gives a percentage of profits to or the moral convictions
guiding your values or the family that you’re providing for.
It’s the work behind the work, and although it may not take
eight hours a day, without a why behind the what that you
do, your career becomes meaningless and ultimately
useless.
Some, sadly, don’t comprehend this until it’s too late. On
their deathbeds, they finally understand their purpose and
how many opportunities they missed to make a difference.
What a waste—to understand your purpose long after you
can do anything about it. But for those who are willing to
listen to the voice of calling and pay close attention to their
lives, such a purpose may be known.
Charles Handy once said in an interview: “If you groan
about your job or find it has become monotonous and
boring, you need to ask yourself—what do you secretly
want to do? Do it. You can have a breakpoint and reinvent
yourself. Sensible people reinvent themselves every ten
years.”^6
Choosing to see my calling as a portfolio, instead of as a
single gig, has created more harmony and helped me make
more sense of what I do than anything else. Maybe it will do
the same for you too.
What Mastery Doesn’t