How to Leave the False Path and Discover Your Life’s Calling.

Happy Friday fam and welcome to Nick’s letters issue no. 64. A big welcome wave to the new subscribers. Let us get to work!

There is a normal path in life that is easily embraced by most people. This path has been found to bring suffering to us. It lacks fulfillment and following it leaves us empty.

The path looks like this:

• Go to school.

• Graduate. 

• Become employed.

• Work for decades.

• Retire.

When it comes to career and work especially, most people are generally pulled towards what is commonly praised in society. For example: money, fame, and public approval.

While there is nothing wrong about money, fame and status, few are pulled towards a life’s calling.

Most people still lead a painful life without sparkle and stars, or fake ones for that matter. All because we have been indoctrinated into the false path by society. 

Popular American radio host from the 1950s and 1960s by the name Earl Nightingale once noted that this path had the most competition, and the least resources.

It is a false path!

Society is full of people who choose this false path. It is as if we have been mentally poisoned to stick to this path.

On top of that, parents, bosses and peers are great at pushing and supporting this false path.

Despite their push and support, our life’s calling never leaves us. It is always deep within us. Finding your life’s calling involves shutting the outside influence and listening only to the voice within us. Some people understand this voice to be the voice of God. Something which I have no argument against.

Following and listening to this voice is hard. It may be scary. But the good news is that we can start finding our life’s calling anytime. At 17, at 27, at 30, 50, 70!

You see, the world of today is changing at a rapid speed.

We are now living in an era where finding your life’s calling is rewarding. And today more than ever, the wealthiest, happiest and richest are people who discover their life’s calling and build a career around it. The new success formula is not in setting up a factory or a physical business. It is certainly not in public education and achieving academic excellence to earn a few hundred thousands per month. The new success formula lies in finding your life’s calling and working on your uniqueness.

According to embracing our calling, there are 4 elements of our calling. At the intersection of these elements is where you find your calling. Let us call them 4A’s of our calling. This means if you want to discover and know what God put you here to do, and what God wants you to do here, start your investigation by looking into these 4 things:

• Ability.

• Awareness of human need.

• Access to opportunities.

• Affinity.

Let us analyze them concisely.

Ability.

This element of calling is concerned with what we are good at.

For example:

• What are your primary strengths and abilities?

• What kind of activities do you do well?

• What’s that one thing that you can fully immerse yourself in for long?

• Is there a ‘pattern of giftedness’ emerging in your life?

• What do people praise you for doing so well?

Knowing your unique abilities should not be a thing to brag about. It should be a way to serve humanity and reflect back all the goodness to the one who gifted and blessed you with it-God.

On to the next point.

Awareness of problems.

This element is concerned with what the world needs. You have already seen how the world is full of bad bosses, scheming friends and peers and clueless parents. These are the burdens blocking people from self awareness and discovering their calling. Becoming aware of world problems is like our share of the burden to carry. We are to use our calling to make an impact in the world by letting go of this BIG burden.

How then can we know this burden? Ask yourself the following questions:

• What makes you angry?

• What upsets you the most?

• If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

If we are keen about our calling, we can see how we can use it to lighten this burden and make the world a better place. 

Access to opportunity.

This element is concerned with the opportunities available to us to serve humanity and make an impact using our calling. If the opportunity to use what we think is our calling is closed to us or not available, then it may not be our calling at present. Our calling often opens us to opportunities we never thought existed. And so for us to discover our calling, there must follow up unlimited opportunities for us to shine.

Affinity.

This element is all about what we love. Affinity is closely related to ability. In other words, what we love is closely related to what we are good at. But your calling is more than just what you are good at. You have to be emotionally invested and have a passionate desire for it. See yourself doing it even when you get old. It has to be so easy and natural for you. 

There you go!

The false path promoted by society is a road of limited resources. Following this path is setting yourself for automatic failure by putting a limit on your own potential.

Finding your calling is the realistic way to pursue your dreams and enjoy your life to the fullest even amidst bad bosses, scheming peers and clueless parents. Your calling can also be seen as a way to glorify god. This is because it is God who calls us and so we reflect back all the glory to him.

Your life’s calling is unique only to you. And the world is slowly adapting to individuals who know what they were called to do. You don’t need a boring job and a useless academic certificate to enjoy life. You need to discover your calling. At the intersection of your ability, your passion, awareness of problems and access to opportunity is where your life’s calling is to be found.

So resolve today to start finding your calling and see how much happiness, fulfillment and bliss is going to come to your life. Write back and let me hear your thoughts on this.

May god bless you in what you decide to do with this message.

-Nick Osale.