One subject that I often spend a lot of time thinking about is the topic of work. As I have written many times before on this blog, this is an issue that is so simple yet society has complicated it to such an extent that it seems normal for so many of us to not love our jobs.
Think about this for a moment; how many people do you know who absolutely love what they do? In my case, I can think of only about ten people throughout the course of my life so far. Maybe I am unusual in this but I think the majority of society is working for a paycheck as opposed to having a career that fulfills them on some level.
When we are in school, we are taught that at some point we have to get a job. Notice that no one ever talks about getting a career or following your calling. As a result, those who have a career or a calling seem to be this rare breed who were selectively chosen by the career God and given a blessing that is as rare as a four leaf clover.
For years, I used to wonder why did a small percentage find their passion and live it while the majority of us are laboring through the days.
Working for Good
As you may recall, back in July, I published a post about the new movement in business called Conscious Capitalism. In that post, I featured my interview with Jeff Klein about his work in helping advance the cause of businesses becoming more conscious.
At the end of the interview, I mentioned that Jeff had written a book called Working for Good which would be released in September. I am happy to report that the book is now available and in my opinion, it is a must read for anyone who is trying to find meaning in what they do.
So often in life, we think that our jobs are separate from who we are. We compartmentalize our existence. So work is one category, family/personal life has its own little box and then we may have a spiritual box, and various other aspects that we choose to define our lives by. However, the key to a fulfilling life is for all of these to merge into one. Meaning your daily life reflects who you truly are.
Working for Good helps the readers to develop this awareness so that they too can have a career (as opposed to just a job) that not only has meaning but allows a person to have the means to take care of the responsibilities that come with being on this planet. Here is a segment from the beginning pages of the first chapter:
“In the opening of his classic book Working, Studs Terkel writes, ‘This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence – to the spirit as well as to the body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around. It is, above all (or beneath all), about daily humiliations. To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.’
This book, and the idea of Working for Good, are meant to be an antidote to the violence people do to themselves and each other through business and work.”
After reading the book, I was very fortunate to have a chance to talk to Jeff about it. My desire was not to do a standard interview where I find out about his past (I had done that already with the post published in July) but rather to see his advice for those who want to have a passion or a purpose underlying their work, but feel that they don’t.
How to Discover Your Passion or Purpose
Many readers have personally contacted me asking for advice on how to discover their passion or purpose. Those readers were on my mind as I asked Jeff to share his thoughts. Here is how our talk went:
How does a person find their passion?
Jeff replied that the first step to finding one’s passion is that they have to cultivate awareness. “There comes a realization where the person starts to ask what is my purpose? The key is to recognize the feeling of not being on track or that I am not following my calling. When a person starts to ask those questions, it serves to be with that feeling for a moment.
Pay attention to how you feel when you think of your job. Notice how you feel when you think of things that bring you joy. The more tuned in you are to how you feel, to what brings you joy, the more likely you are to discover what makes you feel more alive in your work.”
Assuming you discover what makes you feel alive, then what is the next step?
“Observe others who implicitly love what they do. Ask them questions. Discover how and what they did to get to where they are. Find a mentor or a teacher who embodies what you want to experience or have. Surround yourself with people who share the same passions and who are pursuing their passion and purpose in their work.
Awareness and inquiry are essential. The more you inquire, the more you will know about yourself. You will discover what turns you on and how to achieve what you want so that you are doing something that brings you joy.”
Often people will have an idea of what will bring them joy but then fear sets in. What to do then?
In my book, there is a quote from Goethe which beautifully articulates the power of commitment to propel us forward, in the face of fear, insecurity, the judging mind – all of which try to pull us away from following what we would love to do. The quote states:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now!”
The key is to commit yourself to go after your passion. Just do it and surround yourself with people who will support your commitment. Fear and doubt will arise but we can continually recommit and with our recommitment, internal and external forces align to support us to persist and flourish.
It is like the archetypal story of the Hero’s Journey as recounted by Joseph Campbell. We hear and heed a call to act, and headoff on our journey only to be confronted with challenges, obstacles, and hindrances. We descend into “darkness” ¬– with fear, doubt, regret stirring within us and naysayers around us criticizing, cajoling, even threatening us. Then we land in the underworld – a vast , foreign, uncharted terrain filled with more challenges. But as we make our way, allies appear with gifts that support us in our journey. These gifts include insights, information, and skills that we need to make our way. Once we have learned the lessons to make our way through the underworld – finding a path to fulfill the call, we return the the world we left behind, transformed and bringing the gifts with us in service to our community. And the cycle continues as we are called to leap again to find new gifts in a continual process of growth and development. And the obstacles of fear, doubt, et al continue to show up, but as our experience and skill deepens, their intensity and effect diminish, and our ability to face and transcend them increases.
