In today’s fast-paced world, many of us are navigating careers, responsibilities, and aspirations without ever truly discovering our calling. That undeniable pull towards a specific vocation or way of life is often overshadowed by the demands and expectations of everyday life. In this episode of “Miranda,” aptly titled “Own Your Calling – Part 1,” host Miranda Von Frickin dives deep into understanding our calling and the importance of living it out fully. Here, let’s unveil the essence of discovering and owning your calling, as per Miranda’s compelling narrative.

Understanding Your Calling

The Essence of a Calling

Your calling is that indescribable pull towards a particular mission, vision, or lifestyle that you can’t envision living without. It’s unique to each individual—something that makes you want to leap out of bed each morning. It’s not just about loving what you do; it’s about feeling an intense, almost spiritual connection to your work or passion.

As children, our vision of what we want to become is pure and uninhibited, whether it’s a veterinarian, a lawyer, or even a dolphin trainer, as Miranda humorously reflects on her own childhood aspirations. While rarely do these youthful dreams translate directly into our adult professions, the essence of our calling remains within us, subtly guiding us.

Identifying Your Calling

Reflect on Past and Present Experiences

One the most effective ways to identify your calling is to reflect on your past and present experiences. Miranda suggests a practical exercise where you list all your jobs from your very first gig to your current role. Each job, no matter how seemingly insignificant, contributes a building block that points toward your true calling.

For example, Miranda shares her diverse career path—from working at McDonald’s to being a DJ, a marketing executive at MTV, and eventually a recruiter. Each role involved talking and expressing herself, which aligned perfectly with her ultimate calling as a speaker, coach, and podcaster.

Signs You’re Ignoring Your Calling

Physical and Emotional Distress

Ignoring your calling can lead to significant adverse effects, manifesting physically, emotionally, and mentally. Miranda recounts her struggles when she felt misaligned with her true purpose, leading to stress, anxiety, and even physical health issues. If you find yourself dragging through your days, feeling unfulfilled, or experiencing frequent physical ailments, it may be a sign that you’re not living your calling.

The Importance of Environment

Right Environment vs. Wrong Environment

The environment plays a crucial role in either nurturing or stifling your calling. In the past, Miranda found herself in environments that didn’t encourage individuality or the expression of her full potential. A stifling environment can dim your light and hinder personal and professional growth. Conversely, being in a supportive environment fuels your energy and helps you thrive.

The Consequences of Ignoring the Call

The Universe Will Keep Nudging You

When you consistently ignore the call of the universe, it won’t hesitate to intervene forcefully. Miranda shares her experiences of being laid off multiple times, signaling that the universe was nudging her towards her true calling. Instead of resisting, recognizing these nudges can open the door to living your purpose.

Shifting Perspectives

From Jealousy to Gratitude

Ignoring your calling can also negatively impact your outlook on life. Jealousy over others’ successes and a lack of gratitude for your achievements may start creeping in. Miranda recalls moments when she felt bitterness over not receiving deserved recognition, showcasing how being out of alignment with her calling distorted her perspective.

Preparing to Answer the Call

Plan and Strategize

Recognizing and answering your call isn’t about making abrupt changes but rather about strategic planning. Miranda advocates creating a plan to transition into your calling. Whether it’s volunteering, part-time engagement, or any step that gets you closer to your calling without jeopardizing your current stability, taking action is essential.

Final Thoughts

Embrace the Journey

To sum up, discovering and living out your calling is about more than just career satisfaction—it’s about leading a fulfilling, purpose-driven life. Through self-reflection, understanding the signs of misalignment, and strategic planning, you can move towards owning your awesome. As Miranda highlights, whether you fully know your calling or are still on the journey of discovery, the path you’re on is valid and worth pursuing.

Stay tuned for the next part of this exploration, where we delve into preparing yourself to answer the call and ultimately, owning your awesome. Until then, keep reflecting, keep planning, and keep stepping towards your unique purpose.

