The Lure of the Well-worn Path
There’s a great story at the end of the Gospel of John. Jesus has come back from the dead but he keeps popping in and out of his disciples’ lives without giving them their next project to work on. Consequently, these fellas go back to what they know: fishing.
Not the recreational kind of fishing; the back-breaking haul-a-net-that-holds-hundreds-of-fish-aboard kind of fishing. Fishing, when an unexplored world of mission and adventure awaits them.
I had one of those times recently. Hitting one of the inevitable slumps in business (= income!), my default response was to go back to what I knew … I took a job in telesales.
After two days, I had a wake-up-and-smell-the-headset moment. “What am I doing lining the pockets of XYZ Corp when I could be marketing my own business? …. More importantly, why I am giving my best at something that doesn’t matter to me when I could be working at the things that I’m passionate about: resourcing families, workplaces, individuals to live fulfilling lives that contribute to the well-being of others?”
So I quit.
The day after I left, the leads began coming in.
What did I learn?
If I truly want to make a contribution to the world that will go on without me, if I want to have a positive ripple-effect on human society, I need to ride out the slumps, and do the necessary growing that the challenge requires.
The Well-worn Path usually heads downhill and into familiar territory. Its lure is a challenge we all have to overcome if we’re going to live out our life’s mission…
Jonathan Taylor’s post on Designed to Endure is worth a look for further thought on this.
The Well-worn Path usually heads downhill and into familiar territory. So true Pete. Thank you for your honesty mate. Sorry to hear things are expecially challenging at mo. Good onya for being willing to stop traveling down the well worn path so early in the journey. Look forward to catching up tomoz.