Photo courtesy of Denis Dervisevic and Flickr
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery
This week’s article is the 5th and final part in my series, The 5 Paradoxical Clues To The Work You’re Here To Do. Over the years, I’ve regularly heard people say things like, “I’d do what I love, if only I knew what it was” and “I’d do what I love, if only I knew how to do it.” The reason I’ve used the word “clues” is because there’s a way in which finding your vocation or calling is a bit like being a detective (hence the Sherlock Holmes quote above). Here’s clue number 5:
Paradoxical Clue 5: It’s probably staring you right in the face
The work you’re here to do is probably ‘hiding in plain sight’, something so obvious you haven’t even noticed it. It may be something you’re already involved in, at least in some way (E.g. in the stack of books by your bed, or the training courses you’ve been attending, or the videos you’ve been watching).
I was once being interviewed on the BBC about ‘limiting beliefs’. At one point in the interview I said that on some level, everyone knows what they want to do (or at least, knows the direction). The interviewer offered herself as an example of someone who *didn’t* know, and asked how I’d deal with her. I started asking her some ‘cheesy coaching questions’ (E.g. What would you do if all work paid the same? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? What would you do if you knew it was OK to fail? etc).
In response to the final question I asked, she said, “If I knew it would all work out, I’d open a complementary therapy practice.” It turned out that she’d been training as a transformation professional for years, but was afraid of making the transition in case it went wrong. She just didn’t know how to transition to it in a way that wasn’t too risky.
So why is this paradoxical?
Saying, “I’d do what I love if I only knew what it was / knew how” is a lot more ‘socially acceptable’ than saying, “I’d do what I love if I wasn’t scared of failure and criticism.” But part of the journey to doing the work you’re here to do involves owning it; acknowledging your passion and taking tangible steps to make it a reality.
Next Steps
As you reflect on these 5 simple clues, you may already be starting to get a sense of the ‘next steps’ that make sense to you and for you. Whatever those steps are, I want to wish you well and share this quote from Henry David Thoreau with you:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
The simple key is this: just take the next step. You don’t have to do the whole journey at once. One step at a time is just fine.
To your increasing clarity!
Big love
Jamie
Jamie Smart
Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Speaker and Executive Coach
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 3 ways I can help you get the clarity and results that matter to you:
1. Hire me to speak at your event
If you want an entertaining and impactful keynote speech or breakout session for your conference, offsite or town hall meeting, click here https://www.jamiesmart.com/book-jamie-to-speak-about/
2. Join the Profitable Coaches Group
Join the Profitable Coaches Professional Group and connect with the growing community of like-minded transformation professionals who are passionate about exponentially increasing their grounding, impact and their livelihood. You can join for free at https://www.jamiesmart.com/profitable/
3. The Thriving Coaches Blueprint
We’re putting together a new practice-building case study group at The Thriving Coaches Blueprint in March. Stay tuned for details… If you’d like to work with me and my team on growing your practice… email Nikki at info@jamiesmart.com and type “Thriving Coaches Blueprint” in the subject line.
PLUS: check these out :
Get your free Profitable Coaches Scorecard book www.JamieSmart.com/scorecard
Listen to the Results Mindset Podcast www.JamieSmart.com/resultspodcast
Listen to The Profitable Coaches Podcast www.JamieSmart.com/pcp
Read the first 2 chapters of my Sunday Times Bestseller RESULTS: Think Less, Achieve More www.JamieSmart.com/instantresults