Job, Career or Calling?
When I was done interviewing Jeff, I walked back to my day job and was thinking about what we had discussed. My thoughts drifted to people that I know and even the people that I work with at my day job. It occurred to me that in life there is a distinction between having a job and having a career.
Many of us have jobs. We define our jobs as what we do to earn money so we can pay for our bills. The ideal is that we should have a career, a way of life. I wrote to Jeff about my realization and he agreed. He said that “the process goes from having a job to a career then to having a calling which is a higher and deeper way of living”.
We all have a calling. I truly believe this to be true. We are all here to make the world a better place. This journey is not all about you but rather about what you can provide for the world.
The key is that our discovery of our calling requires some inner work on our part. Working for Good provides the reader with insights and exercises that will help people begin and sustain that inner inquiry. Here is a quote from Lao Tzu (which is in Working for Good) that says it all:
Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
Special thanks to Jeff Klein for taking the time to talk to me. Our talk really provided the groundwork for many important insights. I am very grateful.
{ 54 comments }
What a wonderful post, Nadia – it’ll help a lot of folk, as will Jeff’s book!
When I was doing a lot of life coaching, this was an area that brought me great joy, helping folk do spiritual excavation and go on life safaris so they could discover their passions. Here’s one thing I’d like to share with your readers. Some of us are what Barbara Sher calls ‘Scanners’, people who have more than one passion or calling in their lives. Some of us have sequential callings, some of us have ‘multi-media’ callings that merge two or three different interests. Many of the folk I coached turned out to be Scanners, or ‘renaissance souls’, and that simple knowledge, that they weren’t on earth to fulfilone mission or follow one passion or calling freed up a load of folk to go on to have wonderful patchwork lives.
I combined my love of writing, homemaking and life coaching to become what I call a ‘homelife coach’ and ‘coachwriter’. I recently discovered bags of stuff in the attic from my teenage school days and realised I’ve been on that course since I was very young. There was a project about designing a flat, an essay describing John Denver’s music, a hand written book made up of Lao Tzu’s meditations and the Desiderata, and the start of a short story about a girl by the sea. They could have been written yesterday, not thirty five years ago.
The clues are in our pasts, in the times when we were happiest, most inspired, invigorated or at ease; when we were so empassioned and in the Flow/Zone/Now that time stood still. Our interests change and evolve, our skills and networks grow, but we were all born with a seed that we were meant to nurture until it blossoms into our gift to the world. Some seeds have to stay dormant underground for a while. Some sprout immediately. Some benefit from being scorched in a destructive forest fire. Writing and spiritual mentoring is definitely your gift, Nadia and I’m loving watching it blossom.
Success is a by-product. Follow your bliss and the money follows. And if it doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to but you’ll still be happy and folk will still benefit.
.-= janice´s last blog ..The House of the Thousand Horrormoans =-.
Hi Janice,
Thank you so much for sharing your journey and wisdom. I have no doubt that those who read your comment will be able to relate to it or at least, open their eyes about their own life.
You are so right, the answers that we usually seek have been pretty much in front of us our whole lives. I have come to realize this about my own life recently as a result of the project I have been working on in my free time. What I have been searching for was in front of me since I was a child but I had to go on my own hero journey to see it.
Due to how my day job is, I have been off from work for the last two weeks without pay and it has been bliss. It has made me realize so many things and I have come to see that money is truly a form of energy. We have complicated it so much, we have become slaves to jobs we hate, thinking we are doing the right thing. When we love what we are doing, things manage to flow. I have seen it in my own life. When I was in harmony with myself, things just managed to fall into place and when I was trying to be what was expected of me, things were always a mess.
The Universe is merciful…we just need to remember that at all times.
Wow Nadia, you get to talk to the coolest people!
This whole topic seems to be a recurring theme in many blogs and hopefully that means more and more people will ‘get it’. One day we’ll all be doing work that we have passion for.
.-= Ian | Quantum Learning´s last blog ..Talking behind your back =-.
Hi Ian,
I certainly do. Jeff is truly a wonderful soul and I am grateful to know him.
You are so right, more and more blogs are writing about this subject because it is such a universal issue. So many people want lives of meaning and purpose, but they just do not know how or if it is even possible. So hopefully, more and more people will heed the call and start having lives that they love. It is their Divine right to do so.
Wonderful post, Nadia! Thanks for this interview, and great book review. I can’t wait to buy this book, and see if it can help me.
.-= Jay Schryer´s last blog ..The Power of A Smile =-.
Hi Jay,
Thank you so much for the positive feedback. The book is awesome and it is filled with a lot of useful information. I think everyone can benefit from it on some level.
Nadia,
This is so inspiring! The book is on my list – heading to make the purchase later today. The quote from Goethe is on my vision board – has been since 2004!
