Life is a calling. A calling to be fruitful and to multiply. Fruitfulness brings you fulfillment and I can confidently say that fulfillment is not about wealth and by that I mean monetary wealth.

Fruitfulness is the state of being able to generate positive outcomes and touch lives with the gifts and abilities God placed in you at creation. Fruitfulness is being relevant to the world and deriving satisfaction from it. Fulfillment therefore is not what you have but what you give; it is the satisfaction you get from fully delivering on what you are called to do.

In our world, money is often seen as a measure of success and fulfillment but money is really a by-product of a fulfilled life or a job well done.

Everyone who has embraced their call well enough to execute it fully has had monetary reward for it mainly as a by-product. Examples are Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, JK Rowling, Mensa Otabil, Nelson Mandela and Leo Messi to name a few.

When a person functions in their field of calling, the output of their exertions carries a lot of weight and the ripple effects of such is felt in places they may never see in their lifetime. Every one of us has a calling and this presupposes that we are not on earth by accident. That is why we all have special natural abilities that differ from person to person no matter their race, colour, creed or social status.

FINDING YOUR CALLING

It is possible to go through your life without knowing your calling. It is entirely possible that the dysfunctions of our world is largely due to the misalignment of people to purpose. Here a few way in which one may discover his or her calling in life.

THINGS THAT BURDEN YOU

We all have issues that get our goat every now and then. Some of these issues seem to stir a passionate interest in us which is characterised by our desire to radically change the situation. The things that provoke you have the potential to spark your promotion when you pursue them. Pay attention the issues that truly get you juices going and explore them for the signs to your calling.

TALENT & GIFTS

You are endowed with gifts and abilities that are natural and unique to you. Your gifts are meant to solve a problem - society’s problems and yours. A person’s talents manifests in may different ways - either through your hobbies or tasks that you are assigned. Develop your ability to identify your talents and gifts as you go through life so you can maximise your chances of finding your calling in life.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT

You environment either will provide you with a clue to what your calling is or serve as a catalyst that pushes you to your calling. Many people who have been able to lift themselves out of abject poverty and squalor have returned to the places they grew up to try and lift up others from their situations. When you start identifying things that can be better in your environment, then you are on the journey to discover what you are called to fix in that space.

YOUR PASSIONS

The things you are passionate about can take you down the road to knowing your call in life. As you act on your passion for various vocations or virtues, you develop your tenacity for performing at a high level in those pursuits. Your pursuits will establish you in  a way that you can reach many more people and make impact in ways you didn’t anticipate before.

MAKING USE OF THE CALLING

Prepare

Discover yourself, your gifts, talents, skills and passions. Know who you are and what you possess and know what the world around you is made of. It is important that you are able to place yourself within the right context in the world and launch forward with purpose. Ask yourself questions, ask questions of your environment. Seek to understand why things happen and why you see them the way you do.

Position

Take opportunity to use skills. Use it to fix small problems at home, for friends, for family for your community. When you fix small problems well, you will build a level of credibility that will position you for bigger opportunities. Everyday of your life is a seed for the next day and its opportunities. How well you deal with today will determine how much responsibility you are given tomorrow. Take every opportunity to hone you skills, develop your passions, sharpen you gifts. It will serve you well.

Pursue

Define what you can do in the context of where you find yourself and act on it. Keep your eyes fixed on your goals. You ultimate goal should be to serve your generation with the gifts, talents and skills you have and this should define your thinking and actions. 

Persevere 

Keep on moving toward your goal. If you fall, rise and keep moving. Keeping in mind where you want to be don’t give up by seeing setbacks as a permanent place. Keep driving towards goal even when faced with a mountain. Sidestep minor and major setbacks and continue your pursuit of being relevant to the world. You were born to live. Living is when you have fulfilled your calling; anything short of it is just existing.

Preserve

Learn to review how you are living through the call. Allow yourself room to readjust and retool where necessary and when you find your passion taking a dip find a friend, a mentor or a place where you can revive you passions. 

Remember that the gazelle will rise each day hoping that it can outrun every lion it encounters or it will be lunch and for the lion it will want to out-stealth and outrun the slowest gazelle or it will remain hungry.

We all have a calling. Some find it early, some find it later in life but we all have it. Remember your calling is to be relevant to the world. Give your best to the world and the world will give itself to you.

Go Forward, Make Rain.

Shalom

I am Nhyira Addo, The Rainmaker