My father told me when I was still in High School that there were two types of people who could be happy in life: People who love their jobs/careers so much that they live to work, and others who find so much reward in their lives/hobbies/families outside of the job that they work to LIVE. Having failed to pursue the sort of career that would put me in the first category, I've found a decent path towards the second. My hobbies and interests outside of work are a source of great interest and enduring satisfaction for me, but they cost money so work to live it is! At least my current career path is with a career I feel like I can do a bit of good while earning the money to enjoy my non-work life.

For my business, I did an exercise that was developed by Simon Sinek called "finding your why". At first, it seemed like an exercise is creating a business word salad...

Mine is this:

"To nurture passionate and tenacious individuals in order to build compassionate communities of integrity."

However, that is literally my purpose for doing any of the things I do professionally. I love teaching and seeing people attain competence and, sometimes, mastery. I want these people I work with to support and reinforce each other's work and to have integrity in that work. To adhere to an objective observation and not to stay purely in the subjective. And, when things get tough, help them to develop the sufficient passion, drive, and vision to see things through.

So, that's what I do. It sort of found me and I'm happiest doing that.

In my case, I found something I'm good at and stuck with it. I don't feel like it's a calling, but I like it and it pays decently. I'm not really looking for a calling - I'm not sure that everyone has one, and that's okay.

No and no, that was crushed long ago, and is not going to happen.

I know what my calling was, but it wasn’t to be, along with 99 out of a hundred with the same desire. So I settled for second best. Enjoyed it well enough. Now I’m retired, and I follow the original, but for fun. My major calling now is when the pub calls to me.

Delayed gratification is the key to realizing ones calling. Luck is being born in a free nation. For decades, actually all of my working life I delayed what I wanted at the moment. Investing long term, saving more than spending, reducing things that I needed by repurposing, improving my credit score, having enough equity to put 25% down on a property when the interest rate came down. I now rescue, rehabilitate & restore animals, habitat for wildlife. Especially dogs , cats & guinea pigs. This is my calling.

technology is just catching up to my calling! I live in the future.

I love being a machinist. Making and repairing things is definitely my calling. Although soon I will be moving up to calibration. No more cuts and burns for me. I will still be tinkering with things so it's all good. Hope to start soon on my at home machine shop. I want to build a 30'x60' building in my back yard.