One of the things I did to find my passion and purpose was I took Janet Abbott’s Passion Test. I blogged extensively about doing it and my results (and my results keep happening!) I’ve known for a long time that my day job and my passion are at odds with each other. But my day job currently takes care of things like the mortgage, the bills, the cash flow, the retirement fund, three weddings and a grand baby in a 10 month period of time…the paycheck part of it is tough to just up and leave. I do my job, make sure my boss looks good, and then go about pursuing my passion: to be a wildly successful writer, helping others help themselves, collborating and working with creative and energetic women, and becoming a sought after yogini and sensei.
Thank you for this article…I’ll be blogging it later on both my blogs because so many people need to read this!
.-= Peggy´s last blog ..Fall In New Hampshire =-.
Hi Peggy,
You are so welcome and thank YOU for blogging about this post on both of your blogs. I really appreciate it.
I can relate a lot to your work situation. I have a day job as a freelance lawyer that helps pay the bills and enables me to do what I love. I am currently off from work without pay and it has been so much fun. It is my goal to be a spiritual writer and teacher. I know that my day job will not be forever even though at times it feels like it. Whatever the case may be, it is a blessing to know what you are passionate about in life. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone’s life has meaning. We just have to move beyond the barriers of fear and ego or whatever other issues are blocking the way and see the light that lives within all of us.
Bloggers usually dislike getting comments that simply say, “Great post… this is Exactly what I needed to read right now,” because it seems like they didn’t really read it. However, in my case, it’s 100% true. Fortunately, you already know that.
Thank you, Nadia. The quotes are priceless and I’m definitely getting that book!
.-= Lisis´s last blog ..Road to Freedom Update #4: Free At Last!!! =-.
Hi Lisis,
You are welcome! The book is full of wonderful quotes and information. Since you and your husband are trying to create a new life living and doing what you love, this book will be of great help.
My mom gave me the Studs Terkel book while I was a musician/English major in college. I’m sure she was deeply worried about my financial prospects, since I seemed to just want to follow my passions and give no thought whatsoever to making a living.
I did follow my passion. Right after college I borrowed some money and went to study flamenco guitar among the gypsies in southern Spain. Eventually I ran out of money, came back to the U.S., got married, and faced economic reality.
In my case, my passion and money didn’t mix at all, so, with teeth clenched and feeling defeated, I went back to study accounting and took a job as a software programmer.
At first I hated it. But eventually I discovered, quite unexpected, just by devoting myself to my job, that I had another passion, which was running a business. So I ended up with a challenging but ultimately very satisfying career as a software entrepreneur. (I don’t know if my parents were more shocked when I went to live with the gypsies, or when I told them I was going back to school to study accounting.)
I guess the message here is that passions and economics don’t always mix, and another good approach is to figure out how to make your job your passion. This is more effective for many people, and rarely gets as much attention as the “Follow your passion and the money will take care of itself” philosophy, which doesn’t work for everyone.
Thanks for the thought-provoking blog.
Bob Weisenberg
http://yogademystified.com
.-= Bob Weisenberg´s last blog ..“Compassion ate Yogis” 3-16-09 =-.
Hi Bob,
Thank you for sharing your experiences. So what was it like living with gypsies in southern Spain? It sounds like an amazing journey.
It is great that your second career was very fulfilling and you found joy in doing it. In life we are bombarded with the notion of making a living, that we lose sight of actually living. Many people see their jobs as a means to an end and do not recognize that how you spend your day, will impact you on some level. That said, I think there are two courses of action: going after your passions or finding a way to do what you love even if that means having a second job that just pays the bills. That said, I have been doing the second option and I have to tell you, after a while, it wears you down.
We are meant to grow and expand. If we are at a job that constricts our growth, than that is not good. We can tolerate it for a while but as a way of life it would be a mistake. We need something that motivates us, without that, life is empty.
Nadia:
Great review and interview! This fits my situation pretty well and I especially liked Jeff’s description of the Hero’s Journey. I also enjoyed the Studs Terkel quote at the beginning of his book because it sounds so true for a lot of us. In any case, I will have to get a hold of this book to hopefully get some answers to my big picture questions.
.-= Tim´s last blog ..How Tim Kazurinsky Changed My Life =-.
Hi Tim,
Thank you for the positive feedback. You are right, many of us can relate to the violence that occurs at work. I think that quote is very powerful and shows how messed up we are when it comes to careers. We think it is supposed to be tough and ugly but yet it is not.
As I mentioned in another reply to comments, the book provides information that is useful to anyone who wants to find meaning and joy in their work. So you will definitely find it useful. As for your big picture questions, feel free to share them.
