Finding Your Highest Calling: A Guide To Discovering Who Are Meant To Be
AKA: Quit Your Job And Get Your Gifts OUT!
I still remember vividly the day I left employment behind me for good to become self employed, and eventually step into my highest calling as afaith-led entrepreneur.
I was working in a glossy PR agency, with high brow clients like Miele, Nicky Clarke and Wella and was desparately trying out the ‘graduate-gets – a life- and- a -job -and- ‘settles down’ thing’
…But I was more unsettled than ever.
I was so bad at my job that I used to hide in the magazine cupboard and pretend to sort out the magazines, I used to get told I did everything wrong- the way I signed off my emails was not formal enough, the way I glued the mood boards was not neat enough, the way I binded the company presentations was not straight enough and the coffee I made was not strong enough.
After years of studying at University, £10’s of thousands invested in my education, here I was making coffee and running around like crazy for a measly £12,000.00 a year.
Is This Really It?
Is this it?? I asked myself every day as I looked around my office…
I’d had so many dreams, so much energy, creativity and potential…But now I felt completely stuck and hopeless.
I was hungry for meaningful, creative work that filled me with joy and paid me well, but where would I find it?
None of my friends were much better off, no one made more than 10k extra than me per year and I was afraid that if I went for another job I would only get more entrenched and never get out.
So I took a nighttime and weekend bar job to make up my money and began to ask people who came in the pub that seemed happy and successful in what they did.
The ones who would come in at unusual times, the ones popping champagne corks- what businesses were they in? What did they do?
The thing they had in common was entrepreneurship.
After my extensive research (pulling pints has been some of my greatest education!) I concluded it was time for me to have a go and set up some kind of business on my own. There was one problem …I was completely terrified and I had no idea on Earth what I could do…
However, I knew that I had to leave this job that was draining me and that I could no longer fake it at work.
I knew I sucked at pretending to be ‘corporate‘ and I had already called in sick with a hangover in my first 2 months because my coping mechanism was to get really drunk at night so I did not have to think about how crappy my life had got.
I woke up, went to work, had ideas and dreams about making some sort of difference and then struggled through piles of papers and email before getting home having a piece of toast of going out to the pub for my shift.
All my dreams of a life of freedom, excitement, travel, adventure and humanitarianism seemed like a million miles away and my reality was the 9-5 that I had always dreaded. Urgh.
The Leap Of Faith
The day came for me to quit. I had never quit a job before, I remember feeling so afraid – afraid of the unknown, afraid of what ‘the peanut gallery’ would think, afraid of what my boss would say.
I plucked up the courage and I can remember the terror that gripped me was so intense- I thought to myself- “How does anyone quit a job to take a chance on their dreams if they have a mortgage and kids?” I was 22 and just had a student loan and the rent on my flat to find – which I knew I could make if I took more hours at the pub until I figured out my path.
This was one of the first times I became aware of the power of a decision to shape your life:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”
Goethe
Looking back, years later and I now have created the life I longed for in my early 20s, thanks to taking that scary decision.
I’m so grateful i took a leap into the unknown and set about manifesting a life and business that allows me to work in my gifts, get paid abundantly without limits and take time off when I want.
I do travel the World, work with humanitarian projects such as the protection of the remaining Amazon rainforest with the Pachamama Alliance and their indigenous partners, and supporting orphanages in Africa and Ecuador.
I recently gave birth to my son and am so grateful that I have plenty of time to be with him and watch him grow up, without worrying about needing to ask my boss for time off if he gets ill or if I want to watch him in the school play or sports day.
I feel blessed with the ability to be a mum and have a business that I love, and I believe the balance flows from doing something that you love, which is on purpose, and plays to your strengths, whilst you outsource the rest!
So How Do YOU Find Your True Calling?
As you can imagine, I didn’t just quit my job and overnight figure out my Calling, but I did get on the path.
I don’t believe in overnight success.
Anyone who has achieved anything in their life and made their life a masterpiece has prepared for opportunity and taken the rough with the smooth.
If you are thinking of starting your own business you must first commit to the mental, emotional and spiritual work necessary when you move out of the security of a paycheck and regular income. You must work on your mindset, wealth consciousness and faith every day.
Entrepreneurs learn to listen to and feel the ebb and flow of life and respond to the challenges, twists and turns on the path whilst staying empowered and not falling into victim mode-
Here are some practical tips to help you in answering your highest call:
Live In Your Gifts, Outsource The Rest: You need to ‘go with your own grain’ rather than against it and get really honest about what you excel at and what you either can’t stand or can’t do well, and find a team to support you to live your big dream. If you’d like to learn how I did this and you are in a service based industry check out the resources available at my Get Your Gift Out program
Take 100% Responsibility for your life and everything in it. As an empowered creator and entrepreneur there is no one to point the finger at, you MUST take 100%responsibility for your thoughts, choices and actions because its up to you…However you’ll also be challenged to be more loving and accepting of yourself as you navigate the sometimes choppy waters of going it alone.Ultimately there is no one to tell you what to do, and you will make mistakes, because that is how we learn. You quickly discover that as an entrepreneur you need to fail fast, learn quickly and fail your way to success. This was huge for me , as I had never given myself permission to fail at anything before and thought everything needed to be perfect…Entrepreneurs know the importance of ‘good enough’ and the power of “Just Do It” …If you think it over too much you may miss your chance,….
Adopt technology if you haven’t already– Release the story that you are ‘not good with computers’- the web is the most powerful tool for business and can free you up to live and work anywhere in the World! Bless the web and make your laptop your best friend! We live in such a time of opportunity and potential, use those resources, even if they are out of your comfort zone at first.
Be You. I can’t think of better advice for women starting up in their own venture than to just be yourself,… people are tired of faceless, anonymous companies and we want more than ever connection and human touch…Just look at the rise of Facebook and social media to see what I mean.
The power of YOU is that there is no one else like you and people are genuinely interested- try to find a way to bring your passions into your business- like Richard Branson with his hot air balloons or Anita Roddick with her humanitarian ethos.
This is the age of the strong personal brand- whatever your business- be it airplanes, beauty products, cakes or coaching, be sure to add your unique essence and bring all of yourself to the party.
Finally, I want to leave you with the call to sing your song in this life, don’t die with your music still in you. You are special, you do have gifts and talents that the World needs – What you are naturally good at is Life’s clue as to what you are here to do.
Your life is not meant to be a struggle, feel into what you love and what you do best and find ways to add value to people.