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Work
When you figure out what you’re here to do, do it!
The work of your life is not just a job or a career. It involves pursuing your passion, leveraging your skills, earning a living, and contributing to both personal and collective well-being. Essentially, it is your reason for being.
Wholehearted dedication to your calling is the path to fulfillment. The adage “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well” resonates deeply here. When you pour your time and energy into your pursuits with unyielding determination, you will unlock the full potential of your gifts and talents. Believing in your capabilities is the catalyst for transformation. You will summon the strength to overcome any obstacle as long as you think you can.
Work, whether in the form of strenuous toil or dedicated practice, serves as a crucible for character. It toughens our resolve and refines our abilities where they may be lacking. Just as hard work gives leisure greater purpose, having undergone past failures makes future successes more worthwhile.
Pursue your calling as if it were your full-time job because it is! Take the audacious leap into the unknown, guided by faith in your unique talents and a relentless commitment to your dreams. You possess the ability to bring your purpose to life, but will you summon the courage?
Your life’s work is a lifelong endeavor, a labor of love that defines your existence. It is the manifestation of your true self, the embodiment of your passions, and the realization of your potential.
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Your profession is not what brings home your weekly paycheck, your profession is what you’re put here on earth to do, with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.
Vincent van Gogh
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Address
We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.
Chuck Palahniuk
If you wish to move mountains tomorrow, you must start by lifting stones today.
African proverb
Ironically, work is often more enjoyable than leisure. Why? Because work comes with clear objectives, rules, and challenges. These elements engage us, allowing us to immerse ourselves fully. In contrast, free time lacks structure, demanding more effort to transform it into something pleasurable.
Adapted from Cal Newport’s Deep Work
“Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.”
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, in a letter to his son
Before entrusting a person with significant responsibilities, the divine forces will often challenge them through mental suffering, physical exertion, hunger, poverty, and other obstacles. These challenges sharpen intellect, toughen character, and enhance capabilities where they are lacking.
Based on the teachings of Mencius
“Do not work primarily for money; do your duty to patients first and let the money follow; our life is short, we don’t live twice; the whirlwind will pick up the leaves and spin them, but then it will drop them and they will form a pile.”
John Hersey, Hiroshima
The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
Socrates
The greatest enemy of any of us is not failure, but mediocrity. The man who does nothing never makes mistakes.
Unknown
“Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?”
John Keats, Letters of John Keats
“Never confuse Motion with Action.”
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.
Charles Spurgeon
The Four Agreements:
Be impeccable with your word.
Don’t take anything personally.
Don’t make assumptions.
Always do your best.
don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy
Etymological explanation for Employ:
early 15c., “apply or devote (something to some purpose); expend or spend.”
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When you are employed, you are devoting yourself towards something. What are you devoted to?
“My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself – because it was.”
Michael A. Singer, The Surrender Experiment
Anfangen ist leicht, beharren eine kunst.
(Starting is easy, persistence is an art.)
German proverb
The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability. He is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability he has.
Confucius
Ikigai:
(Japanese) Literally ‘one’s reason for being.’ A philosophy centered on the intersection of four key elements:
Passion: Areas of interest and enthusiasm
Skills: One’s craft or professional expertise
Impact: Impactful contribution to societal needs
Compensation: Income-generating activities
“Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it. Begin it now!”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maximen und Reflexionen
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.
Andrew Carnegie
I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.
Jewish proverb
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Mark Twain
“Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life’s artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.”
Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power
“If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work.”
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
The bravest are those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.
Thucydides
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Unknown
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Continuously evading responsibility and staying in perpetual motion prevents the establishment of roots and the attainment of knowledge and experience.
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Adapted from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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Jen Hitze 