Nadia,
I agree with you, the majority of people in society are working for a paycheck. I cannot tell you the number of people I know who hate their jobs and are counting the days until they retire so they can do something they really like. I find this to be a very sad way to live.
I left the corporate world almost two years ago and embarked on a journey that combined my experience with my passion. As Jeff said I made the commitment to go after my dream. I have had my moments where things have not gone the way I thought they would, but I have not questioned my decision. I have loved every moment.
This is a wonderful post and see it as reminder to me to stay on this path.
Hi Debbie,
Thank you so much for all the positive feedback. I have noticed the same thing too. People live for retirement instead of living. It is as if they are sure that they will reach retirement. They forget that at any moment this journey can end so why postpone things. At least, that is my point of view.
Good for you for going after your passions. I really appreciate you sharing your experience. When we hear stories of those who went down that road, it provides inspiration for those who are contemplating such a decision but have some fear. I am happy that you are loving every moment. You go, girl!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your interview with Jeff. I have slowly been realizing this over time and yesterday was a sudden clear realization that I want to be valued for the work I do, not for how many hours I sit in my office. Your post comes at the perfect time to give me more motivation to make the changes I need to make.
.-= Daphne´s last blog ..Inspiring Blogs =-.
Hi Daphne,
Don’t you just love when things like that happen? Meaning when something comes at the perfect time. I am happy that this post was of help. You are so right in how you described the desire to be valued for the work that you do as opposed to the amount of hours.
Sometimes when I am at my day job, I feel like I have to be more like a machine than a human being. It gets to you after a while, at least that is my experience. I am sure that you will find a way to make the changes that you need. If you ever need someone to bounce off ideas or just listen, feel free to contact me.
Hope you have a beautiful day!
Hi Nadia,
Again, I agree with you. People do forget that at any moment this journey can end. We see examples of that everyday. I do not want to have any regrets when my journey has ended.
Thank you for the encouragement. I love your blog and have often forwarded the link to friends.
Hi Debbie,
You are welcome and thank YOU for the kind words on my blog. I am happy that you love it and have forwarded it to friends. I am so grateful.
By the way, I took a look at your site and loved it. I think it is amazing what you all are doing. It reminded me of some of the women that I knew when I lived in India who sold their crafts. (I greatly admire the work and vision of Yunus too.) I would love to hear more about your journey.
Hi Nadia,
I enjoyed your review, thoughts, and interview with Jeff.
I have been thinking about this a lot, even as recent as yesterday. I’m trying to decide to shoot for what fills my soul, vs. a trajectory that is guaranteed money. Now that this choice sits in my lap, trusting what my soul calls for vs. real money is still a difficult conundrum for me, but I know what to do this time.
I believe the best way, for me, to evaluate the career vs. the job concept is captured by something you said here today:
“This journey is not all about you but rather about what you can provide for the world.”
Thanks for a great post today, Nadia.
.-= Lori´s last blog ..Clutter Capades =-.
Hi Lori,
Talk about timing. Seems like so many of us are dealing with this issue. Another proof how that this topic is universal.
I think many of us are struggling with the same issue. It is amazing how money can cause such stress and confusion. Due to the financial demands in life, we tend to lean towards the secure route at the expense of feeling happy or fulfilled at work. The irony is that there is enough abundance for all of us, we just do not see it due to fear. Of course, this is all easier said than done but that also shows how messed up we are as a society.
When I told my relatives that I wanted to go live in India for six months so that I could write and work on my spirituality, you would have thought I had said that I was going to go off and do drugs for six months. One of my cousins accused me of being selfish. Apparently, it was wrong for me to do what was right for myself at that time in my life. The funny thing is that many people do think it is selfish to go after what you love as opposed to doing the secure thing. Makes no sense to me but it does to other people.
Maybe we need to take another look at how our world regards money. Money is not evil and money is not bad, we just have made it into something that is not necessarily true. Money is a tool and not an end all of human existence.
I like to think the best answer to your question, “What was it like living with the gypsies in Spain” is my flamenco guitar music itself, which I continued to pursue as an avocation. I have two albums available for free online. See http://myspace.com/padreehijo.
I completely agree with your response to my comment. Even though it might have seemed otherwise, I consider myself a good example of Jeff’s principles, not a counter-example.
First of all, I did follow my musical passion first, so I always knew it wasn’t right as a profession. I didn’t have to imagine how wonderful it would have been.
Secondly, I changed jobs repeatedly until I found out what I really loved to do. I went from CPA to programmer to project manager to sales rep. to marketing guy to owner/manager. Each step was a risky change at the time, turning my back on the sure economic thing in favor of the risky and unknown.
So I didn’t really find satisfaction by “making my job my passion”, as I wrote before, but rather by continually changing jobs. Like you say, I was lucky to be in an industry where that was possible.
