Some people are born with an entrepreneurial spirit, while others fall on to the path of entrepreneurship and business ownership, whichever way you end up on this journey, it’s a very different path than the traditional career path of getting a good job and climbing the corporate ladder of success.
I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but followed the traditional path of getting a good education (undergraduate degree in marketing and a master’s in business administration). Then after I graduated, I had the dream of eventually being the VP of Marketing and working in the corner office, driving the company car and having a company laptop (that was actually my dream).
However, after many years in corporate, I realized that my true calling was to be an entrepreneur and to start, create, and build something of my own. It can be hard to choose a calling over a career for several reasons:
- The Fear of the Unknown– A calling always leads you to an unknown path, while a career is usually something you can map out and decide which way you want to go. Although success in your career is not guaranteed, you can take the necessary steps to move forward on your career path.
- Lack of Stability– A calling is always unstable, there’s never a guarantee of success and your income can be very unstable, especially in the beginning.
- Success– You can be super successful at your career, but many times if your career is not your calling, your success will leave you unfulfilled. I’ve listened to enough podcasts of people who were super successful, but they always felt like something was missing, I believe, a lot of those times it was because they had a successful career, but they weren’t following their calling.
- Fulfillment– When you follow your calling you will feel more fulfilled because a calling is something that you were born to do.
So considering these factors, what do you think? Should you build a career or follow a calling? My conclusion is that you should follow your calling and when your calling actually aligns with your career you are on a path to a successful and fulfilling professional life.