When Your Calling Becomes Greater
No amount of negotiation will stop your soul from taking over.
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I’d like to think everyone has experienced this at least once…
A glimpse, a “knowing”, a sign or two.
Our calling has a way of calling us repeatedly until we step into it. Some answer the calling with fierce execution and deliberation.
Others take longer strides.
Some may never try.
Here’s what I do know from my own personal experiences regarding my calling.
It’s always been there and when I look back, I can connect the dots to when I was much younger
No matter how much you try to fit into “other boxes”, your calling will pull you back out. No amount of negotiation will stop your soul.
We’ve all got unique skills and talents. Knowing them, using them and mastering them are different phases to understanding them.
There are seasons of “active waiting” which prepare us; use them knowing what’s coming.
You’re going to have to let go of old identities to receive new blessings.
Mastery is respect to your highest potential and God.
While I’ve recognized the above in several seasons, I will say 2022 was a period of answering the call like never before.
I could feel it strongly everyday.
Working solely behind the desk with my digital agency wasn’t going to cut it for the bigger picture.
Yes, I was keeping up with my writing and personal work, but I felt the calling much deeper within me… I could feel myself being “compromised” from not doing what I felt more called to be doing.
I knew my writing, my podcasting, my business approach and my spirituality were all going to take center stage in a new way, and it would be my responsibility to treat it as such.
My calling became louder so my faith had to become stronger…
In case you’re wondering, here’s what happened during the year:
Which resulted in…
Going back to the basics with my writing… grew 15K followers
Reached 7.2M downloads on 1st podcast
Launched my 2nd podcast… 2K downloads to start
Grew this weekly letter to 2100+ subscribers. Love you guys!
Launched a weekly 1:1 texting community for the soul… 295 members
Launching a new digital economy platform with one of my best friends to serve the masses.
Creating my first digital course around writing, creativity & expression.
Reflecting back, I realize this period was a combination of 3 stages, which I want to share with you below so let’s dive in. 👇🏼
The Listening Stage: A Season of Slowing Down to Speed Up
CLICK TO WATCH REEL
When you’re ready to listen, you will receive your messages.
When you receive your messages, you will need to seek to understand.
When you seek to understand, you will discover answers.
When you discover answers, you will need to move.
Awhile back I had posted the above reel to my Instagram. I was experiencing a period of “internal knowing” that was telling me what I needed to do.
I could actually feel my soul constantly try to direct me. I could feel it.
If I weren’t trying to connect to it, I might ignore it and just constantly go in the opposite direction.
That’s not going to work for me. That’s definitely not going to work for my long game and that’s definitely not going to work for my purpose.
But, what’s an interesting observation is… when your soul is constantly trying to guide you and you know a direction you need to move in, can you let go of an identity where your energy is currently focused that may no longer be serving for the longer game?
I call this the “listening” stage because if we slow down to connect to ourselves, we’re taking the responsibility of listening to our soul and understanding what’s needed of us…
It could be as simple as what’s needed for our next season or support of our loved ones, or it could be as big as the entire vision for your life’s purpose.
It can be big or small, but your calling is always pulling you when you listen.
The hard part for most… the doing?
And I found this stage to be a bit paradoxical at times because we can feel a lot of “this or that” scenarios…
that is, moves that need to be made opposite of what you might be doing… or internal questions and curiosities that are not where you are currently residing.
And if we’re being real here, that can be quite shaky to the nervous system.
Don’t let it make you nervous, let it make you curious, excited and receptive so you can “prepare” next steps.👇🏼
The Active Waiting Stage: a Season of Preparation
At this point, you’ve heard the calling become louder and you know change is needed.
Typically, this is where we can get stuck because current obligations, identities, responsibilities and daily moves have created our current reality, and for the most part, this has been “working” for us but it’s not the whole picture.
Let’s honor the current obligations, identities, responsibilities and daily moves because they have been serving us to get to this point.
When I created my agency the end of 2019, it was a transition from being a 1-person consultant to a streamlined team of 7 over the course of 3 years.
My business approach scaled, my cash flow increased, my skill set 10x’d and I learned A LOT about my personal development and character.
But…
here we are in 2022 and I can feel that period playing out it’s role as I move into an even greater one. It served me for the past 3 years and I honor what it has provided for me financially, energetically, professionally, emotionally and now, artistically.
However, when the calling begins to get louder and the moves need to be made, we head into what I call the “active waiting stage.”