Plus, I haven’t read Jeff’s book, but another way I developed passion for being an entrepreneur was by creating truly great places to work, and helping each and every one of my employees find the work they really loved to do, even if it was temporarily inconvenient to the company. I considered any turnover of people to be a personal failure on my part–a failure to understand and satisfy that person’s needs.
Thanks for generating this great discussion.
Bob Weisenberg
http://yogademystified.com
.-= Bob Weisenberg´s last blog ..“Compassion ate Yogis” 3-16-09 =-.
Hi Bob,
I am listening to your music as I write this reply and dude, your music is beautiful. Something soothing about it and meditative too. You have my two thumbs up!
Apologies on the misunderstanding and I can see where you are coming from completely. Actually, your passion for music is really apparent in the tracks that you share on the link you provided.
It seems that your journey was a process of evolving which is wonderful because ideally, we are meant to evolve and grow. Your career path is reflective of that based on what you wrote.
Your philosophy regarding the conditions you created at your businesses is in line with what Jeff suggests in his book. Sounds like you were an awesome boss. Not many people care about the needs of their employees. So see, you are already “Working for Good”. Yay!
And you are welcome for the discussion. I truly love to help and inspire people and this is one way of doing that.
Hi Nadia,
Thank you for taking the time to visit my website. I just posted a new blog post about being reminded about why I started the business when I got a telephone call from a women in India who works with women artisans.
I would be happy to talk to you about my journey. Looking forward to your next post.
Hi Debbie,
I will definitely check out that post. As for talking with you, would it be okay to contact you at the email you provided when signing up to leave comments? Just so you know, it may be a day or two because I have a lot going on today.
Hi Nadia,
Yes, contact me at the e-mail I provided. Look forward to talking to you.
What a remarkable interview! Your questions were deft–I think you got to the heart of the matter.
I particularly like the first question and response: “Jeff replied that the first step to finding one’s passion is that they have to cultivate awareness. ”
In my experience, it is stillness and letting that can bring about passion. It is also true that purpose can change, and there are times when there seems to be several callings, and times when the only purpose is simply the joy of being.
I gave up a corporate career over two years ago to follow purpose. I feel good about that–there is no anxiety, just a fascinating curiosity about how it will all turn out. On the the other hand, when my kids were little or when I was a single father, I worked for the paycheck and I wouldn’t have been able to overcome the fear–many people are in that position.
I love Goethe’s quotation. There is the fulcrum–before which there is fear and after which there is energizing purpose, and exactly what makes that transformation is a mystery!
k
.-= Kaushik´s last blog ..Days of Our Discontent — Finding Answers =-.
Hi Kaushik,
Thank you so much for the positive feedback.
One of the aspects of Jeff’s book that is really great, in my opinion, is that it is a business/career book that is rooted in spiritual awareness. It is a great combination and his passion for the subject is very apparent. So I think it is a book that can really be of help or insight regardless of where you stand in terms of a persons career.
You made a great point about how when you have a family, the pressure of money takes on a different meaning than when you are just focusing on your own life. That said, I do know of people who have families and who are living their passion. So I guess it depends on the person involved. After all, we are all works in progress. With time, we all gain wisdom someway and somehow.
And that Goethe quote truly rocks. I have heard of it before but it really resonated with me this time due to how my life is at the moment. Plus it is very powerful and so true. It is my hope that more and more people see that truth. There is no need to fear, for life is all about love.
Hi Nadia
Finding your passion is the crucial and yet how to find it has had me stumped for a long time.
I tried to do it safely and comfortably from an arm chair and books and yet, I never found it there.
You do have to go on a hero’s journey and to be prepared to take the time and do the do-ing that requires to give you the experiences and the habits that will unearth your passion.
The irony is that I have been a psychologist and a career counsellor and I know you will not find what your purpose or passion is until you go and live and experience life free from the railway track we have been put on since we were little.
I will tell you that that takes some doing.
But I am learning life is NOT complicated, life is keeping your world in order by daily do-ings that are right there in front of you and are a result of any choice you have made. It is about going forward DO-ing little steps and trying things out. Taste things, even little bites help, but keep moving.
Then you will end up on an amazing path.
That daily doing as a result of any choice we had made and that keeping our world in order got us out of the city and in an most amazing rural place. It did not happen by staring in the beyond, it happened by being love in action whenever I did something and discovering my passions by taking steps and not sitting still.
Even a job can be for a bigger sake of what. It is not wrong to earn money for a living in a job you do not particularly like, if that pays the bill right now and that is all you can see possible right now. Accept what is so AND take little steps towards finding a way that suits you better.
As long as you are love in action when you are doing anything and as long as the job is not making you sleazy or out of integrity, life will work out.
We just have to unlearn a whole lot of very unhealthy habits.
