Who are you and why are you here?
There’s an old story about Akiva, the rabbi, who had been in the village to gather some supplies. Walking back to his cottage, he absentmindedly took the wrong path. Suddenly, a voice came through the darkness: “Who are you, and why are you here?”
Shocked to awareness, Akiva realized he had wandered into the Roman garrison, and the voice had come from the young sentry keeping guard. But being a rabbi, he answered the question with another question: “How much do they pay you to stand guard and ask that question of all who approach?”
The sentry, now seeing that this was not an intruder but a rabbi, answered meekly, “Five drachmas a week, sir.”
At that point the rabbi offered, “Young man, I will double your pay if you come with me, stand in front of my cottage, and ask me that question each morning as I begin my day: ‘Who are you, and why are you here?
“Where we work matters little; how we work matters a lot.”
We were made to work. And not just the type of work that brings about survival or even success, but instead the type of work that brings about significance.
Work is the one area that if we are not fulfilled in it every other area of our life suffers. So, it is a valuable effort to sift and shuffle, explore and hustle in order to discover the work that is made for only you. You have only one glorious, yet brief chance to get it right. It’s worth the risk - of making a mistake, looking foolish, being misunderstood - to find the work that sets your soul on fire.
A couple tips to keep in mind as you go about your exploration:
Finding one’s life’s work is not a linear path. Expect to make missteps.
Expect for every new endeavor to teach you something new and therefore leave you evolved.
Expect to disappoint people.
Take time to celebrate every step of the way.
And know that confusion always precedes clarity.
If you would like a certified coach to help you find clarity quicker I would love to work with. Click HERE to schedule a free 20-minute chat with me to see if we would make a good fit for one another.