This season is not inactive, but probably the most active. A season of waiting is not passive.
It requires you to take what you “heard” and “feel” in your soul (your calling), and start to move in the direction of it.
This may require you to make subtle shifts in your approach, implement new disciplines you didn’t previously have, realign priorities and time…
it may even mean adding more to your plate in order to maintain an old life’s transition while cultivating a new life’s reception.
Do you understand?
I removed myself as CEO of my agency, but we still take on some clients. I’m no longer handling the day to day, and if I was being quite frank, I turn down more than accept at this point.
Not everyone can jump ship immediately and I’m one of them. I probably could, but that’s not my current mode of operation.
I maintain the “old” to help facilitate, finance and implement the “new.”
I’m also grateful that my “old” actually is part of my “new.” My daily activities with the agency are being directed at me as the client instead of everyone else. It’s a shift in approach, business, systems and direction, but with significantly greater upside…
A season of “active waiting” means preparation.
I know what I know what I know and I know what’s coming.
Someone asked me, how do you know what’s coming?
I said, “because I’m preparing for it.”
They asked again, “but how do you know?”
“Because, I’m preparing for it.” (LISTEN TO THE AUDIO of this letter for me to explain how long this loop went on for and what I was really saying. 😂)
When we “prepare” we are working in a clear direction. The “how” comes from moving in it.
EXAMPLE:
While managing my agency, I instinctually started building my new direction which will help me scale my time, creativity, cashflow, purpose and impact.
I started creating my new personal website and my 2nd podcast, The Niche Is You (Apple, Spotify), reworking my writing, automating my content output, implementing my texting community and building a creator economy digital platform.
Why?
Because what is coming is asking me to build it now so I can receive it in the future.👇🏼
The Receiving Stage: Predictable Outcomes and Timing
“Doing” is an energy.
Add “clarity” and “why” to “doing” and you have direction.
Add “timing” to direction and it’s not a matter of if, but when.
I don’t “think” about what I want. I “feel” what I’m responsibly here to do and accept the challenge of doing the work for it.
I then take an active role in working towards it, with or without knowing the how (most often not knowing), but with gumption (spirited initiative and resourcefulness). That’s predictable outcomes.
This allows what’s for us to not only make their way to us, but be received by us.
And we can receive because we feel deserving from already listening and preparing for it. See the connection.
Technically I’m already seeing the fruits of my labor, but I will write another letter to talk about the results 😉
TL;DR
Our calling has a way of calling us repeatedly until we step into it.
No matter how much you try to fit into “other boxes”, your calling will pull you back out. No amount of negotiation will stop your soul.
There are seasons of “active waiting” which prepare us; use them knowing what’s coming.
You’re going to have to let go of old identities to receive new blessings.
Mastery is respect to your highest potential and God
The listening stage is a season of slowing down to speed up.
The active waiting stage is a season of preparation.
The receiving stage is a season of predictable outcomes divinely timed from your preparation.
Read this week’s Simplify, Multiply, Diversify below…👇🏼
SIMPLIFY…
Don’t let the human in you talk you out of the soul in you.
Translation:
We all inevitably know what we need to do when we tune in.
However, our minds and the “human” side of us can get in the way of that knowing simply from our past experiences or current situations.
We are more than that.
MULTIPLY…
When the calling becomes greater, no amount of negotiation will stop your soul from taking over
In other words, at some point, the pain of staying the same will be far greater than the pain of change
When that point comes, let go & let your soul guide your next season instead of negotiating yourself out of the game. Have the courage to do something different than you've been doing.
DIVERSIFY…
Our calling is infinite and expansive. A life “outside the box” has deeper meaning, is more profitable and more purposeful.
We’re only limited because the “system” put in place disconnects us. We’re more than the system has in mind for us, but it’s our responsibilities to accept that.
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This one was jammed packed with so much of what I needed to hear. Such great writing, Matt!
As someone who’s transitioning more deeply into my passion and calling, just like you, I’ve been really needing the clarity piece out of the equation you shared. (adding clarity and your why to the doing)
And as you also punted out, I’m finding the clarity by MOVING.
It’s not rocket science, but we sometimes we sit in a place of blurred clarity that blocks us from the momentum we could be experiencing in order to serve others sooner.
Powerful stuff!
Amazing! Thank you Letty! I couldn't agree more about the "moving" part. It really isn't rocket science and when you tell people to just move and you'll get your answers, many don't believe you.
We have to let go of our resistance and just move.