And yes, I agree with the comments that say that again you touched on a very important topic.
Hugs Wilma.
.-= Wilma Ham´s last blog ..My daughter and I on ‘why should you?’. =-.
Hi Wilma,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with trying to find and live your passions. It truly is a universal topic regardless of where we live and what we may believe.
You made a great point about the importance of being love in action. That is so true. The irony is that most people tend to believe in fear more so than in love and that fear is usually what guides us in making choices.
I do agree with you that there is nothing wrong by doing a job you do not like in order to pay the bills but when it begins to eat away the soul or effect our health, then it is time to switch paths.
When we live in harmony with who we are and we strive to be that harmony, we then know what our next steps should be. At least, that has been my experience in the past five years. When we are truly connected to our inner voice, we then know the steps we should take. For example, as much as I may complain about my job, I know that I am there for a reason and I see that reason. I also know that when it is time to move on, I will know when and what to do. That is true for all of us but we just are not in tune with our spirit or our inner voice or gut or whatever you want to call it.
As you said, we have to unlearn many unhealthy habits in order to achieve inner peace and happiness.
Hugs back to you!
Hi Nadia,
Great article. It’s so awesome that you contact the authors you admire and provide us with these great interviews. You hit the nail on the head regarding how people are trained to go out and make money–and not necessarily identify their calling and pursue a career in that vein. Our family babysitter is a recent college grad with a degree in business. She couldn’t find a job for a really long time. When she finally did find a job it was in insurance. She worked there for two months and then took a test which allows her to be an insurance broker. Through all of this, she never once knew what she really wanted; all she knew was that she had graduated and was now expected to be working. She likes her job and she is learning a lot and feels like she is doing well at it. Whether or not this ends up being her passion is unknown. I hope so…
I do think the early years are better spent exploring and working towards that job that is your passion rather than collecting a paycheck and segmenting life as you mentioned. Definitely the big idea is to make our life this big collaborative, purposeful, joyful adventure! “Work” shouldn’t have to be torturous just to bring in the money! Thanks Nadia, you always write such thoughtful and thought-provoking posts!
.-= Jodi at Joy Discovered´s last blog ..Is Life Fair? =-.
Hi Jodi,
You know, it is funny how I came to know about Jeff. He left a comment on this blog in response to my very first post on Conscious Capitalism. It is a perfect example of Goethe’s quote in action. As a result of his comment, I contacted him and the rest is history. So you just never know who may leave a comment when you write a post.
I also hope that your family babysitter finds her passion in her current line of work. Actually, it is my sincere wish that everyone finds their passion. Life is so short too waste by being miserable.
You made a great point about how it would be best to work on discovering our passions when we are young. I think it would make going to school so much for fun if a kid is in an environment that encourages that belief rather than treating all the kids like herds of cattle (at least that is what it was like for me before college).
One last thing, thank you so much for the positive feedback. I really do try to do my best. Hope all is awesome.
Hi Nadia!
It is always a tremendous boost coming to your blog! You have a marvelous way of handling topics and I can feel you tipping your scale to follow your chosen path even though you still have the cranky pants world to deal with – temporarily.
The interview – as well as all the quotes – is so encouraging! I was struck by the phrase “walking wounded” – boy doesn’t it seem the world is full of walking wounded sometimes? Your post and this book are a much needed salve!
Like you, I used to think there was a Career God out there that sprinkled fairy dust on a few chosen people who seemed to know practically from BIRTH what their calling would be. For the rest of us, a road trip – tunnels, bridges, twisted mountain roads, traffic jams, and the ever popular road construction.
Thank you so much for being a refreshing cup of water on this journey!
.-= suzen´s last blog ..Boy Training – Meet A Great Blogger! =-.
Hi Suzen,
You are so welcome. Thank YOU for being so kind and supportive. It means a lot.
By the way, I know that road construction as well as the huge wrecking ball that comes along and makes everything turn into rubble. However, out of the ashes, we can rise as strong as the Phoenix. Or so we hope that we can.
I guess life is a journey and we just have to live it with that perspective in mind. Each situation we are in, we are there for a reason. The reason many not be apparent at the moment but eventually we will see its place in the journey. That is one benefit of the passage of time.
You definitely hit it right at the start! Nowadays, it seems definitely normal for people not to love their jobs. In the early times however, as with the ancient tribes in my country, each person’s job is a way of life, and truly a calling from God. Whether the person is cooking or is making a sword, each task is offered and has a spiritual significance. Maybe we should go back to that and be aligned instead of being compartmentalized, wounded and broken. We are after all, not machines, but true human beings with heart, mind and soul.
.-= Jocelyn at I TAKE OFF THE MASK´s last blog ..Just For Today Quotes =-.
