We see a man who was driven to do what inspired him and gave him meaning.
Does living a life of meaning and purpose mean that it is easy? No, it means that it is more inspiring and rewarding.
Whether you do work that is boring and tedious or work that is engaging and inspiring, there will be both challenges and delights.
Whatever work you do, there will be deadlines to meet and decisions to make about aspects of the work that aren’t inspiring.
Whether the work pays well or poorly, there will be choices to make about how to spend or save the money, and whether the spending of it brings the desired outcomes or rewards.
Whether you love your work or not, you will attract both praise and criticism, for different aspects or the same ones, at different times or all at once. You’ll need to respond or ignore the criticism, to question if it’s valid and to manage your emotions about it.
Whether you love your work or just tolerate it, you will need to deal with other people. Managers, employees, colleagues, customers, clients, technicians.
Some will be warm, encouraging and supportive. Some will be self-centred, stubborn, difficult or demanding. Some will be all of the above at different times!
You’ll need to work out how to manage or avoid those people, how to get the best out of them, or how to replace them.
Whether you love your work or not, you’ll need to manage your physical health to be able to perform it well. You’ll make decisions about how a late night or rich food or alcohol affect your ability to concentrate and work on what is needed.
The key message is that you will face upsides and downsides, challenge and support in whatever you choose to do in your life.
So…why not do what inspires you most and share what you love with the world?
It doesn’t have to be something huge on the world stage. It can be the way you connect with people, the way you parent, the way you prepare food, the care you take to create beauty – whatever makes your heart sing.
I said it won’t be easy, but actually, it is easier to rise to the challenges and keep going beyond the setbacks you face when you’re working in the direction of what you truly love.
Contact me if you’d like to gain greater clarity about what you’d love to do or how to do more of it!