“The first tenet of The Portfolio Life is ‘you are more than your job.’ You don’t want to lose your identity, your passion, your livelihood, all in the same conversation. And that’s what happens when we hitch our identity to this profession that we’ve chosen.” – Christina Wallace
Christina Wallace is a self-described human Venn diagram with a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. Through years of trial and error, Christina discovered that her seemingly unrelated talents and interests made her stronger, not unfocused. And she’s here to tell you how to lean into your own “portfolio life.”
An entrepreneur, author, and Harvard Business School senior lecturer, Christina shares her career path and life philosophy known as ‘The Portfolio Life’ (outlined in her book of the same name). Feeling lost after the shutdown of her first startup, Christina found her way forward by applying a diversification model from financial portfolios to her life. Living a portfolio life, she says, offers an advantage in navigating an uncertain and ever-changing world—and allows you to prioritize personal happiness over conventional definitions of success.
More About Christina:
A self-described “human Venn diagram”, Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is currently a Senior Lecturer of entrepreneurship Harvard Business School, an active angel investor, and a co-producer of Broadway musicals. Her latest book is The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build A Life Bigger Than Your Business Card (Hachette, 2023).
A serial entrepreneur, Christina has built businesses in ecommerce, edtech, and media. She also co-authored New To Big: How Companies Can Create Like Entrepreneurs, Invest Like VCs, and Install a Permanent Operating System for Growth (Penguin Random House, 2019) and was the co-host of The Limit Does Not Exist, an iHeart podcast with millions of downloads over 3 seasons and 125 episodes.
In her free time, she sings with various chamber choirs, embarks on adventure travel, and is a mediocre endurance athlete. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their two children.
Highlights
- 01:24 The Journey to the Portfolio Life
- 05:59 Redefining Success
- 12:16 The Tenets of the Portfolio Life
- 17:24 The Danger of Wrapping Identity in Work
- 27:01 The Changing Dynamics of Work and Organizations
- 27:58 Applying Business Frameworks to Life
- 30:40 Recognizing the Signs of Burnout and Rebalancing
- 34:57 Shifting from a Linear Career to a Portfolio Career
- 39:57 The Role of Forecasting in Life Planning
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Buy The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger than Your Business Card on Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
Connect with Christina: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
Thank You for Listening!
This episode was written, edited, and produced by Lara Dalch.
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