The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do

revelation. Looking at the story of Samuel, we see a boy
going through his usual routine when he is interrupted by a
strange incident that sets his life on a new course. This is
how calling happens: not as a lightning bolt, but as a gentle,
consistent prodding that won’t leave you alone until you act.
That you respond to the call, not how, is what makes it
extraordinary.
In Samuel’s case, he had a transcendent encounter, but
at the time it felt ordinary. First, he misunderstood it. Then
he asked for guidance—somewhat unwittingly, because he
thought his master was calling him. Finally, he recognized
the voice and submitted to it. It took some failure to get
there, but he just took it one step at a time. When it comes to
a call, that’s all we can do. We can’t control where or when
it comes, but we can control who we are in those moments.
My own experience of discovering what I was meant to
do was both powerful and ordinary. My friend Paul asked
me what my dream was, and when I told him I didn’t know,
he said, “Really? I would’ve thought your dream was to be
a writer.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess you’re right. I’d like to be a
writer—someday.”
“Jeff,” he said, looking me in the eyes, “you don’t have
to want to be a writer. You are a writer. You just need to
write.”
After that conversation, I began to write like never
before. Every day at five a.m. for a year, I got up and wrote
a few hundred words before sunrise. Without fail, I