Sep 12 2007
10 Raw Truths about Finding Your True Calling
Published by Tom Volkar under Career Guidance | 
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Some are born with such a compelling drive that their true calling surfaces early and they pursue it their entire lives. For others, it may take decades of active pursuit.
- We complicate the process way too much because of our fears. It can be far easier than we make it.
- No one will have all the answers for you. But I do have many of the questions, as well as methods that work for some people.
- Ultimately you’ll have to trust and follow your own gut.
- Fear of making mistakes will keep you from exploring and experimenting. Without experimentation and exploration, you may never stumble upon your own gold.
- We care way too much about what others think. The joke is they don’t really think about us – they are too concerned caring about what others think of them.
- We worry about security yet the only real security comes from following one’s own true path.
- Any movement works. Movement changes our perspective. And when we change our perspective, we can see possibilities that we were once blind to.
- It’s up to you my friend. No one cares about you as much as you do. It’s your responsibility and your reward. How sweet it is.
- There’s no “right time” to begin. And waiting is never the right time.
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Tom, your thought-provoking words made me wonder what kind of research has been done demonstrating the differences in lives of people who are self-employed versus employed by others. I’ve never been inclined to dig for such information, but based on what I see with my clients, I’d guess that self-employed folks live longer, happier, healthier, more fulfilled, more satisfying lives. What has your experience been with your clients? Know of any relevant research?
I concur with all your 10 raw truths, and especially the one on “fear.” Fear of failure, fear of what others will think, fear of financial ruin, fear of loss of prestige/power, fear of ignorance, fear that it was the wrong choice, fear that one misstep will ruin everything, fear that we are not good enough, fear that we don’t have what it takes…… I have to stop typing, this is making me feel fearful!!
Chris, indeed there has been a considerable amount of research showing that the self-employed have higher levels of happiness than those employed by others. Most prominently by Matthias Benz and Bruno Fey at the Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich. In their paper, Being Self-Employed is a Great Thing: Subjective Evaluations of Self-Employment and Hierarchy, September 2006; they concluded what you and I already experience daily. It’s not just earnings or outcomes that determine happiness but also the process leading to those outcomes.
Self-employed individuals enjoy a much higher measure of self-determination and freedom. Being able to utilize ones own initiative is a core characteristic of the state of self-determined happiness.
The joy of calling our own shots and eagerly choosing our own projects is one of life’s sweetest freedoms that we self-employed get to savor all day long. And that fear we once knew tends to evaporate while our focus is directed in joyful creation.
This article just goes to emphasise the fact that working for someone does not pay at all. I actually wrote a similar article in September last year “6 reasons you shouldnt get a job” which became one of my best articles, people who work for others (myself included) are very unhappy people.
Alfred, I’m going to check out that article now. I really do think that except for very few exceptions, most folks who are working for others are unhappy and have their freedom restricted in countless ways. It’s more akin to slavery than anything else.
Hi I read somewhere years ago, people who were self-emplyed didn’t like being told what to do. Or restricted! It was confining to their personality. Felt less authentic! They didn’t feel they were the master of their own destiny. I don’t think everybody can be it. Two qualities I think is a must are self-initiating and self-motivating individual. Though they are quite similar. You just got to have those.
Hi Diane – Sorry I missed your comment when you made it. I’d certainly agree with you since freedom is definitely my driver. The qualities that you mentioned are correct and also much more automatic once you are doing work that you love to do.
As people begin to realize happiness does not need to be pursued, they learn to view life differently. People often chase after things because they forget or overlook what they already have or are inside. They learn to slowly lift the blinders and enrich themselves. The nature of your work is meaningful in part because you empower people to recall what they already know.
Liara Coverts last blog post..Cherie Carter-Scott & 10 Rules for Being Human
Liara – Thank you for recognizing that. I enjoy going deep with my clients so that they can find themselves.