Upside-Down on Purpose: Flip the Script to Non-linear Success

Photo credit: CBC Sports, Jessica Tudos, 1984 Olympic Games

“Were you dropped on your head as a child?”

Not exactly. However, I did spend an unusual amount of time upside-down in my playpen. My parents still shake their heads about it, even taking me to the doctor as a baby to make sure I was ok.

For most kids, the world makes sense standing up. For me, the view was always clearer from a cartwheel, handstand, or mid-air aerial. Maybe it was freedom, or curiosity, or simply rebellion, but this fascination with seeing life from a different perspective was the beginning of everything I do now.

People often ask me how I “got into this career” and what I actally do, to which I now say, “What day is it? Today I’m doing x, tomorrow will be different.” BTW – this response has taken years to master – in my younger years, “what do you do” was anxiety-producing big time!

In reflecting more deeply, I had to ask myself, “Why do I do what I do? Why am I so passionate about helping multi-passionate humans organize, design, and own their creative, chaotic, wonderful lives?

Let’s flip into it.

1. Cartwheels to Coaching: My Life’s Work Started Upside-Down

At eight years old, I stumbled into gymnastics and instantly felt at home. By 15, I was at the Olympics representing Canada — the dream of any ambitious, driven, headstrong kid who preferred being upside-down to most right-side-up adventures.

More sky, less ground.

Waaaay more flips.

But behind the honour and glory (and the hours and hours in chalky, sweaty gyms) was another truth: being upside-down made me feel more grounded than being “normal” ever did.

I wasn’t meant to follow a linear life path.

And to thrive in that non-linear life, I had to master something you don’t learn in school: managing your mindset, time, energy, and space to make big goals a reality.

I had to create systems to support my novelty-seeking, ultra-curious, and multi-passionate approach to life.

Spoiler alert: these systems became my secret superpower, and eventually the foundation of my career how I help others make their goals a reality.

I learned early on that structure frees creativity, and without it, you burn out or spin your wheels. (Or fall off the beam. Literally.)

2. The Portfolioist’s Dilemma: How NOT to Lose Your Mind When You Love Everything

After retiring from gymnastics, I thought my cartwheeling days were over – they were not.

I flipped full speed ahead into teaching, coaching, facilitating, leading, coordinating, and marketing, which helped me create an experiential education consultancy spanning multiple countries.

Starting my own creative learning company Kika Creative also meant I had to travel and create, making for a life bursting with possibility.

Sounds dreamy, right?

Well… yes and no.

I also faced the Multi-Passionate curse of the “Shiny Object Syndrome.”

You KNOW the feeling — too many ideas, too little time, and no clue which step to take next.

I tried being a “normal” educator in a steady full-time job (be in one place 5 days a week?!), considered getting a Ph.D. (choose one area of study for 4+ years?!), or climb that lofty career ladder (wear business suits?!). I thought “settling” into any one of these choices would ease my endless curiosity, relentless pursuit of novelty, and desire for adventure.

But when I tried and tried to “fit in”, my gut screamed: NO.

It was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole - never going to fit.

And it wasn’t because I feared stability — it was because I feared losing myself.

So, I chose the road less traveled: the Portfolio Life — a multi-passionate mix of ideas, projects, jobs, and passions lived on purpose.

The benefits?  Freedom, self-determination, and novelty.

The challenges?  Distraction, anxiety, and overwhelm.

The solution? Creating structures to contain, support, and protect the freedom.

It’s the freedom to choose how you want to live, work, and be your amazing multi-passionate self!

BUT, without the systems, tools, and mindset shifts I now teach others (hard-won wisdom, my friends), success can be elusive.

3. Adopt a Portfolio Mindset: How I Help Others Flip Their Perspective (and Their Life)

In my work as a coach, edupreneur, speaker, and consultant, I meet many high-achievers, creative thinkers, change-makers — people with a thousand ideas and LOTS of stress around finding the clarity to act on them.

They come to me buried under mental, emotional, and physical clutter, saying things like:

• “I want to write a book…and start a podcast… plus a course… and rebrand… and...”

• “Why can’t I just focus on one thing like everyone else?”

• “I’m so scattered. My ideas are ALL over the place. I can’t focus.”

• “I just can’t start, so I put it off and feel so disappointed in myself.”

• “I can’t finish what I start. I love launching, but am failing at the finish line.”

To which I lovingly say:

“Good, you’re exactly where you need to be. Being multi-passionate isn’t a flaw — it’s your superpower.”  

