[MUSIC]. Hi, I'm Doctor Nicholas Pearce, professor at the Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, as well as a pastor and executive adviser. I've had the privilege of interacting with literally tens of thousands of people from all over the world. And there's one thing I can tell you for sure. There are few things in life that can give you the type of deep satisfaction that you get from knowing that your spending your life doing what you love in service of humanity. All over the world, many people have to work at the job they have in order to survive. And then hopefully, derive some greater meaning from their work. They're to be commended for doing what they have to do to provide for themselves and their families, and for doing the best they can. But others have the rare gift of knowing that their gifts and talents, values and aspirations, and their time and effort, are all aligned in terms of their chosen professional career. And this is nothing short of a gift, but it does not happen by accident. Many sacrifices and many tough decisions are made along the way, to make sure that your life's work is reflected in your daily work. Consider this conversation an invitation to come off of autopilot, to pause the talk track that we hear about going after the most money, the most prestigious position, and turn our attention within, to figure out how to courageously build our lives in order to do something of significance. And as we discuss this idea of building a life of significance and not just one of importance, I have three questions to ask you, that I want you to consider, to reflect upon, even after our conversation is over, and for years to come. These three questions will help you succeed in the balancing act called your life. The first question is whose definition of success is fueling you? In other words, who said that you should aspire to what you're aspiring to. Are you building the life that you want to build? Or, are you making the decisions that lead you down the road someone else has envisioned for you? Your goals have to be rooted in what's important to you, not what's important to somebody else. We each have our own life to live, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to other influential people in your life. But it does mean they can't live your life for you and you can't live their lives for them. You owe it to yourself to have goals of your own, and to aim high. Will you sometimes fail? Yes, you will. But if you've never failed in life, it only means that you haven't aimed high enough. Doctor Benjamin Elijah Mays, the former president of Morehouse College said, the tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. Not failure, but low aim is sin. Once you've decided what race you're running or in other words, once you have a coherent set of goals. You have to ask yourself this question. Am I running the race the right way? Am I constantly sacrificing my values for my career? What do you do, if you value your faith and your family most of all, but your career always calls on you to compromise your integrity? And rarely, if ever, allows you to spend time with your family? When your principles and your practices are not aligned, it's only a matter of time before you self-destruct. It is kind of like being pulled in two opposite directions. You can only hold yourself together so long. Sometimes, we violate our values by even choosing to be in the race we've chosen. Sometimes, it's not the race itself that's the problem though, but how we're running it. And sometimes, it may mean you won't be able to accomplish someone else's definition of success. But, you can accomplish your own definition of success based on your values and what you believe is most important. The last question and perhaps the most difficult is, are you running the right race? This gets to the idea I call Vocational Courage. Vocation is defined as a summons or strong inclination to a special course of action for which you're uniquely suited. Parker Palmer says, vocation is not a goal to be achieved but a gift to be received. It's the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need. But knowing your vocation isn't enough, if you don't have the courage to live it out. Runners in a race can be disqualified if they run the race outside of their given lane. But people are running outside of their lane every day. Vocational Courage is knowing your lane and running in it. It is the boldness to faithfully pursue the fulfillment of your purpose in life's work. It's being clear on your vocation and being committed to it, whatever it is. It takes disciple to run inside your lane, but there's great joy in knowing that you're in the right race and you're in the right lane. You're gifted. I believe there's a significant purpose for your life. I'd encourage you to do whatever you can to make sure that how you spend your time lines up with the impact you feel led to make with your life. It doesn't necessarily take courage to choose the path that allows you to earn the most money or the one that attracts the most fame. But, it does take courage to pick the one that allows you to bring your skills and passion together, to solve real problems for the benefit of somebody else. So whether you desire to be a sanitation worker or a surgeon, a seamstress or a senator, you owe it to yourself to find meaning and take deep pride in the work you do in the service of others. You owe it to yourself to build a life of meaning and significance, where you're inspired to wake up every morning and make a difference. That's real courage. [MUSIC].
