A Few Words about CALLING by John Busacker
Response to "Flow & Focus"
My responder this week is John Busacker. John is Founder and President of LifeWorth; an inspiring presenter and coach; author of four books (see below). His book “do less, be more: The Life-Changing Power of Focus” has been pivotal for me. I’m excited that John agreed to add his wisdom to this conversation!
Paul has done a wonderful job of expressing his desire to live and work out of a sense of calling, resulting in “flow.” The root word of calling is the Latin word vocare – voice. To follow your calling is to give voice to what you are passionate about and with what God has gifted you.
I share that deep yearning with Paul. And I continue to learn almost daily about my own calling and inconsistent obedience of it.
A few lessons:
What appears effortless seldom is. Unpacking the stories of gifted athletes, musicians or business leaders reveals a pattern of the relentless pursuit of excellence and countless hours of practice. Women and men at the top of any profession spend significantly more time on the practice field than in the game, on stage or in the board room. Calling is the same. It must be a daily discipline, not a sporadic, hit or miss expression. The practice field is prayer, reflection and solitude. Repetition results in spiritual muscle memory, which appears effortless to the casual observer.
The life-saving word is “NO.” Bob Goff lets go of one thing weekly. Jim Collins constructed a “Stop doing list” that is longer than his “To do list.” Author Greg McKeown describes the importance of knowing your “Essential Intent,” which is one decision that settles a thousand later decisions. “No” is a complete sentence!
Give yourself some grace. All of us have days, even seasons, where our discipline wavers or our energy wanes. We let down our guard or just run out of gas.
I was recently describing to my personal coach a decision to say “yes” to a business request that I later regretted. My desire for an ego stroke had overrun my good judgement and discipline.
His simple response was, “Yup. You made a mistake!” (Thanks coach! ☺)
He then described his own end-of-day, 4-question reflection which is helpful in the pursuit of calling:
Mistakes: Where did I miss the mark today?
Learning: What did I learn?
Wisdom: How does this add to my growing wisdom about God, myself and others?
Love: How does this equip me to love God and others better tomorrow?
To be in flow 24/7/365 would be supernatural. But with discipline, a graceful and practiced way to say “No” and a healthy dose of grace for yourself and others, living and working with creativity, presence and beauty becomes easier and more consistent.
John Busacker is the author of four books. His newest book, Gasping for Breath: Inviting God’s Spirit Into Your Overwhelmed Life unpacks powerful practices that allow the reader to recover their life and flourish.
John M. Busacker | Founder, President | Life-Worth