Last week, I squirreled away in a sound booth the size of a bathroom stall for four hours a day, two days in a row. Eric, an effortlessly cool, long-haired millennial whose current job titles include an athletic trainer, fitness competitor, metal guitarist, and, of course, sound technician, sat outside of the booth. I was recording the audiobook version of Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life, and I assumed he would have absolutely no interest whatsoever beyond the compulsory reading along required to make sure I didn’t skip words or change my voice tonality or cadence. I assumed he’d go through the motions as I sounded like nothing more than Charlie Brown’s teacher into one ear and out of the other.
But, then a curious thing happened. I started hearing him giggle at the funny punch lines and I heard him say, “Yeah!” to more pointed punch-in-your-face lines. He was actually picking up what I was laying down. It actually freaked my out at first, such was the contrast between my expectations and his reality. And when I walked out of my little closet at the end of the first day, Eric looked at me and said, “Oh man, I think the universe brought you into my life at exactly the right time… and I don’t even believe in that shit! I can’t wait to hear the rest of this tomorrow.”
Isn’t it funny how the universe does stuff like that? And, no, I don’t believe in that shit either. But I do believe wholeheartedly that there is an adventure around every corner if you just look hard enough, and you are open to it when it drops itself in your lap.
I make my living these days as an author and as a speaker. No one is more surprised at this turn of events than me. I never, ever expected to be the person on the stage, to be the person with the microphone, because it was always my greatest joy to be the person who was stage left, who made everybody else shine. Being stage left was not only my comfort zone, but it was also my happy place, it was my calling.
Then one day I got an invitation to do a TEDx talk, thanks to my friend Tamsen Webster. That launched this crazy career that I never wanted, or planned, or expected to have. Everything led to this place where I’ve now written this book hoping to help other people figure out what they do best. I want to inspire others to learn how they can serve the world and make the world a better place. My calling shifted; perhaps yours has as well?
Had I decided that doing that TEDx talk was something that should wait until I was older, or until I was more experienced, I would not be in the crazy, unexpected place I am today.
Eric walked into my recording session on Day One thinking all of what he was currently doing. He was just a holding pattern until his real career started. Now, he has a way to stake a claim on what he considers to be his current calling. He knows to build a portfolio of work that connects to that calling. He knows it will contribute to the life he wants to live. And, he will live a life with the control over it he needs to have. Rather than going through the motions, Eric now knows how to do work that matters in life. He feels like it is of consequence to him, and to the people and communities, he holds dear.
I want you to find your calling, too. Start by downloading a gorgeous workbook with Four Ways to Find Your Calling. It’s free when you sign up for my newsletter on my website. It’s the best first step in helping you find your consonance so that you can live that life of consequence.