Hi Jocelyn,
I hope you do not mind me asking but which country are you from? I loved what you shared with us and would love to learn more about tribal belief system. So if you can share that with me, it would be awesome.
You are so right about the importance of being aligned and not compartmentalized. So often we are made to feel like machines and not human beings. Sometimes when I hear people complain about employees, it seems like they forgot what our true nature is like.
Luckily, I have found my calling and work (only took me about 39 years to finally get there and I’ve been at it for 6 years now,) but I think this book would definitely bear reading to guide me on my route, the part about sustaining “that inner inquiry,” in that continual process of growth and discovery.
Wonderful, thanks!
.-= Jannie Funster´s last blog ..The Unbreakable Child: Book Review =-.
Hi Jannie,
Good for you for finding your calling and purpose. The amount time it took does not matter, the most important thing is that your found it. Yay for you!
And yes, the book will be of help to you too. I learned so much from it and the quotes in the book are just priceless.
When I was working in my corporate job last year, being paid great money and traveling all over the U.S., I slowly became sicker and sicker. I wasn’t doing what I loved or what my authentic self resonates to, and it took its toll on me. I was good at what I did, but that rarely matters, I’m finding out. Luckily I was able to duck out when I did, and like many who have read this post and commented, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for… (thank you, Bono!) With luck, I’ll be able to marry my passion for writing, spreading joy and connecting with people with a fabulous income.
Now THAT would be a career!
I really like Jeff, too – ever since you introduced us to him. Thanks!
.-= Megan “JoyGirl!” Bord´s last blog ..Giving Our All =-.
Hi Megan,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with all of us and it is wonderful that you decided to get out of a career that was not working for you. That took courage and based on what you wrote, in terms of what you would like to happen (the part about the writing and spreading joy), it seems you already know what it is that you want to do.
I know that patience for waiting until everything comes together can be frustrating but that is what makes the journey fun. Actually, it is an important part of the journey since we learn so much as we go through it all. Please know that what I just told you, I tell myself. So you are not alone.
Wonderful interview! This is a writer that I should have on my blog as well. I’m a little jealous.
I love how he talks about awareness. Because when we know who we are and what will make us happy, it makes our career choices so much easier. It took me a while to find my calling, but I was persistent. I kept dipping my toe in various waters and non of them felt right. The last dip felt right and now I’m going for it. I feel blessed.
It’s people like you and Jeff Klein that I have to thank. Otherwise I wouldn’t be chasing my dreams.
.-= Karl Staib – Work Happy Now´s last blog ..Hard Fun and the Beautiful – Dog Paws Edition =-.
Hi Karl,
Thank you so much for all the kind things you wrote. I am happy that you keep at it until you found your calling. Yay! That is awesome and your story can inspire people to do the same. I am happy that you shared it with us. Hope all is awesome.
Good evening Nadia and all. Wow! What an incredible conversation and flow of reflections your post has elicited Nadia. Thank you, an thanks to all. Please forgive me for not responding to each of you in turn, as I am finishing a long day, on 4 hours of sleep, after my first Working for Good book presentation (more of a mini, interactive workshop) at East-West Bookshop in Seattle last night, which was great fun.
One of the greatest blessings of writing the book (Working for Good:Making a Difference While Making a Living) is the great conversations it is catalyzing, exploring the possibilities of increasingly engaging in work and business as a path for individual and collective growth and development, and as a platform for transforming society. And conversations are an important step in the process of fostering shifts in understanding, and facilitating innovation and collaboration.
The event last night, this blog thread, and so many other related streams of conversation and emerging manifestation continue to fuel my optimism and focused energy to do what I can to expand the conversation and co-creation of the emerging new reality.
Thank you all for your encouragement, and for being part of a community of like-minded and spirited people, who believe in the power of one – in each one of us, and in all of us together.
I look forward to continuing this conversation here, and in many other forums with you.
Yours in Working for Good,
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
You are most welcome. Actually, come to think of it, it is I who should thank you. So thank you.
The story of how this post came to be is a great example of the hero’s journey and the quote from Goethe that you shared with all of us. It is wonderful to see people who really love what they do and how they want others to feel the same. Your work has hit such an important nerve. For this topic is something that the majority of the population struggle with, yet we are given conflicting messages. As a result, many people are unhappy or miserable or depressed.
Some people are blessed to be hopeful and others struggle with it. So the message of this book provides hope that there is a way to work for good.
As for continuing this conversation here, you can definitely count on it!
Hi Nadia,
What a wonderful review of this book…and really at the look into finding our passion. I know very much how deeply meaningful this subject matter is to you. And it is to me, too. Finding, and then really having the deep desire to go after our passions – what a wonderful place to reach. And both of these can be very difficult steps. I believe the first – the “finding” of your passion – takes a lot of “internal” time – quiet time getting to know yourself. And once you’ve made some discoveries, action. Going out there and getting “ti”….whatever “it” is in your life.
