Defining Your Life’s Work, and Stepping Forward
I recently had a conversation with a good friend and mentor around the subject of calling and ‘life’s work’. This person reminded me of the importance of actually defining one’s purpose in life, and using it as a metric whenever a new opportunity arises or a new chapter in life begins to open itself up.
As I’ve been spending time this week considering this question, I’ve heard it echoed in that which I’m reading and listening to.
It began with a short biography on Billy Graham that I recently read, where someone asked him what he found his purpose in life to be. With incredible clarity, Graham answered:
“I had one passion, and that was to win souls.”
Just like that, the man defined the entirety of his life’s work within ten words.
Though it can be easy to see only a general guiding principle within that sentence, it’s in actuality anything but vague. This defined purpose allowed Graham to take risks in his life that he would have otherwise avoided, as well as walk away from opportunities that should have otherwise been capitalized on.
For instance, at one point Graham was given the opportunity to open up a university. People were at the ready to give money to this, believing it to be a great concept that he was uniquely well-suited to lead. Yet the more that Graham thought about it, the more he realized that it didn’t fit that self-defined life calling. There is no ‘winning of souls’ within the confines of a Christian university, as those who are coming through the doors are (in theory) already saved. At the last moment, Graham stopped the plans and continued forward with work that was more well-suited towards that goal of his.
Even further, at one point he was offered the US ambassadorship to Israel, by President Lyndon Johnson. Billy Graham’s response:
“I am not the man. God called me to preach.”
When one is this aware of their life’s work to this degree, it makes decisions much more simple — and uniquely, it is shocking how often that ‘life’s work’ remains unchanging. It is not uncommon or strange for that defining purpose and vision to last a lifetime. That is, in fact, the hope.
I found this again in the 99U book ‘Make Your Mark’, where the author uses Dr. Bill Thomas, a major advocate for eldercare, as an example of the power of defining purpose with succinctness and clarity. Like Graham, when asked what his purpose in life was, Thomas responded (“spontaneously and effortlessly”) “To bring respect back to elderhood in America.”
This sort of sentence is so critical for moving forward in life, the author of ‘Make Your Mark’ argues, for this reason:
The first step in living your purpose is to distill it. This very act sets an accurate compass heading. It shapes your choices, tells you what is important, and helps you separate the merely interesting from the truly crucial.
What a perfectly defined rationale as to why answering this question is so important. When one finds a space to consider it, you’re released to do the right work.
If these concepts were interesting to you, read my notes on ‘Make Your Mark’ (as well as ‘Manage Your Day-to-Day’) over at my books project. There’s plenty of sage advice stored within these works.
