The "I'm Ready Now!" Podcast
I'M READY NOW! PODCAST
The "I'm Ready Now!" Podcast
EP 16: Finding Meaning Beyond the Daily Grind (Vocation, Career, or Job)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What if finding your life's purpose could transform your career and leave a lasting impact? In this episode, we explore how understanding the distinction between Vocation, Career, and Job is crucial to living a fulfilled and passionate life. Drawing insights from thinkers like Dan Miller and Stephen Covey, I share practical tips on aligning your vocation with your career, illustrated by personal anecdotes, including my wife's uncanny knack for home decor and organization, a vocation that manifested itself when she was still a child. Also, I share a profound insight a Stanford University student shared about how an internship upended what she believed would be her life's work--all in one summer--proving that constant learning can shape your view of your vocation, then career, and then job!
Introduction
Speaker 1Welcome to the I'm Ready Now podcast ideas to help you when you're ready for change . I'm your host , isaac Sanchez , here . I share my musings on whatever it is I am reading at the moment , as well as any other ideas that I believe will help you break free from a standstill in your thinking in order to get you dreaming again . Thank you for joining me today . Well , I'm ready now . How about you ? Excellent , so let's get started .
Welcome (and apology!)
Speaker 1Welcome back to the I'm Ready Now podcast . I am your disappointed host , isaac Sanchez . I am your disappointed host , isaac Sanchez . Listen , I say that with all sincerity . I missed a week and I swore I would try and do everything to not let that happen , but it did so I truly apologize for not getting an episode out last week . I will do better . So , as I normally say about here and truly mean thank you for joining me , I'm excited that we are together again . I always look forward to spending this time together , as usual . Here are the reminders I share right at the top . First , there are chapter markers on this podcast , so if you want to get straight to the content , use those markers to skip right ahead . No harm , no foul . I totally understand . Also , remember that in the description of this episode there's a link you can tap to text me there . You can leave your feedback on the topics we're addressing as well . You can always email me at IsaacSanchez at Maccom , and I look forward to hearing from you there also .
What's up in your world? Michigan!
Speaker 1So what's up in your world ? For me , michigan , yeah , the state of Michigan .
Speaker 1This past weekend , my wife and I traveled there for a family wedding , and Michigan is gorgeous . We flew from LAX into Chicago O'Hare Airport and we had to lay over there for about an hour and then from there we were off to Grand Rapids Airport in Michigan , and so we flew over one of the great lakes , lake Michigan , and , man , it was just beautiful as we crossed over and then started flying over land . The trees , man , the trees are just beautiful Gold , burgundy , red , yellow , orange , green leaves . It was just all beautiful from the sky . My wife had a window view from that and she just kept pointing it out to me and it was simply gorgeous . So it was just . We were flying in to Grand Rapids but then traveling for about 45 minutes by vehicle into Fenville that's where the wedding was held in just the gorgeous , gorgeous , gorgeous town there , and so we got away while we were there for about two hours before the wedding and headed to Lake Michigan and it was just beautiful Sandy shore there . Do we call it the shore ? It would be the shore , it doesn't have to be the beach right and so we just we got to take a few pictures there and just look at the beauty that is Lake Michigan there . So we appreciated that .
Speaker 1Now my wife and I have a soft spot for Tennessee . We've got family there my twin brother's out there with his family and my dad's living with him there . But we concluded that the fix is to travel more and enjoy it all . So each state has its beauty and boy , I bet we could want to live and we would want to live in each state as we would go and visit the different states and their beauty . So it just means we got to travel more . So , anyways , over dinner at the wedding my wife and I sat with the groom's grandfather and uncles , along with their spouses , all from Michigan , and they just loved their state and offered to show us around the next time we visit . They just had stories and stories and places we could go to . So it was Michigan's beautiful and that's what is in store for us in the future . Again , another visit . So they told us , next time you're there , let us know and we'll show you around , as I said . And so the ball is in our cart . Thank you , michigan , for such a beautiful , beautiful visit .
Speaker 1All right , well , let's move on to today's talk . So , vocation , career or job Do we need to know about the distinction ? Do we need to care about the distinction ? Well , today , dan Miller will help us sort all this out . So let's get into this .
