W05 - The Hero's Journey

I found the video “A Hero’s Journey” to be very inspiring on many levels. But the most significant things said, in my eyes, was very early in the talk. The speakers said something that I kept coming back to over and over again…

“I believe you have a very special mission to perform on this Earth, a mission that will succeed beyond your wildest dreams, but ONLY if you have the faith and the courage to find your entrepreneurial calling”

This really struck a chord with me… that being an entrepreneur is a calling.

You see, I never viewed the entrepreneurial spirit as a “calling” but more of a desire. For me, I’ve always likened callings to opportunities and mandates given to each of us from God. A calling as an opportunity to serve and it results in more opportunities to learn and grow, to serve others, and come closer to Christ.

I’m afraid I had a very limited view of what being an entrepreneur really is.

To think of Entrepreneurship as a calling that I need to put effort into discovering, made me look at it in a new light. I’m not someone that wants to work for myself so that I’m the “Master of my own destiny” and I have no aspirations to achieve a billionaire status. I already have a career, a successful side business, and a plan for career 2.0. What I want is to work for myself so that I can do the important things that I still feel like I need to do. I want to be able to retire and go on missions with my wife. Not just one mission, but several missions. I want to be able to walk away from corporate America with the knowledge and ability to continue providing for my family but to also be able to spend time with them.

To consider that being an entrepreneur may also be something that God has for me in his plan, is a little difficult to grasp. I always assumed God didn’t really care what career I chose for myself as long as it was honorable, that it didn’t lead me astray of the gospel path, and I worked hard and honestly. But the more I thought about it, being an entrepreneur can be considered a vehicle to obtain the things God has in store for me. I hadn’t thought of it in those terms before.

I still don’t believe God has material riches in store for me that require me to select a specific career path. If there are blessing in store for me, I’ll get them. But now I believe there are different blessings in store based on decisions I make and opportunities I create. I think that is what having an entrepreneurial calling really is. It’s about having faith and courage, working hard, and trusting in God. And that sounds a lot like a calling to me.