The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do

by Jeff Goins

It won’t make sense and may even open you up to rejection and criticism, but in your heart you will know it’s right.

this is still the beginning. Every step will reveal new choices to make.

listen to what your life is saying.

Just take one step at a time, trusting that opportunities will open at the right time.

reality doesn’t always conform to how things appear in our minds.

They’re full of routines and unexciting work that make them unfit for a movie script but appropriate for real life.

This wasn’t just about them—it was about the difference they wanted to make. So when doubt crept into their minds, they didn’t get stuck or stop. They found a way.

purpose behind the work they do,

part of something bigger than themselves,

They didn’t take a leap; they bui...

many get afraid and stay there.

He wasn’t even sure exactly where he was headed; all he cared about was moving forward.

The path to your dream is more about following a direction than arriving at a destination.

What you must do is keep moving. Don’t stand still. Don’t squander your time, holding out for someone else to give you permission to start.

some risks are worth taking and that as we take them, opportunities often open up.”

Finding your life’s work is not easy. It may, in fact, cause you more pain than comfort, but it will be worth the cost.

But if your calling is more than a good idea and you’re willing to put in the hard work and persevere, taking bold steps along the way, you can stand firm in the face of hardship.

bring our skills to the table of life,

look for opportunities where we could contribute in the world.

we will encounter obstacles and challenges that we think are a disruption to the course, something to overcome.

these very obstacles are sometimes the means to success.

there’s room to get your calling wrong.

A pivot is powerful because it takes away all of your excuses. It puts you back in control of the game you’re playing.

It’s nobody’s responsibility to make your dream come true.

Every calling encounters setbacks, and sometimes people don’t want what you have to offer, or maybe they just don’t understand it.

Every great endeavor begins with a smaller, less significant one.

But pain is the great teacher and failure a faithful mentor. You can use all of this to your benefit if you are willing.

“Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done.”5

Every calling is marked by a season of insignificance, a period when nothing seems to make sense. This is a time of wandering in the wilderness, when you feel alone and misunderstood. To the outsider, such a time looks like failure, as if you are grasping at air or simply wasting time. But the reality is this is the most important experience a person can have if they make the most of it.

When we feel farthest from our purpose, we are actually already on the path, headed in the

right direction.

when all seems lost and you are just about to give up, you are closer to your d...

what looks like failure now is preparation for what’s to come, as long...

hardship as an opportunity to learn, willing yourself to push through failure.

pay attention to passion and beware of the temptation of success.

you must focus on what you are ...

your vocation can evolve.9

as we continue to grow, our understanding of calling will grow and expand and even change too.

A calling is not merely a moment; it’s a lifestyle, a constant progression of submitting to a larger purpose.

Your life’s work is not a single event, but a process you are constantly perfecting, finding new ways to put your passion to work. And you do that one pivot at a time.

Instead of saying “what if,” he started saying “let’s.”

messy work of getting started today.

your calling is waiting on you.

ideas and action meet;

we stop dreaming and start living.

Sometimes a calling isn’t a means to a more comfortable life.

a calling will always lead you to a life that matters, one you can be proud of.

The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.

Your calling is not just one thing; it’s a few things. The trick is to not be a jack-of-all-trades but to become a master of some.

They didn’t do just one thing but instead embraced a diverse set of activities that formed a complete identity.