Have you ever met someone who has always known what they wanted to do in life? The type of person that declared boldly at an early age, “I want to be a doctor.” Or “I want to be a firefighter.” Or maybe, “I want to become a singer!” And then you find them twenty, thirty or forty years down the road, as pediatricians in a private practice, or as a firefighter saving lives, or you see them performing, singing passionately on the stage.
Maybe you are one of these people who at an early age knew what you were meant to be doing later in life. Some people seem to know themselves so truly - who hear the siren song of their life’s calling loudly, which they follow to get to the place they know is the pathway for them.
For others, the pathway is perhaps not so clear, or maybe even muddy, which may mean going down one road which doesn’t feel right, but sticking to it in the belief it may be too late or too risky to try something else. Or, for others, it may mean attempting all sorts of different options in search of the ideal passageway forward which feels purposeful and fulfilling.
Whichever path you have found yourself on, they will have their pros and cons, and it’s the perspective we view our choices which will make all the difference as to whether it motivates and inspires us, or whether it makes us feel de-energised and unfulfilled.
If you are pursuing your passion and living according to your purpose and values, then you are most likely on a beautiful mission. And if you are not, this is ok too. More than ok, because there is beauty in the journey, no matter how winding the path. And one of the ways to finding our life’s calling is following the 'breadcrumbs' of our life's story.
‘Breadcrumbs’ are clues in our lives which show a pathway we are drawn to. Maybe the breadcrumbs show a theme, such as helping and healing people, organizing gatherings, writing or teaching. They will be something that is perhaps consistently enjoyed and energises us when we do what is perhaps our life’s calling and purpose, such as being artistically creative in different ways and/or in diverse roles as we move along in life.
We might also have an intuitive or observant friend, colleague or family member who provides a clue by acknowledging a skill or an achievement – and when we hear it, it may excite us or it might pique our curiosity.
Or it may be a defining moment in our life when we experience something that really shakes up our world and we hear a voice inside us that is so loud that it tells us something like “I’ve got to stop doing this,” or “I must start doing what I truly want.” A voice that cries out to say: start following your dream and your heart’s desire.
An Empower World trained coach, Anita Tomany, is an example of listening to her heart and following the clues – the breadcrumbs in her life - which led her down the path to eventually setting up her own coaching and consulting business. She now knows what she was meant to be in this world, but she says it isn’t something she could see at the beginning of her life. There was an unfolding; a trail, a pattern that kept appearing in everything she did which was assisting and serving people.
The pattern started when her parents set up a hotel when she was a teenager and she helped them out with their business. And then she went through her military service where she did much to support the military men and women and support their families. And the pattern repeated in her corporate career in human resource leadership roles for organisations such as Vodafone.
And when she decided to introduce coaching as a leadership skill in the business she was serving, she undertook the training herself. She recognised the power of coaching conversations to support people to become accountable to help themselves and become independent. And this concept was hugely attractive and empowering to Anita.
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