What Do a Therapist, Pastor, Life Coach, Entrepreneur, & UPS Driver Have in Common?

Over my adult life I have had many different professional roles. As noted in the title, I have worked in a variety of fields and careers, and you might think that many of them don't have any real connection to the others.

But there is something that provides a common theme throughout them.

No matter what role I had, my calling was at the core of it.

My personal mission or calling, has been, "To help others overcome the hurdles that prevent them from flourishing or thriving?

Now some of you might be saying, "Dan how does driving for UPS fulfill your mission or calling?"

That's a great question, and the truth is I've always loved driving. Some of my earliest jobs were as a courier...including pizzas and auto parts. So when I had the opportunity to drive for UPS, it was in part out of need for a job (our first child was born 3 weeks earlier) but also because , as I said, I love to drive. I still do.

On the surface a UPS job doesn't seem to be the best fit for my mission, and the truth is, it wasn't ideal. But while I did the job, I did it as best I could, and what motivated me to succeed in this role, was, even as a courier, I was solving people's problems. Factories needed parts...retail stores needed stock...spouses needed that special gift delivered in one piece. Businesses were impacted by how I did my job...and if I am here to "help others overcome the hurdles that hinder them", then I needed to do it well.

I enjoyed the job at the time, but I'm glad I moved on to other things that were even more in line with who I wanted to be. While I was still asking, "What can brown do for you?" I was moving into a therapist role, then in to a pastoral role, then entrepreneur and life coach.

But all along, I was living out my mission.

One of my mentors, Dan Miller, said that our professional lives can be best understood in three categories...

1) Our calling or vocation (overarching theme of our lives)

2) Our careers (the different fields we engage in; btw, many of today's young people will likely have 5 or more seemingly unrelated careers in their lifetime)

3) Our jobs (the specific responsibilities we are tasked with on a daily basis)

I'm guessing that if you look back over your career, you will likely see a theme as well. In addition, I believe that when we find work that compliments our calling, we will find greater meaning in it.

So let me ask you...

Q. Do you know what your calling is? Why or why not?

Q. Does your work reflect your calling? Why or why not?

To the degree that we can live out our calling in our work, we will find meaning in it. And I'm convinced that people don't want to retire from work, but retire from meaningless work. (More on that another day)

If you or someone you know is struggling to connect the dots, or is having a hard time understanding what their calling is, I really believe my book, Vantage Point can help. You can check it out here.

Until next time - Dan