Nadia, this was so good to read today!
.-= Lance´s last blog ..Happy Work =-.
Hi Lance,
Thank you so much for the positive feedback. You are right, this is such an important subject. Life is meant to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest. So why not go after what we love? However, many of us have no idea what we love. So your point of needing internal time is very true.
Many times people are scared to look within or they don’t know how to look within. So often we are taught that all the answers are outside and we ignore our inner voice. Only when we get still, can we hear it. Actually, it is talking to us all the time but we tune it out due to thoughts of fear or worry or rationalization. Sometimes our own worst enemy is not another person but the negative voice (our ego) that is constantly babbling about something.
Hi Nadia .. I’m not reallyin a position to comment at the moment .. however I do wish people who went into nursing, or caring did it for a vocation rather than a job! The difference in various hospitals etc is quite extraordinary .. my mother in a Nursing Home – some of the staff are brilliant, some not so good .. and some unfair – but most are there for a job; the hospice where my uncle now is! .. 2 week respite before care package at his house. The hospice staff are brilliant .. quiet calm and extremely kind and caring. This illness has made my uncle lose his reading ability .. which was his life blood .. we’ll cope. He’s full of life and the joys of spring .. so like my mother .. both can laugh happily – I had my mother belly laughing yesterday!
I’m fine – but ‘buried’ somewhere are the full details of that book – sorry! but could you let me have it again – I must order it .. I put it off over the bank holiday .. and now it’s gone AWOL … somewhere. Many thanks in advance …
PS Bob’s guitar is brilliant isn’t it .. I’ve got it on now .. lovely!
Thanks – Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..What did the charcoal hawker start …? =-.
Hi Hilary,
That was my feeling to when my mother was fighting terminal cancer. We were fortunate that we did have some people who truly cared about their jobs and their patients. However, I saw instances of other patients who were treated like crap by doctors and nurses. It is obvious when someone loves what they do and when they are just doing it for a paycheck.
The thing about health care, though, is that you are treating people who are so vulnerable and yet many do have any respect for their patients. It is so heartbreaking. People forget that patients are people too. Not just bodies. They have hearts and souls.
You raised a great point about how hospice care staff tend to be better. I noticed that too. Kind of sad that you get the caring people when you are heading to the end. However, come to think of it, maybe that is when you need the better care. That said, I wish health care was more people centered than profit centered. Medical schools should teach their students some compassion.
As for the book, here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Book-Living-Dying-International/dp/0062508342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253458287&sr=8-1 .
And yes, Bob’s music is very beautiful. He is quite talented. I am happy you are enjoying it and I am sure he will be happy to read your thoughts.
Hi Nadia .. thanks got that now .. and Bob came over to my site, which was kind of him .. his music is playing again .. must just get used to how I download these things etc,. I agree re the care element .. I’ll be back soon .. must get on .. many thanks for replying so quickly ..
Extremely grateful – Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
Must get on .. rather too much on my plate just now
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..What did the charcoal hawker start …? =-.
Hi Hilary,
You are welcome and no worries. I totally understand. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Hi all,
The question of “what do I do when I am stuck in what I am doing, when I know it is time for a change, but can get myself to make a change?” has been coming up quite a bit lately. Cheryl Esposito asked me the question in a recent interview, at the presentation/workshop in Seattle on Thursday someone asked the same question, and it has come up in the conversation here in some form.
My first response is “I don’t know what will work for you or anyone else. I only know what works for me.” Truly. We all have our own patterns and paths. That said, I do know that, when faced with the choice of staying where I feel like I have reached the edge of a canyon, where I can stay and be stuck, or jump and discover what is next, I have essentially always taken the leap – regardless of my financial situation or most any other considerations. And, looking back, I always landed on my feet, lived to tell the tale, learned and grew in the process. Another quotation I included in the book which speaks to this comes from Joseph Campbell: A bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation: “As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It’s not as wide as you think.”
While I may be more mindful and skillful about how I approach the cliff and have some more sense of what might be on the other side, I continue to jump. And I find the process of jumping and landing is becoming more comfortable and enjoyable, and the ground on the other side to be softer and more familiar.
You can make your own conclusions, but this IS my experience.
Yours in Working for Good,
Jeff
Very nice interview. I like your ability to tease out insight and make it actionable and thought provoking.
I think it’s timely too as many people rethink their paths forward.
.-= J.D. Meier´s last blog ..Lessons Learned from Peter Drucker =-.
Hi JD,
Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I think this is an issue that so many people struggle with and it was a pleasure to be able to present a book that tackles that issue in a way that appeals to everyone.
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