This insightful video delves into the profound question of personal calling and the intrinsic gifts each individual possesses. It explores the journey of self-discovery, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and expressing one’s unique talents. The author shares personal anecdotes, illustrating how early experiences shape individual strengths. The narrative touches on the significance of being authentic in the workplace, fostering a sense of self-expression and purpose. Rooted in the author’s journey as a storyteller and amateur magician, the video encourages readers to reflect on their innate abilities and consider how they can contribute meaningfully to the world.
Transcript
So now we go to question number four, what calls me. And here’s how it works from two directions. What calls you from inside. What calls out from inside of you. What are the gifts? Charisms and the Greek charism. What have you been graced with? What are you really good at that you don’t remember learning? Isn’t that a fabulous question? My son the rapper gave me that question David some years ago. What are you really good at? That you never learned? I don’t know where I learned. Whatever it is I’m doing here with you, I have no idea. I didn’t go to a seminar or read a book or anything. From the time I was probably 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 years old in my family, with my pop being an alcoholic newspaper man, I turned into a storyteller. And I was a I was an amateur magician when I was 11, 12 years old. I still do. I was professional for a while. Don’t ask me to do it. This is the only magic I’m going to do with you. Here is what I’m doing, hopefully. But basically when I when I realized what I learned to do as a young boy was to be the court jester, remember the kings had the jester who would say funny things but deliver a message to the king and hope that he didn’t get killed.
He spoke truth to power in a clever way, and I learned. I don’t know where this came from, but I would tell stories to the family about the family. It was brilliant, this little guy, God bless him. Little Johnny got me really in this, you know, dysfunctional family. He figured out a way to to to distance himself from the pain of being in that situation and make some kind of a positive contribution. Unbelievable. I’m grateful to that little boy every day because I’m standing here with you. Because of him. So what are you? What have you been graced with? What gifts are in you that are bone deep? That if you don’t get to express them, what’s the point of being here? In Central and Eastern Europe. When I say this, people start to cry because in the old days code for under communism you did not do anything that was precious to you. You did not speak to anyone about except a very, very small circle of friends and your family. And here comes this guy saying that you can actually be yourself at work. In fact, that’s what you should be at work. It’s a classroom where you get to practice being who you are. What a concept.
And when people get that, they cry because it’s such a radical thought. And that’s why I’m still there. Because I still have a message. I think when that message, when I’m useless and start to fail, I’ll go somewhere else. Go to Macedonia and help them. Can I get an amen? Remember I said earlier that there’s two parts to what calls you. What calls you from inside? What do you suppose the second one is? What calls me from outside? Okay, if it was just from inside, it would be. We’d all be pretty self centered. I remember my grandma telling me, Johnny, somebody who’s all wrapped up in themselves makes a very small package. I got that with my oatmeal, man. That’s a that was hammered into me. So here you are. Sorry, but looks like you got your 1960s pants going there. All right. You know your bell bottoms there. What is the need or the possibility in the world that calls you and that you are perfectly designed to address? What is the need in the world that you are perfectly designed to address? All your hang ups and everything? What’s the difference if you walk in a room and with a bunch of people and people, just by virtue of being in your presence, something happens in them.
What would you hope would be what would be happening in them? And it’s usually a verb. So what I love about the Hebrew language, there are no abstract nouns in Hebrew. That’s Greek. Greek is a bunch of abstractions. Hebrew is a happening. It’s all verbs. Nouns are all verbs happening. So are you awakening? Would you want to awaken people? Inspire, guide, teach? You know, open. You know, what do you what are you on this planet? What do you bring? We have a thing in our in our intensive. We do a process here called your greater purpose statement. And you end up with one of these on a card, you know. So in case you forget it and you remember who you are and and mine says, my simple presence breaks trances, illuminates the path, and awakens us all to a larger experience of life. I’m a spiritual warrior, unleashing the human spirit at work, starting with my own. So that’s my greater purpose. It’s been that way for a number of years. So what is it? Mine is awakening, breaking, trances. Illuminating. So what is it? Talk with your partner. Now. What is it that you bring? What is the need in the world that you personally, I think I’m perfectly designed to do whatever it is. Whatever this is, I don’t even know what to call it.
It’s not training. It’s not. It’s not a keynote speech. It’s kind of like preaching. Only you know what I mean. It’s. You know, my colleague Amy is a is a Buddhist. She was born in Hong Kong and moved to the UK. And at a moment like this, she’d say, preach on, John, preach on. So but so I don’t know what this is, but whatever it is, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I just know it. All right. So what is that for? You see, if you can just. And this is not a thing that has an answer. You’re just going to start a conversation with your partner. Ready? Five minutes. Ready to go. These are questions that you should be asking for the for the rest of your life. Okay, continue. I think we are. I think we’re sent here. Yes. I’m just making this up. Who knows? This is probably not true, but this is the way I see it. We were sent here with an assignment. A three part assignment. One is to continually discover and develop who we are as an individual. I don’t have a slide for this. This just sort of came up. Secondly, express that fully into the world. Third, in a way that contributes to life.