preparation for what’s to come, as long as you don’t give
up.
So what separates a season of failure from a lifetime of
failure?
First you must be willing to recognize hardship as an
opportunity to learn, willing yourself to push through
failure. Second, you must be careful to not succeed at the
wrong things. You have to pay attention to passion and
beware of the temptation of success. It’s not enough to be
good at something; you must focus on what you are meant
to do. And appreciate that your understanding of that, over
time, just might change. So be ready to make more pivots
along the way.
This was what Mother Teresa learned when beginning
her ministry. After spending twenty years as a nun and
schoolteacher, she faced a crisis that would force her to
reevaluate everything. While riding on the train, she felt
suddenly compelled to serve the poor—to not only give to
the impoverished but also identify with them and become a
part of their community. Trading her habit for a sari, she
started the Missionaries of Charity, a new order that focused
on this mission. It was a bold move and one that would take
years of discernment before becoming a reality, but it was a
vision she was certain of, something she could not avoid
doing. She called this moment of inspiration a “call within a
call.” And what this means is that your vocation can
evolve.^9
Early in life, we start out on a certain path. As life