I spent three whole months sitting at the wrong desk. Not kidding. After getting promoted at my old corporate job, I showed up every morning, sat down at what I thought was my assigned workspace, and did my thing. Nobody said a word. Then during a team reshuffle, my manager casually mentioned I’d been in the wrong department section the entire time.
This sounds like a silly workplace mix-up, but it’s actually the perfect metaphor for what we’re talking about today. Many of us are living at the wrong desk. We’re doing work that isn’t truly ours, following paths we wandered onto rather than consciously chose, and wondering why something feels off.
Finding your calling isn’t just some fancy spiritual concept. It’s practical. It’s about aligning who you are with what you do. Napoleon Hill called this your Definite Major Purpose – the central mission that organizes everything else in your life. And if you’re reading this on day 7 of our journey, you’ve been building toward this moment all week.
Your Calling Is Hiding in Plain Sight
First things first – your calling rarely announces itself with trumpets and a light show. It’s usually been there all along, whispering quietly while you were busy making other plans.
Think about when you lose track of time completely. Those activities where you look up and suddenly it’s dark outside and you forgot to eat lunch. That state psychologists call “flow” is one of the biggest clues to your calling.
For me, it happens when I’m helping someone untangle a complex problem and break it down into manageable steps. I can do this for hours. Time disappears. My energy actually increases rather than decreases.
What about you? What makes you forget to check your phone? When do you feel most alive and engaged?
Another clue: pay attention to what people regularly come to you for. Not what they’re forced to come to you for because it’s your job title, but what they naturally seek you out for. This is often invisible to us because it seems so obvious and natural that we discount it.
“Oh, people always ask me to explain complicated things – that’s just because I talk too much.” No. They ask you because you have a gift for making complex ideas accessible. That’s a calling clue.
What Would You Do If Money Was Off the Table?
This question gets tossed around a lot, but there’s a reason for that. It works.
If all jobs paid exactly the same, what work would you choose? If you had all your financial needs met for life, how would you spend your days?
Now, I’m not suggesting you should immediately quit your job and become a professional beach volleyball player or butterfly collector. The point isn’t to find your fantasy – it’s to strip away the external motivations so you can see your internal ones.
Sharon once told me about a corporate lawyer friend who realized his answer was “I’d teach people how to cook.” He didn’t become a full-time chef. Instead, he recognized his calling was about nurturing others and sharing knowledge. He kept practicing law but shifted to teaching legal workshops and mentoring junior attorneys. His energy transformed because he was now expressing his true calling within his existing career.
Your calling often isn’t about what you do – it’s about how and why you do it.
Connect the Weird Dots of Your Life
Look, finding your calling isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes it’s about connecting seemingly random elements of your background, interests, and talents.
Make a list of:
- Your top 5 skills (be honest, not modest)
- 3-5 problems in the world that make you angry or sad
- 3-5 moments in your life when you felt most fulfilled
- What people consistently compliment you on
- The topics you can’t stop talking about (the ones where your friends give each other the “there they go again” look)
Now stare at this list. The intersection of these elements often reveals your calling. It’s where your talents meet the world’s needs in a way that energizes you.
I know someone whose calling combines her accounting background, her passion for environmental issues, and her talent for explaining things simply. She now helps environmental nonprofits manage their finances and explain their impact to donors. She didn’t find this path until her 40s, after trying several careers that used only pieces of who she was.
Your calling usually integrates parts of yourself that might seem unrelated. It’s the unique combination that makes it yours.
From Calling to Definite Major Purpose – The Missing Step
Finding your calling is one thing. Turning it into your Definite Major Purpose is another.
Your calling is the general direction. Your Definite Major Purpose is the specific destination and route. This is where Napoleon Hill’s teachings become crucial.
A Definite Major Purpose has a few key elements:
- It’s specific – not “help people” but “create financial education programs for single parents”
- It has a timeline – when will you accomplish different aspects of it?
- It includes measurable outcomes – how will you know you’re succeeding?
- It connects to your personal why – the emotional engine that will power you through obstacles
Once you’ve identified your calling, sit down and craft it into a Definite Major Purpose statement. This isn’t a cute exercise – it’s programming your subconscious mind with clear instructions.
“By December 2025, I will have helped 1,000 single parents achieve financial stability through my educational programs, creating generational change for their families.”
Notice how different that is from “I want to help people with money stuff.”
Your Definite Major Purpose should scare you a little and excite you a lot. It should be big enough to require growth but specific enough to guide daily decisions.
The Permission Nobody Will Give You
Can I be straight with you? The biggest obstacle to finding and pursuing your calling isn’t external. It’s the permission you’re waiting for that will never come.
Nobody is going to tap you on the shoulder and say, “You are officially qualified and authorized to pursue your calling now.”
I wasted years waiting for someone to validate that I had something worth saying. The breakthrough came when I realized nobody was coming to give me permission. I had to give it to myself.
Your calling might not make sense to everyone around you. It might seem impractical or too ambitious or not ambitious enough. That’s actually a good sign – it means it’s truly yours.
When you define your Definite Major Purpose, you’re not asking the world if you can pursue it. You’re declaring that you will.
Take Messy Action
Final thought – finding your calling doesn’t usually happen through endless contemplation. It happens through action and iteration.
Start moving toward what feels right, even if the vision isn’t perfect yet. Take what we call “messy action” – imperfect steps that generate feedback and clarity.
Volunteer. Take a class. Start a side project. Have conversations with people doing work that intrigues you.
Your calling becomes clearer through engagement, not just reflection. And your Definite Major Purpose will evolve as you gain experience.
This isn’t about getting it perfect on the first try. It’s about committing to the journey of discovering and expressing your unique contribution.
Finding your calling and defining your major purpose isn’t a one-time event – it’s an ongoing conversation between who you are, what the world needs, and what lights you up inside. Start the conversation, and trust that each step will reveal the next.
Remember that person sitting at the wrong desk for three months? Don’t be that person for your whole life. Find your right desk. The world needs what only you can bring.