A Portfolioist Mindset ensures your multi-dimensionality works for, not against, you and your high expectations. It’s a way to:

✔️ Embrace your multi-dimensionality  

✔️  Prioritize your ideas

✔️  Organize your systems, schedule, and space

✔️  Focus your crazy brilliance into action

The same strategies that helped me juggle Olympic training, business building, and book publishing help me help my clients create clear, joyful, productive lives, without letting go of who they are, what they believe in, or where they want to go next.

By embracing ALL of your multiple passions, projects, and careers, you are set up for Portfolio life/career success, and I’m here to help.

When you flip the script on your life and embrace a Portfolio Mindset, you see what really matters and are unstoppable.

4. Chaos, Clutter & The Myth of "Having It All Together" (Hint: No One Does)

As a kid juggling school, gymnastics training, home life, and friends, I needed to access my belongings easily if I wanted to do all the activities I had in mind. Efficiency and ease were my guides then, and still are now.

I used to wonder why others couldn’t “just” get organized and take action on what they wanted to do.

Turns out that tornadoes of paper piles, to-do lists, overflowing closets, digital files, and unfinished creative projects can lead to major analysis paralysis – where making a move seems overwhelming and impossible.

When I see the stress and overwhelm on people’s faces when they open a stuffed closet, a jam-packed calendar, or an overflowing Google Drive, I know there is a better way, and I’ve had to learn/re-learn these skills myself. I understand the challenges.

I SEE you overwhelm, guilt, and analysis paralysis — and you are formidable.

I know how hard it is to overcome these challenges, and also know it can be done with a clear mindset and process.

I’ve spent years helping people simplify their stuff, their space, and their mental load — to make room for what matters most, whether it’s writing that book, launching the new business, making meaningful art, and most of all - creating that impact.

Read more about my signature 5-step process T.U.D.O.S. technique.

Having helped hundreds of people and organizations clear their clutter, I have seen the lightness return, which is when the:

• ideas flow

• action begins

• momentum builds

• confidence grows

• dreams become real

Freedom needs form. Joy needs a junk-free zone.

5. Freedom Within Structure: The Real Secret to Doing All The Things You Love

Here’s the truth that changed my life - we can do many things.

Just not all at once.

The Portfolio Life is 1000% possible — and awesome — but only if you build a personalized system to hold your energy, focus, and creative fire so it does NOT burn out.

This is why I care so much about teaching people to manage their:

•  time (yes, you can calendar your dreams)

•  mindset (no more “I should pick just one thing” guilt)

•  space (because clarity starts in your environment)

•  choices (learning when to say YES — and when to say, “not right now”)

Through workshops, speaking, teaching, coaching, and writing, I help fellow go-getters create lives that fit their curious, creative, and gloriously unconventional selves.

It’s why I wrote my book, “Kika the Upside-Down Girl” — to give permission to kids (and grown-ups) to embrace their quirks, follow their flips, flops, and do-overs, and find their tribe.

I believe a multi-passionate, purpose-driven life isn’t just possible — it’s necessary to adapt and thrive in today’s reality.

Which has prompted me to write the book I wish I’d had years ago.

My next “big” project is a memoir-meets-self-development guide-meets-journal for fellow multi-passionate Portfolioists—the book that will inspire and empower them to thrive.

Thrive in a world that wants us to pick a lane, settle down, and fit into a specific box.

Spoiler: We don’t do boxes here. We don’t stay in one lane – we are superhighways!

I’m keen to share the messy truth - the wins, wrong turns, magic of trying, freedom of failing, and joy of finally, gloriously, owning your choices.

Stay tuned. I think you’ll love it

Final Flip: To My Fellow Portfolioists…

If you’re still reading this, you probably feel it.

That itch. That curiosity. That secret knowing that you’re meant for more than one thing.

Good. You’re my kind of human.

Here’s what I want you to know:

✔️ You can build a life around your creative, curious, adventurous self.
✔️ You can flip your perspective and make your chaos work for you.
✔️ You can do many things — beautifully — with the right systems and support.

I’ve created my life around these principles, and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon - my novelty-fueled ADHD brain won’t let me!

And I absolutely LOVE helping others lead with curiosity every day.

So, whether you’re writing that book, launching that business, painting that canvas, or starting that wild new project — know this:

Your upside-down life could be the right-side-up path you’ve been searching for.

Imagine designing your life so your bold ideas, quirky projects, and secret passions make the impact you envision - now.

Wouldn’t that feel amazing?

Let’s make it happen - the world needs what you’ve got.

Curious? Inspired? Want to flip the script on your life?

✨ Check out my life design and coaching services
✨ Book me to speak at your event or on your podcast
✨ Grab a copy of Kika the Upside-Down Girl
✨ Send me a note — I’d love to hear your story and read every email I get.

Upside-down is where the best stories begin.