Is Your Calling... Calling?

"I’ve had a good life; and the reason is, I stayed busy doing the things that mattered to me.” – Sandra Day O’Connor

People talk about finding their calling as if it exists somewhere out there, hiding behind a tree.

I think our calling, as former Supreme Court Justice O’Connor pointed out, more often emerges from doing and pursuing what matters to us.

That’s certainly been the case with me.

I am doing work I didn’t even know existed when I went to college.

I didn’t get a degree in this. I never interviewed for a job on this or answered an ad describing this.

The career I love so much is an accumulation of intuitive, congruent steps I took along the way.

There was no map, instructions, or directions.

Just intersections where I honored my Three I's - my Instincts, Interests, Integrity.

I've come to understand they are the Career Compass of Our Calling.

When we don’t know what to do next, check in with our Three I’s. They will point us in the right direction.

Here's an example.

People often come up after a presentation and say, “I want to do what you do. It's clear you really love it. How did you get in this line of work?”

I tell them, "It all began the day I was reading The Washington Post, and noticed the word CONCENTRATION was used 6 times on the front page of the sports section.

Tennis player Chrissie Evert said her ability to concentrate despite the planes flying overhead was why she’d been able to win the U.S. Open.

A golfer who missed a gimme putt on a sudden death playoff hole said he’d lost his concentration because of the clicking cameras of nearby photographers.

A baseball manager blamed his team’s losing streak on the fact that players were thinking ahead to the playoffs instead of concentrating on that day’s game.

I was intrigued. (I’ve since come to understand that when we’re intrigued, our best future is knocking on our heart.)

I thought, “We all wish we could concentrate better, but no one ever teaches us how. Concentration is key to just about everything - success in business, life, relationships, school and sports – but I’ve never seen any books on this topic or heard any speakers on it. And it matters.”

I decided to do a deep dive into this topic. I interviewed just about everyone I met - from athletes to artists to entrepreneurs - to glean their insights.

Sample questions included:

1. How did you learn to concentrate?

2. What do you do to concentrate when you’re busy, distracted or tired?

3. How do you motivate yourself to focus when you don’t feel like it?

4. How do you regain your train of thought if you lose it?

5. Do you have a special technique to s-t-r-e-t-c-h your attention span?”

6. If you had one tip on how to concentrate better at work, at home, at school, in sports, and when online... what is that?

Based on that research; I developed a program on how to concentrate anytime, anywhere and offered it for Washington DC’s Open University.

At the end of the workshop,16 (!) people came up to ask if I would speak for their convention or company.

That one workshop led to me writing a book ConZentrate (that Dr. Stephen R. Covey called "Fascinating, thought-provoking. motivating. I highly recommend this remarkable book on mind master.)

That book launched a rewarding career that has taken me around the world, given me opportunities to teach its technique on NPR and to NASA, and do work I love that matters with people I enjoy and respect.

What’s this got to do with you?

Would you like to do work that matters – to you and to others? Just ask yourself:

1. What do I find intriguing?

2. What is something that knocks on my heart that is in alignment with my Three I's - my Instincts, Interests, Integrity?

3. What am I good at people would pay me to do FOR them or teach TO them?

4. What lights me up that is rare and needed in this world?

5. What is a problem that has caught my attention and caused me to think, ‘Somebody should do something about that?” Please understand …you're as much a somebody as anybody. Why don't you do something about it?

Acting on opportunities that are aligned with your Three I’s can lead to a life where the light is on in your eyes.

From now on, remember, we don’t find our calling.

We create our calling by making congruent decisions at Career Crossroads.

Rumi said, "Why are you knocking on every other door? Go knock on the door of your own heart."

Are you making a decision regarding your current job or future work?

Ask yourself, "What's knocking on my heart?

What's in alignment with my Instincts, Interests and Integrity?

These questions will point you in the right direction and help you navigate a career path that just keeps getting better and better and better.

I know from first-hand experience, because I've been there and I'm doing that.