A philosopher once said: What you do during work hours determines what you have; what you do in your free time determines who you are. This also illustrates the relationship between career and life's work. Work hours typically involve professional duties, while free time is for building a legacy. A legacy endures and can be passed on to others. A career is merely a means of earning a living through skills that serve people and society.
Lately, I've met many aspiring entrepreneurs and franchisees. Some hold full-time jobs yet yearn to forge new ventures while young. Yet career and calling can align or clash. If your job merely sustains survival or daily needs without addressing belonging, it isn't your calling. Finding purpose within your profession resolves this tension.
The frustrations and helplessness of the real world stem from many causes, but ultimately boil down to possessing what one does not truly seek and failing to obtain what one truly desires. Once one has a means to earn a living, life's pressures shift from mere survival to the quest for belonging. This quest for belonging can only be fulfilled through the pursuit of a life's work, not through professional achievements.
Those with jobs are content, while those with vocations are fulfilled. When vocation and career align, one experiences both contentment and fulfillment. When they clash, people suffer—a pain born from the conflict between what one possesses and where one belongs. This tension is like two eyes unable to see the same thing.
It has been said, "An eagle may sometimes fly lower than a chicken, but a chicken can never soar as high as an eagle." You are an eagle, perhaps unexpectedly placed in a chicken's social environment. From a young age, you received chicken-like nurturing and training, so your habits and mindset resemble those of a chicken. At times, you may even suffer from misunderstanding and bullying because you are not as good as a chicken, leading to pain and inferiority.One day, both you and the chickens are led to a mountain cliff's edge. As your fellow eagles chase and intimidate them, the chickens tumble into the abyss. You, however, will struggle, spread your powerful wings, and soar into the sky above the forest. In that moment of realization, you understand your true calling is flight, your home is the heavens, and living like a chicken was merely a phase before discovering your true vocation.