We all know the feeling of not wanting to go to work in the morning. Heck, there are times we don’t even want to get out of bed! But there are other days, and you know you’ve had them, when you can’t wait for your feet to hit the floor. You set the alarm clock a little bit early and you even wake up before it goes off. Those are the days we live for. Those are the days that make us come alive.
So, what is the common thread in those days? What is this thing that you do, maybe only occasionally, that makes you want to take on the world before the day even gets started? Maybe it is that project that you are working on that is so interesting and important to you that you stay up past midnight without even realizing it. Maybe it is a place you go that has you pressing your foot down on the gas harder than you really should. Or, as is the case with those such as me, it is the topic that you go on and on about until the eyes of your listeners glaze over and they make excuses to escape.
Or hopefully, and this is the great rare case, it is the topic that you speak about with such passion that your audience is caught up too. Your sheer heartfelt devotion to this cause is so powerful that it is contagious to those around you and you start a movement – by accident. The cause may be civic, political, religious or even very personal, but you have no choice but to give yourself up to it and be carried forward by it – with no guidance of your own.
You are lucky when and if you find such a cause. Do not resist it. Do not try to turn away from the calling – not only will it keep beckoning to you, but deep inside you will know that you have turned away from the path you should be on. The trick is to hear that calling, be honest to it, and then let it guide you. We will all be better off if you are on the right track.
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
– Howard Thurman