp. 9 A Mind for Memory with Brian Skellenger, SurvivalistIf you want to become a better storyteller, I highly recommend the podcast The Story Letter with Micaela Blei.Stellate CommunicationsEp. 8 Bringing Worlds Together Full Circle with Jess Rowell, Renaissance Woman discusses “find your audience’s why” to help answer “what do you do?”Sign up for Brain Dump on May 1, 2026 (or if you missed it, sign up for my Renaissance People newsletter to find future opportunities)Paula’s greatest accomplishment post Instagram | FacebookCholla walking inspiration LinkedIn postStellate CommunicationsFollow Paula on Social Media:Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | BlueskyA few things Paula and I discuss:Survey says…she’s a Renaissance WomanThe science vs musician choiceThe history and misconceptions of “left brain vs right brain”Renaissance Man, neuroscientists, and inspirational figure, Oliver SacksThe athletic mindset + Renaissance People = Flow StateResearch on the flow state (it’s not all woo woo)What MRIs tell us (and don’t tell us)Why the science is in the nuance and complicating the narrativePaula’s major career pivotExplaining yourself using communications 101, Know thy AudienceValues as a golden threadHow Paula stopped fighting the waves and began enjoying themImprov GameRapidish Fire QuestionsLife as an omnivertTraining our pets to do unusual thingsQuotes from the episode:(Paula) I think of boundary spanner maybe as a really useful professional term. But I feel like a Renaissance Person all the time, regardless of whether I'm behaving like a professional or not.(Paula) I feel like science and music was one of those choices that I had to make pretty early on, that I've spoken to so many people who ended up in science or as musicians who felt like they had to make that choice early on in order to define themself, to carve out what they were doing. When I say had to, I don't think anyone made me. I had a lot of really supportive people around me when I was figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up. But I felt like it only made sense to be one or the other. And I actually stopped playing music for a really long time, while I was in graduate school. And so I sometimes forget that I'm a musician because I spent so much time creating this version of myself that was the scientist.(Sara) People sometimes have a job where they'll be a reporter and they'll be a meteorologist. So I decided, I'm gonna bring math and science back into my life. And quite a few people in the journalism program looked at me like I was absolutely nuts because I took chemistry. I took physics. I was taking calculus. And they're all like, "Why? What are you? What's wrong with you? What are you doing?" And I was like, no! I need this! This is part of me too. I can't lose that. I need to use my full brain and not "half of my brain" as the people like to talk about it.(Paula) That's how the left brain got a reputation for being the "logical", I'm using air quotes here, the "logical side of the brain". Because it rationalized. Because it got in there and it was chatty and explained away the movements of the right hemisphere, having no idea that the whole reason was because the right hemisphere of the brain had just seen a spoon and was responding to the question. So that's how that whole myth arose is because the left hemisphere of the brain talks a lot. However, that doesn't really make it more logical.(Paula) I had already been interested in the brain and how it worked. But that was one of the things that really drew me in, was reading that book. Little did I know at the time that Oliver Sacks was, himself, a real Renaissance Person!(Sara) Yeah!(Paula) He entered that part of his career, the medical part of his career, late in life and the writing and storytelling part even later in life. He was also a bodybuilder. He also swam in the open water. He had all of these facets to himself that were not just what he did for a living. I think I probably was drawn to that as much as the stories and the fascination of the brain, even though I wasn't really aware of it at the time.(Paula) I started off by joining a group called NeuWrite that was a science writing group that brought together scientists, writers, people in theater, meet people from the media, you know, to collaborate.My goal was just to write better science papers so that I could get published in my, like, niche journals, but like fancier niche journals that would get me, like tenure and promotion and funding.But I was around these people and I liked these people and I was drawn to them. And I found myself learning a lot from them in a way that I didn't learn from my colleagues who were in the same niches as me...