What do you do when the life you wanted to live looks nothing like the one you end up living? Maybe that's not such a bad place to be.
In this episode of The Portfolio Life, my co-host Andy and I discuss whether or not there is a specific process to finding your calling and how we should look at trials, difficulties and obstacles along the way — not as things that prevent us from our purpose but actually help us get there.
We also talk about how your calling isn't something you plan. It's really what happens when the plan goes horribly wrong.
This week, we're taking a break from the usual programming to give you a taste of my new podcast, which you can find out more about, including how to get the next several already-published episodes, below.
But before you do that, give the show a listen.
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Ever feel left out?
Most of us, I think, feel like we're missing out on life. That there was some big opportunity and it slipped through our hands — or we never got lucky in the first place. Now, we're left with a life that feels less than ideal. What do we do?
In The Art of Work, I share the story of a five year-old boy who gets cancer and then goes on to defy the odds and lead an extraordinary life. And the lesson I learned from this little boy was this:
Maybe what makes a remarkable life remarkable aren't the chances we get, but what we do with them. [Tweet]
What if your vocation was hidden somewhere in those inconvenient and sometimes even confusing parts of your life? What if the struggle was a necessary part of the path to your purpose? What if every difficulty was actually an opportunity?
Show highlights
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why you can't plan your purpose, but you can prepare for it
- How your calling can change, or evolve, over time
- The essential mindset shift you must make in order to discover what you were meant to do
- How we can make sense of our lives by paying attention to our less-than-ideal circumstances
- Why we need tragedy and catastrophe to sometime wake us up to our purpose
- Why difficulties are not impediments but prerequisites for a meaningful life
Resources mentioned
- The Art of Work Conversations (my new podcast!)
- The Story of Garrett Rush-Miller
- Rush Miller Foundation
- The Art of Work: Amazon | BN | IndieBound
If you want to move down the proven path to discovering what you're meant to do, I encourage you to pick up a copy of my new book, The Art of Work. You can go to book site to get your copy and claim $250 in free bonuses.
I hope you’ll join us in the next installment of new podcast, which you can listen to right now, where we discuss why listening to your life is an essential habit in the search for your calling. And if you don't want to miss a thing, subscribe here (it doesn't cost a thing):
We'll return to the regular schedule on The Portfolio Life next week.
How has pain taught you something important about your purpose? Share in the comments.