Pursuing our life’s work
I picked up a book while waiting in an office a few years back–I can’t remember the purpose for which I waited, the date nor the book’s author. But I remembered the heart of the book’s message, or at least the few passages I read during my time waiting. It spoke of vocational courage–of building a life of significance not one of importance. It talked of how doing this was not a thing of fulfilment or happiness. It was a responsibility! A duty to attend to the business of which only you were created to do.
That’s scary!
At least for me.
It’s much easier to be in easy mode. To do things as they come. To follow blueprints laid down for us by our parents, our jobs or an influencer on Youtube or some other. It’s easier to take the beaten path, and there’s probably more chances of being successful that way.
But the unknown book I picked up while waiting also said something quite interesting…it is possible to be successful but not be a success!
That sounds so “aspire to perspire” (slang in Nigeria for motivational quotes with no roots in reality) that I think it may have been a regular self help book. But I find the idea to be helpful and true.
Vocational courage or pursuing one’s life’s work is not about your career. Some are lucky to find alignment and achieve an undivided path between their career and their life’s work. But for for many others, it is divided. Yet it is still all right to pursue your life’s work through other alternatives. Write on the weekends; your words can be the light for others. Advocate for causes close to your heart; your voice might bring the change one person needs. Take your camera out in the world more often; we are waiting to experience life through your lens.
The pursuit of our life's work is not a luxury but a necessity for the soul. It is a journey we must all take even when the destination is unknown or unreachable.
I remember this article by the Late Clayton M. Christensen who explained that his knowledge of the purpose of his life is the single most useful thing he’s ever learned.
Here’s how he ended this article published on the Harvard Business Review:
“I have a pretty clear idea of how my ideas have generated enormous revenue for companies that have used my research; I know I’ve had a substantial impact. But as I’ve confronted this disease [cancer], it’s been interesting to see how unimportant that impact is to me now. I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched.
I think that’s the way it will work for us all. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.”
The goal is a life of significance, not one of importance.
Here’s Christensen’s TEDx talk on the same topic:
