Below are three most common clues I notice when I am serving my calling and the ones I see in the changemakers I coach. You may recognise some of them or you may have your own clues – signals, inner nudges, physical sensations, or patterns of thought – that guide you more clearly than any list could.
If you do, make space for them and if you feel like share them in the comments.
What matters most is that you have clarity about what they are because there will be times, as a changemaker, when you will doubt your calling. These clues will give your reassurance; they are your companions and they will guide you throughout your impact journey. They will help you recognise when you are drifting away, when you are coming home again, and when you are exactly where you’re meant to be.
Purpose vs Calling: Understanding the Differenc
In the blog “Tip #14 – Purpose or Calling: Which Comes First?” we have defined purpose as the change you want to create in the world, your destination, the deepest why. Calling, on the other hand, is the how – how this purpose manifests in the world. It is an inner pull, a direction that feels natural and inevitable; it’s what makes your heart sing.
Clue #1: You Have Choices, Risks, and Tensions to Hold
Following your purpose and listening to your calling often requires making choices, sometimes big ones. In my case, I had to move country and step out of a well-paid job, a job I had worked incredibly hard to get and to make successful, that gave me the financial stability I wanted. On paper, it offered everything I wanted and everything I had studied for. It also gave me a community and a sense of safety.
But the questions started swirling in my mind:
Do I leave my job? Do I retrain? Can I risk losing the income? Will my partner have my back? Do I have what it takes? Am I really doing this??
Leaving what is familiar, even when it no longer fits, is rarely simple.
For many changemakers, the tensions to hold can be complex. You might have to hold your parents’ disappointment as you step away from law to start your social enterprise. You may need to adjust your lifestyle as the big bonuses stop coming in. It might affect which friendships survive, or whether—like in my case—you change countries altogether.
Clue #2: You Feel Guided by Something Within
If you find yourself wondering, “Where is this calling coming from?” that might be a clue that you are connecting with your purpose and calling.
There’s often a hint of fear behind that question. When I was planning the creation of Micro Rainbow, I kept thinking, “What is making me do this?” It felt a bit like being the driver of a car that had already started moving, except I wasn’t entirely sure I was the one steering it.
I remember asking myself, “Why am I being pulled to use my entrepreneurial and financial skills to build a business that makes the world better, rather than a ‘normal’ business that could make me rich like so many other people do?”
Some of us attribute this feeling to a higher power or something spiritual. I used to think that too, that something or someone outside of me was calling me to do this work. But over the years, I’ve come to realise that the “higher power” I felt wasn’t external at all. It was inside me. The calling was coming from my own gut, intuition, and spirituality.
Clue #3: You Don’t Know How — But You Know You Will
Another essential clue of a calling is this: you genuinely have no idea how things will unfold… and yet, somehow, you know you’re going to make it happen. This is also one of the clues I enjoy spotting in the changemakers I coach the most.
I had a vision, absolutely. I wanted to create a new model for social change—one that was sustainable, replicable, scalable, and that advanced equality for LGBTQI people everywhere.
But did I know that five years into our social enterprise we would land on the idea of creating the first-ever safe housing scheme for LGBTQI people fleeing persecution in the UK? Providing 50,000 bed-nights a year? Raising over £9 million in social investment? Not a chance. If someone had told me that at the beginning, I would have laughed. Or fainted!
What I did know, deep down, was this: we would find a way. Somehow. Even if the path was foggy. The skills I had to practise were:
- getting comfortable with not knowing
- trusting my gut instinct, and the most powerful one of all
- allowing myself to daydream regularly.
Daydreaming, I believe, is an important part of the calling. It’s where the “how” begins to take shape, long before reality is ready to catch up. And remember, we can have many callings in our lives and it is never too late connecting with them.
Sebastian’s Coffee Cup Coaching Corner
Grab a coffee. Take 10 minutes. Reflect with these five prompts:
- What are the choices you need make, the risks you need to take, and the tensions you need to hold?
- Where is your calling coming from?
- What do you not know yet about your dream? And how can you nurture the ability to stay with the unknown?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share in the comments, on LinkedIn, or message me directly. Let’s stay connected.
With solidarity and hope,
Sebastian
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, explore the Build a Social Enterprise Blog for more insights and stories, and join my free newsletter on LinkedIn.
@sebastianrocca @buildasocialenterprise
