Do You have a Calling?

April 2022

One of the most fundamental questions of life is “Why am I here?”

It’s up to each of us to determine our purpose in life. Some of us go through life without ever figuring it out. Some of us, over time, have several callings. Discovering the mission that is right for you happens when you tune-in to listen to the real you, as I discuss in my upcoming book, Strong Suit: Leadership Success Secrets from Women on Top.

While it may not happen often, whenever I’ve been inexplicably driven to do something out of the ordinary—and the idea just won’t go away—it’s a calling. I just know in my heart it’s the right thing to do and I simply must do it. I know without question it will make the world a better place—even if I don’t have a plan, and even if I won’t get paid to do it. I just do it, and I keep doing it because my passion for the mission is overwhelming.  I can’t not do it.

I recently came across a video of a powerful speech given by actor Jim Caviezel.  If you click on this link, you’ll see a 2 ½-minute trailer of a soon-to-be-released movie, Sound of Freedom, followed by Caviezel’s impassioned 18-minute speech.

Before I discuss Caviezel’s speech, I’ll briefly overview the movie trailer which highlights the true story of Tim Ballard. In case you don’t recognize the name, Tim Ballard spent over a decade working as a Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security where he was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and deployed as an undercover operative for the US Child Sex Tourism Jump Team. In 2013, Ballard and a team of former government operatives left their careers to go about the work of saving children as a private foundation, Operation Underground Railroad.

As you will see in the trailer, when Ballard (played by Caviezel) was asked by another agent “How do you do it?” he responded with passionate conviction, “This job tears you to pieces. This is my one chance to put those pieces back together…. If we do nothing, someday it’s going to reach the likes of you. What if this was your daughter?”

Tim Ballard had a calling. He knew in his heart that pursuing this mission was the right thing to do. It would make the world a better and safer place for innocent children everywhere.

Now let’s move on to Jim Caviezel’s speech, in which he says, “When God tells us to do something, we should never hesitate. That’s what I’ve always done. When I came to Hollywood, I tried to do the same thing, whether it was The Passion of the Christ or the Sound of Freedom.  I go where He leads me….

“Why was I, Jim Caviezel, chosen? I remember being 19 years old, sitting in a theater in Mt. Vernon, Washington. The movie had ended and out there in the darkness, befriended only by my basketball in the adjacent seat, I had this sensation in my heart that made me think that I’m supposed to be an actor. It was a deep awareness of my vocation. So reluctantly, I went forward.

“My rational sense intervened. I knew nothing about acting. No agents, no managers. Hell, I can’t even memorize to save my life. Yet I had this conviction, this charge that directed me towards becoming an actor, and has directed me ever since.”

Jim Caviezel had a calling.  He felt the sensation in his heart that pursuing this vocation was the right thing to do—and it still was years later, even when many on his team, including his friends, encouraged him to turn down the offer to make the movie, The Passion of the Christ. As Caviezel says with such conviction, “Freedom is the right to do what you ought.”

As for me, I’ve had several callings over the years. One that caused me to completely change my career over a decade ago, was the inexplicable calling to accelerate advancement for high potential women to senior leadership. As I shared my latest book, Women on Top: What’s Keeping You From Executive Leadership?  the awakening that stirred the embers of my soul occurred when I had one of those last-straw moments—when I was yet again the only woman in a boardroom full of male executives. I became overwhelmingly driven to do something about this pervasive situation, no matter how irrational it may have seemed at the time to walk away from a well-paying corporate career.   

I just knew in my heart that pursuing this calling was the right thing to do. I had a conviction to make the business world a better place—even if I didn’t have a plan or any financial guarantee.

While evaluating my options, I spoke to one of my mentors about it—a male CEO. I told him, “John, this idea probably sounds crazy to you, but I can’t get it out of my head. So, I ask you: how do I justify walking away from a successful career and the money that goes with it, to do something no one else seems to be doing?”

His responded, “Listen. You have been called. You know in your heart it’s the right thing to do. You must answer that call.”   

So, I did. And I’ve been at it for more than a decade, all because my passion for the mission continues to drive me. I know in my heart this is one of the reasons I’ve been put on this planet.

Here’s another example. One of the executives highlighted in Women on Top, Nancy Howell Agee—president and CEO of the $2.4B not-for-profit healthcare organization, the Carilion Clinic—tells this story about her calling to become a nurse:

“I was interested in nursing from the time I was about five years old. For Christmas I got a little nurse’s outfit. Once, I was hospitalized for a long time. I had such wonderful care from very caring people that my interest was stimulated. I wanted to do something like they were doing.

“My grandmother was a real cheerleader for me. She was adamant that I would go to school. Right from the beginning—from the time that I was in eighth grade—it was always, “When you go to college…” She laid that pathway for me. So, I have a bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in nursing, also. I began my career as a nurse. I guess you could say I had that calling.”

So how about you? Have you ever felt an inexplicable drive to pursue an idea—something you just knew in your heart was the right thing to do?

If you are fortunate enough to have a calling, may you be blessed with the courage, conviction, and wherewithal to pursue it. Just do it, even if it may feel a bit like jumping off a cliff.

Rest assured, when you are truly passionate about something, you will find a way—because you know in your heart, it will make the world a better place.