Podcast Content: Finding Meaning Beyond the Daily Grind
Speaker 1So , right off the bat , dan Miller makes a distinction between vocation , career and job . And of the three , vocation is the most profound . It denotes your calling , your purpose , your mission and your destiny . So we really need to know this . We need to be sure that if we're going to want to live a life of meaning and fulfillment , that we get this one right . So Dan mentions that , unfortunately , vocation goes unidentified by most and here it is the most critical of the three and people go on living through life having not identified what their vocation is . He refers to one of my favorite books , seven Habits of Highly Effective People , to note that author Dr Stephen Covey makes the connection between vocation and legacy .
Speaker 1I remember when I was working with a high performance coach . She hammered on that right off the bat Isaac , what do you want your legacy to be , man , at the time I was living on my own and so my children came to mind immediately . What will my legacy be with them ? And then it goes out from there . I'm a teacher , an educator , so I consider my students . Of course , before them I'd consider my family , the rest of my family and friends , but I've been working with students for 32 years . What would they believe about me ? What would my legacy be with them ? So that's how critical this is that we understand our vocation , because it does have to do with our legacy .
Speaker 1So , finally , it is derived . The word vocation is derived from the Latin vocade , to call . So we need to listen , for our calling is what Dan Miller says . Okay . So then he moves on to the second one , career , and career is derived from the Latin cart and Middle French racetrack . So I can tell you , knowing Spanish , that in Spanish it's carrera , career is carrera , or race , it's a race , and so what we know , career , as this is your line of work , and Dan points out that with career , you can have various careers in your life . Many people do , so you can switch out of one career and move on to another .
Speaker 1The third element is job , and so he brings us to the distinction that is the job , and this is one's most daily activities , chore or duty . Your job is that one thing that produces your paycheck . You go do that thing and you get paid for your time or your services . Now , notably , the average person can have 14 to 16 jobs in their lifetime . I'd heard that from several sources over the years , and especially now even more today , I believe with what we call the gig economy . So , with us bouncing around from job to job , job is not the critical piece of these three , so we can move in and out of those fluidly and then . So those are the three there .
Speaker 1So you have vocation , career and job . Now here's a wonderful summary that Dan offers between the relationship of these three your career is a subset of your vocation , okay , and then your job is a subset of your career , okay . So career is under the umbrella of vocation and job is under the umbrella of your career . Here's an example . Let's say your vocation you believe that your purpose is to ease pain and suffering in the world with people , and so that's just on your heart and you just pretty much know that's what my vocation is . Well , let's say you decide okay , well , I'll be a nurse , and so that becomes your career . A nurse would be the career for a vocation that has to do with easing pain and suffering in the world . So you become a nurse as part of your career . Well , what would the job be ? Well , as we said earlier , this one is any activity thing that you do that gets you the paycheck that you go out day in and day out to do . So the job here would be tons of choices , because there are so many things that a nurse can do , how you can play the role of a nurse in so many different areas and industries . So that's a neat little connection there . Vocation if you want to ease pain and suffering , then you can easily become a nurse . That'd be career . And then job Boy go pick one and how you can serve as a nurse okay . And then job boy go pick one and how you can serve as a nurse okay .
Speaker 1So when trying to figure this out , if there's some confusion about where , if you're working and doing the work you need to be doing in terms of your vocation , dan gives this great summary and he says this if you are off track in your job , simply go back to your vocation to get ideas for a new application of that vocation . So notice , it skips right over career . If you're at a job and you're stuck , you just feel this is not for me , this is not it . Don't go to career . You need to go back to vocation and look at that and then from the vocation you can pick out a career . And then from the career , there's tons of jobs you can do . Again , even the career has its variety , as we mentioned earlier . Okay , so I really love that what he said If you're off track in your job , simply go back to your vocation to get ideas for a new application of that vocation . All right , so we know it's important to figure it out .
Speaker 1So here's something that I found at coachhubcom about figuring out what your vocation is . Now , of course , this is just one , and this is not the only way , but it is one that I read through and I really , really like . So I want to read from what they say here . Again , this is coachhubcom . I'll make some commentary in between , but let me read what they say about self-discovery for finding your vocation .
Speaker 1Understanding yourself , your abilities and your interests will make you a force to be reckoned with , they state . You are far more likely to derive satisfaction from your career when it is aligned with your vocation , and the best way for this to happen is to understand yourself . All right , so here's a couple things that they say . How do you do this ? Well , one they recommend take note of your skills . Here's what it says there . The abilities and skills that come natural to you are often an indication of your skills . Here's what it says there . The abilities and skills that come natural to you are often an indication of your talent . Most of the time , your talent is related to your vocation , as we unconsciously develop skills that will foster growth and progress in our vocation . So this is if you just found that you kind of , growing up , you always liked a certain thing , you always liked to do a certain thing , then that's probably your vocation .
