Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work

“For those of you in search of your calling, consider yourself warned: this pursuit takes discipline, resilience, sacrifice, and tremendous hard work. [...] Allow yourself to be led by what truly moves you. And don’t compromise your values—ever.”

Isay offers several criteria needed in the search for one’s calling. While these qualities, including discipline, resilience, and sacrifice, thread throughout the stories collected in the book, they never rise to the level of fully formed themes. These qualities are often considered necessary for achieving the American dream, an undercurrent that runs throughout the text.

“I get totally psyched in to what I’m doing, just like people must do when they write music or paint a painting—anything artistic. It doesn’t even seem like much time goes by. You forget to eat, you forget to get up, you forget to drink water. Everything just goes into suspension. And then fifteen hours later, I have a face.”

Sharon Long, the forensic artist, describes her experience of sculpting a facial reconstruction. Though it is scientific and forensic work, she views it in the same light as artistic endeavors and gains a similar sense of meditative and creative fulfillment from the act. This quote also encapsulates the book’s conversational tone, a natural aspect of spoken interviews, which creates a sense of intimacy and authenticity.

“In high school, refereeing at all these rec centers on weekends was a great way to earn some extra income, but I wasn’t doing it for the money. I was doing it because I really loved it.”

Marat Kogut, the NBA referee, introduces an idea that echoes throughout the book: the concept of doing a job not because of the money but because you love doing it and would likely do it for free. It intentionally calls to mind a common adage that if you do a job you love, you will never work a day in your life. It also reinforces the theme of Finding Purpose and Pleasure in Work.

“I was able to do things during that time that the average American citizen didn’t have the opportunity to do. This was a very select group of men. And if you consider the fact that a kid just out of high school from Jacksonville, Florida—no college education whatsoever—would be afforded the opportunity to do something like this, it’s almost unbelievable!”

Alton Yates reflects on his time as an aeromedical field tester. Though he initially joined the military out of financial necessity, it quickly transformed into an inspiring vocation. This quote highlights the way a person’s dream or calling can appear out of unexpected places.

“He was always someone who didn’t accept societal norms as being his norm. That was for other people. In Ron’s own words, he was the kind of person who ‘hung it over the edge.’ He’d go as far as he could, then go one step beyond that.”

This quote about Ronald McNair, an astronaut, shows a common mindset for dreamers and groundbreakers, which is an innate desire to push beyond limits, both one’s own and society’s. This trait is closely tied to the discipline and resilience that the author argues are necessary to pursue one’s calling.

“I knew there was a world outside the camps, and I believed I could find a place in it. I had read about people like me and not like me. I had seen how huge the world was, and it gave me the courage to leave. And I did. It taught me that hope was not just a word.”

This quote from Storm Reyes shows the way that the most innocuous circumstances—such as a mobile library in a migrant camp—can inspire hope and allow someone to imagine a different kind of life. It is a prime example of finding inspiration from unlikely sources.

“You know, life lessons are our attitudes. So get whatever it is you want in your heart, and in your gut. And once you’ve got it, don’t ever let go.”

There are few points in Callings that speak directly to the reader or explicitly offer a “life lesson.” This is one of them. It relates to the theme of careful listening, in this case to one’s heart and gut, and recommends being tenacious about the things one loves.

“I’m so proud of being a second-generation firefighter. And knowing our family history—the struggles in the past and what it took to get here—makes me realize that everything I’ve gotten up to this point is a blessing. And I’m definitely looking to pass this torch down to my son, if I’m fortunate enough to have one.”

The Walcott family of firefighters demonstrates deep pride in their professional lineage, and Dekalb Walcott III fervently hopes he will have a son to continue the tradition. This shows the way generational connections can inspire vocational callings.

“My father was a tool and die maker. My uncles were tool and die makers. My brother was a tool and die maker. And surprise, I became a tool and die maker. But you know what? I have four sons, and they’re not going to be tool and die makers.”

This quote is a counterpoint to the one above, as Phil Kerner says that he does not want his sons to follow in his footsteps. While he takes pride in his work, he knows it’s no longer a viable option. He knows tradition must give way to what is best for his children. Paul’s point of view emphasizes that while generational trades are valuable, it’s important for parents to let children discover their own paths and passions.

“Growing up with a mother who was strong both physically and emotionally has had an incredible impact on who I’ve become.”

This quote and the one that follows it both underscore the ways parents can inspire their children, even if they do not go into the same line of work. Here, Olivia talks about her mother Barbara’s strength as a bricklayer as an inspiration despite not becoming a bricklayer herself. For Olivia, Barbara’s determination and physical capability are useful traits that will benefit any profession she chooses.

“Seeing you go through so much, I’ve learned that you should always continue, no matter what other people say, and prove them wrong. […] I see people who are stuck in situations and they can’t get out. But you showed me that anything is possible. So when I do find my career, I want to make sure it’s something I love and I don’t feel stuck. I want to go to work and be happy.”

