William “Bud” Hart, of Haverhill, shares “Success Principles”—ideas for living a greater, better and more accomplished life, and building habits that stick. He also coaches clients to incorporate strategies for boosting their mental and physical performance during everyday living.
This past weekend on my early Saturday morning run I happened to pass a group of individuals in front of a store front in the middle of downtown. By accident I later learned that these individuals were waiting to gain access to this building to set up their musical equipment for an appearance (gig) they had that night. Now these individuals were not a young band so when I heard they were playing for an event it made me think. How many people really love what they do in life as much as they must?
There are a lot of local bands that play in many small halls every night in many communities and I am pretty certain that most of these musicians (at whatever age) love what they do. But how many of them truly believe that their events are going to lead to anything that is big, lasting and monetarily significant? I would venture to guess very few.
There was an interesting 2014 New York Times article that I read titled “Do You Know Your Calling?” The author Yael Averbuch (whose calling is teaching soccer) wrote, “A calling doesn’t mean it comes easy and doesn’t mean it isn’t terrifying to go down that path. A calling resides in the things we are drawn to do for some reason outside logic and understanding. It is the processes about which we are passionate that come naturally to us. It is through our calling that we can make the most positive impact on the world around us.”
An important question for all of us to consider no matter what we do making our living is this: If we love and are passionate about doing something and we’re not going to make big money, should we still do it? The answer may be very important in the scheme of life.
The way I see it is no one knows for sure what the future holds, what people will like, what they will buy, or what might develop from our very next action (in the case of this band their very next gig). As countless success stories throughout the ages verify at any moment in time just one thought and one action can lead to something big. When we are willing to persist in doing things that we are drawn to do everything is possible.
One thing seems certain to me if we don’t try to discover what calls to us from within and respond to it in a way that makes sense in our life there is good chance we could end up in the end full of regrets. Where is the peace of mind and happiness in that?
In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or songs.”
William “Bud” Hart is a certified “Mindset” Coach, Accountability Partner and Business Consultant. Visit Hart Group, www.hartgroupma.com for more on coaching.