Speaker 1I'll give you a quick example that just comes to mind my wife . My wife is amazing at home organization and decor , like she's really , really good at this , and in talking about it she recalls that as a young girl she would like a young , young girl . I think she remembers about seven or eight years old , as I recall putting out her clothing and folding it and making sure everything was nice and organized for the next day . So , man , that's vocation in the making right there . She loves doing that . Our home . People walk in our home and say this looks like a model home . That's what I thought when I first met her at her home . When I met her , I saw online of her posting pictures of what she was doing to her home she had just bought . And when I went to visit and that door opened up and I got a glimpse inside as she welcomed me in , I just looked and I said man , this looks like I just stepped into a magazine , and so that's that I remember . When she shared that with me , I thought , good Lord , this is exactly what vocation looks like . And so now we're in .
Speaker 1You know , as time goes on , towards the end of this year , next year we're talking about trying to restart . We started at the wrong time earlier year . And next year we're talking about trying to restart . We started at the wrong time earlier , about a year , year and a half ago . So we want to restart a business for her doing home decor in organization , because she just loves it and she thrives on it Okay .
Speaker 1Well , number two that they say on trying to figure out what your vocation is . Number two that they say on trying to figure out what your vocation is , focus on where you are competent . Again , we're reading from CoachHubcom Once you can identify your skills and natural abilities , you can then work toward improving and expanding them . This exposes you to opportunities that point you towards your passion and your vocation . Be willing to learn , learn , learn more , more and more , because as you learn more , you'll discover more opportunities in that area of your vocation and you can start to branch off into more specific areas as you learn more about it and about yourself .
Speaker 1Third thing they say to do is visualize . When you're trying to understand your vocation , spend time thinking about what you want your ideal life to look like . This gives you a clearer picture of the vocation where you want to devote your time . You also develop a keen sense of self and understanding of your deeper desires . You won't be familiar with your passion if you don't know what you want . That's a great point . So just be sure you visualize what it is that you want . Think about it good and hard . Try to find that clear picture of what it is that you can see yourself doing . Four learn , expose yourself to new opportunities and challenges that may be aligned with your vocation . Before deciding on a career path , carry out research to find out if that job or career will give you the kind of satisfaction you seek from your passions . This way , you get a sense of identity . Let me give you an example about this , about the importance of learning . I will never forget this .
Speaker 1For about 13 to 14 years , I worked with a program as a teacher that would bring in students who were college bound . They wanted to go to college . Many of them would be the they wanted to go to college . Many of them would be the first ones to go to college for their family , and so this is called the Puente Program here in California , and we would go to universities and visit universities , and students would get a chance to see some of the local universities around our area . And then on their junior year because I'd have them as freshmen and sophomores in my English class the program was run through the English class and then on their junior year I would move them out After the sophomore year with me . I'd move them out based on recommendation , where they should go to a regular English class , an honors class or an AP class , go to a regular English class , an honors class or an AP class , regardless of where they went . We'd come back together the junior year and go on a three-day Northern California college tour and we'd visit some wonderful universities UC Santa Cruz , uc Santa Barbara , Cal Poly , san Luis Obispo , uc Merced , stanford , uc Berkeley just a variety of wonderful universities . And I remember one time at Stanford we were in front of a student panel and we would do this for all the universities make sure that a group of students could share with our students who were still in high school and then our students can ask them questions .
Speaker 1And I remember at Stanford , a lady , one of the young ladies there , students mentioned how , since she was a young girl now this is important because I just gave you an example of my wife that as a young girl she kind of was already showing certain signs of order , organization and love of order . Well , this young lady similarly just had this passion . She said I always wanted to be an astronaut and so that's everything she wanted to do . So she worked hard , worked hard . Clearly she worked hard because she ended up at Stanford and there at Stanford she had an opportunity .