Similar to Olivia, Chassitty speaks about her mother’s resilience and sacrifice, which inspires her to pursue a life she loves instead of one that is just okay. In addition, she echoes an important theme of the book, which is the importance of work that gives her joy and purpose rather than mere financial stability.

“I look at my art as a living testimony to her. She was my greatest muse.”

Olga Ayala draws out the connection between her work and her mother’s, not only because they are both artists but also because she believes she would not have found her calling without the inspiration provided by her mother. Together, they embody the American dream as the betterment of each successive generation.

“Larry: I believe that our family’s nature makes medicine the right choice. [...] So taking care of other people is the character and the spirit that has permeated our family for now four generations.

Laura: It feels like part of me, that I’m supposed to do it, that it’s what I’m on the planet for.”

Father and daughter physicians Larry and Laura reflect on a common element in many stories about finding one’s calling. They believe they have an innate quirk of personality that makes them particularly suited to healthcare, and that is, therefore, the central purpose and meaning of their lives.

“When you go in my office there are pictures of my patients, and a lot of them have passed now. I miss them when they’re gone. They all teach you something. I learn about fear and I learn about hope. And I really learn that it’s OK to let a person go.”

Dana Viviano, the oncology nurse, focuses on an aspect of healing professions that many others later echo. This is the idea that as much as they give to others, they gain something from the experience as well. In Dana’s case, she gains perspective and wisdom from her patients’ deaths.

“There are many people that cry because they’re hurt, they’ve been neglected, but to cry because you couldn’t read? So we got him in some other programs, and he started to read—it was just, like, this gift for him. And by me giving that to him, it was sort of like a healing mechanism for me.”

Similar to Dana’s quote, English teacher Ayodeji Ogunniyi argues that healing works in both directions. As much as he helps heal his community through education for underprivileged youths, this act also helps heal his grief over his father’s death.

“There are magic moments that happen in a classroom, like you with that frog, when all of a sudden a student realizes that they might be directed toward their passion. There’s no doubt about it when it happens. They get these great big eyes, and they won’t blink, for fear they might miss something. It’s no longer an assignment. It’s something that they want to learn. Teachers don’t realize that they have a lot of power to make that happen.”

Al Siedlecki underscores the purpose of educators and philosophers to help others listen to their callings when they find them. This quote is an example of listening to unlikely sources of inspiration, such as dissecting a frog.

“Don’t think about your past. Think about what you’re doing now and what you want to do. See the city you live in. Find out about it. Explore it. Live in the place where you live.”

This is the advice that artist Sol Aramendi gives to her photography students to help them interact with their surroundings more fully. Not only is this insightful advice for artists, but it also helps her student, Cyntia, adjust to her changed circumstances and offers a moment of peace and enlightenment.

“I really hope that art can help my students be the best that they can, and that they discover their own power. Something that I have learned throughout the years is that the only person that can change you is yourself. And I feel like it’s my duty to create spaces where these changes can happen.”

This quote from Sol Aramendi illustrates the approach most of the book’s philosophers take toward their work. They hope not only to find wisdom and enlightenment for themselves but also to create space for others to explore these things as well.

“What I admire about you is your willingness to stick. You have the spirit to do whatever’s necessary to make things work, and you put 110 percent into what you do. So I am very proud to have you in my life.”

Darlene Lewis’s interactions with her friend and employee, James Taylor, show the power of pride in the context of work. It is important that Darlene feels pride both in her own work and in the progress of those under her tutelage. This is just one example of the kinds of pride shown in the book.

“[H]is work was his hobby, and his hobby was his work. And I think that had a lot of influence on me.”

Echoing Marat Kogut, this quote once again advocates for doing work that you love. Jerry Lawson’s son says that this idea inspired him to choose work he would be just as happy to do for free and implies that this should be the goal for everyone.

“And he was a man who went his own path. If everyone was going right, he’d figure out a good reason to go left. That was just him. He created his own destiny, and that’s a fantastic legacy.”

Like astronaut Ronald McNair, Jerry Lawson lived his life pushing boundaries and defying societal expectations. This quote works as an entreaty to the reader to create their own destiny.

“But this call, these burdens really force you to do stuff that you don’t even think you have the skill to do.”

Pastor Eric D. Williams describes the careful listening required to find one’s calling. This call can often be both a burden and an inspiration and will sometimes require one to push past their limitations.

“Ford was a good company, but I felt like if I just stood there and did not try to make things better when I saw other people have the same problems I was having, everything would be in vain.”

This quote encapsulates the way groundbreakers defy limitations to make the American dream achievable not only for themselves but also for the generations that come after them. Ford plant supervisor Dorothy Glinton understood that she needed to do it not only for herself but also for the women who would follow behind her.