Re-evaluating the meaning of a true calling

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Last week we laid Tymon Mabaleka to rest. Not only did my family lose a close relative, the country lost a legend.

Last week we laid Tymon Mabaleka to rest. Not only did my family lose a close relative, the country lost a legend.

As his son Zwelihle said during the funeral service in Bulawayo this past week, “Everything my father touched turned into gold.

“The football and music he touched turned to gold.” Mabaleka excelled both as a footballer and a record producer.

As a footballer, he made his mark and as a producer, he touched many lives.

As I reflect on his life, I realise how blessed this man was.

He seems to have made a living doing things he was not only passionate about, but things he was good at. Many of us may die and others have died without making their mark in this life.

Myles Munroe once said: “The wealthiest place in the world is not the gold mines of South America or the oil fields of Iraq or Iran.

“They are not the diamond mines of South Africa or the banks of the world. The wealthiest place on the planet is just down the road. It is the cemetery.

“There lie buried companies that were never started, inventions that were never made, bestselling books that were never written, and masterpieces that were never painted.

“In the cemetery is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.”

I believe that one of the reasons for this is because many of us have decided to pursue things that are not really in line with our abilities.

I remember when I was growing up, doctors, lawyers, or accountants were deemed to possess the best professions.

Why? Because you could potentially make money and be wealthy, and not necessarily because you were passionate about doing the job.

However, every one of us has a calling. I found an interesting definition of “a calling” on the Internet. An entrepreneur defined it in this way: “A job is working for someone else’s mission; a calling is working on my own mission.

“A job is earning a pay cheque. A calling wakes me up every day, excited to engage with the world and change it.”

A calling is not necessarily driven by making money. Making money inevitably does happen, however, it is not the primary reason for choosing a particular path.

Your calling will match your passion.

That said, our ability to discover our calling is tied to our level of commitment and determination.

I implore you today to take a moment of quiet introspection to discover your calling. Once you have done that, take action.

“A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort,” Sydney Smith.