Speaker 1I think it was either after her freshman year or sophomore year . She had an opportunity that was mind-blowing for her . She became an intern at , I think it was , jpl in Pasadena , an extension of NASA's work , and she just she could not wait for that summer to come because she was just so excited to be working in that industry , in that area , working right alongside there with those folks doing that kind of work . And she said that after that summer what became super clear to her was was that she did not want to be an astronaut . So I imagine her being maybe 18 , 19 years old when she's at Stanford as a sophomore or yeah , about a sophomore , freshman or sophomore I don't recall that detail , but I imagine she'd probably be about 19 , 20 , maybe .
Speaker 1All those years expecting that she wanted to be an astronaut . And through the learning of an internship it became super clear that that would have been the worst decision she could have made for herself . She was very clear about this . It was clear I do not want to do that . And so she made a change . Recall exactly what the change was .
Speaker 1I do remember that it was so different from being involved in that industry space-related and it blew my mind , but it came from learning that the more you expose yourself to new opportunities pursuing your vocation , you'll learn things . You'll see it branch into areas that may interest you more and become more specific in terms of what you want to do in that area , or it may stop you in your tracks and move you into a whole other area . So educating yourself through experience is crucial , crucial , crucial . Be sure that that's something that you do so that time is not wasted . So , again , all of that comes from coachhubcom .
Wrap-up/Application
Speaker 1Let's go ahead and wrap this up and find some application . So this is the heavy lifting from everything that we do . Let's get some important application to pull all of this together , all right ? So Dan asks us an important question here to challenge us . He asked do you know you're calling or are you just working a job ? Do you know you're calling or are you just working a job ?
Speaker 1If you're just working a job that you landed and you have no idea if this is connected to a vocation , that can be hugely disappointing and frustrating . You may be , in a sense , comfortable there because you have a job and you're supporting a family or yourself , but that's not what vocation is . Vocation is more than that , and so this is such a critical question because a massive dose of regret can hit you and me at the end of our lives if we come to realize that there was something else for us , a critical piece to the puzzle of who you were meant to be in this life . But you and I chose not to reach for it through learning or life experiences that would challenge the notion of what we believed our vocation should be , and so I encourage you take your time with this one and , if change needs to happen , find the help that will move you in this important direction .
Speaker 1Now I was in a situation where I can spend some money on a high performance coach when I was trying to hone in on some of this information about six years ago . But if I was not in that situation , I would definitely go and look for some community resources career counseling and just go in and find out who can I speak to that can help me try to figure out my vocation . There's so many tests that you can do and assessments that you can do that kind of hone into who you are as a person , what you like to do , personality types and all those sorts of things . I remember Dan Miller was really , really good about that . This isn't a hard science , but it absolutely gives you more information and falls under the category , the crucial category , of learning about yourself . So I would encourage you , do not let finance get in the way of this . There's plenty of resources you can go look into at your city chamber of commerce , local library and just kind of learn , find out who are the people in your community that can help you with this . Okay , so again , I just say from my own experience , a career coach or a high performance coach is a good place to start , where they can start to challenge you and start to give you some of these assessments that help you get to know yourself better . And if you are certain that you are fulfilling your vocation in the current job you hold , hey , life is sweeter for that , congratulations .
Next Week's Topic
Speaker 1Sew up your buttonholes . Well , what does that mean For next week ? I want to upset you a bit , but you'll appreciate it . You may even like me better for doing that . So what is sewing up the vest buttonholes you're wearing have to do with upsetting you . Well , it's going to result in you appreciating me for being upset at me , maybe . So next week , dan Miller will walk us through all of that and I bet you , we're still going to be friends through it all .
Closing Quote
Speaker 1Okay , let me send you away with a quote here . It is Life is never made unbearable by circumstances , but only by lack of meaning and purpose . That's from Viktor Frankl . That's it . That's the quote . Think about it , act on it . Have an amazing week , friends , and thanks for hanging out . Let's do this again next week . I'm not going to skip a week . I mean it . Take care . Thank you for listening .
Speaker 1If you found this time together useful , please consider following this podcast and leaving an excellent rating . If you feel you can't do that yet , please reach out to me and let me know what I can do to get you to leave a top rating . If you are already excited about what you've heard , please consider sharing this podcast with a friend . I really would appreciate it . Also , I'd love your feedback , both on today's topic as well as what you'd like to hear me address in the future . I would really appreciate that input . Again , I'm your host , isaac Sanchez . I hope today's thought serves you the way it has served me . Remember , your next move is just one inside away . Have an amazing rest of your day . I'll see you next time . Can't stop falling . Can't stop falling now .