Transcript:

Miranda [00:00:01]:
Hello. Hello. And welcome to another episode of Own Your Awesome. I’m your host, Miranda Von Frickin. Today, we’re talking all about our calling, not just owning our awesome, but living out our awesome by way of calling. Do you have a specific skill, talent, mission, vision that has been put on your heart that is just indescribable. You feel so called, so pulled towards this way of being, this vocation, this lifestyle that you can’t imagine your life looking any different or doing anything other than this one thing in your life. That, my friend, is a calling.

Miranda [00:00:52]:
If you don’t feel like you wanna jump out of bed every single day I mean, life isn’t perfect. Let’s be honest. However, if you don’t feel like you wanna jump out of bed every day and run towards this thing, then you’re doing it wrong. And I wanna help you do it right. So when I surveyed some of my people on LinkedIn or on social media or friends or clients, I asked them if they were living out their calling. Before defining it, of course, you have to define it for yourself, just like we define success differently. Everyone’s calling is gonna be completely different. But when I said, are you living out your calling, the reason that you’ve been put on this earth, most of them didn’t even know what it was, and that was crazy to me.

Miranda [00:01:43]:
But I I once wasn’t sure. I mean, as kids were asked about, you know, what vocation we want to to be a part of and what do we wanna be when we grow up. And for me, originally, it was a veterinarian. Then it became a dolphin trainer, then a lawyer. I actually wanted to be a judge. I didn’t want to be a lawyer, but I had to be in order to become a judge. The dolphin trainer was probably my most fun, the one I kept the longest. Same with when I asked my young daughter, what do you wanna be when you grow up? It used to be a baker or, you know, something a little more fun, frivolous.

Miranda [00:02:21]:
Although being a baker would be phenomenal, I would eat everything. And so when we’re younger, we’ve got this bright eyed, very childlike vision of what we wanna be when we grow up, and it’s really rare to live out the life that we set out to as children. It’s very rare. I think I know one person in my world who said they wanted to do one thing when they were a kid and became it as an adult. That is super rare. So don’t feel if you’re not living what you wanted to as a child that you’re way off because I, for 1, am not. But I’m pretty close, not to the dolphin training, but to another passion I had for myself. Growing up, I loved to talk.

Miranda [00:03:08]:
I often was told I talked too much. I mean, shout out to the leaders. That’s how I roll. And and boo to the teachers who always said I talk too much or interrupted in class. I just had something really important to say, and they just couldn’t handle my awesome. Clearly, I was owning my awesome at a very young age, and I know you were too. However, when I say I liked to talk, it was, again, childlike, silly, frivolous. Like, just wanted to to say everything I felt all the time.

Miranda [00:03:40]:
It wasn’t until I was a little older that I started to study the art of, well, not talking, but speaking on stages, communications. My undergrad is in communications. I had no idea that actually I would end up being a public speaker, a coach, a podcaster when I was younger. But, you know, who did? And I’m gonna get a little woo here. I’m gonna get all faith filled because, you know, I love me some Jesus. God knew when he created me what I was gonna be when I grew up. So he led me to the paths that created the life I live today. Now whether you love God or you call it universe or spirit guide, whatever you feel that guides your way, our intuition, whatever it is, it already knows.

Miranda [00:04:29]:
It’s inside of you. So if you’re of the group that’s not quite sure what your calling is, but you know what you’re doing is not it, you’re still on the right path. Everything you’ve been doing is going to lead you to where you want to go. If you wanna skip a few years and get there a little sooner, keep listening and maybe even DM me, and we’ll talk. So for me, god knew from the start what I was meant to do. He put me in certain places and environment that became building blocks to the work I do today. Now, in my 9 to 5 life, I had been in marketing. I worked for MTV, launched a television station.

Miranda [00:05:15]:
My internships out of college were at TV stations. I worked for the it was called the WB back in the day, News Channel 6 for a little bit here locally. And then, of course, went to MTV, worked at the limited brands in Manhattan, came back, was a DJ on a radio station. Like, all of these things, they’re all talking, expressing myself, right, creatively. So still didn’t know it then, but it was a building block to what I was doing today. There is this exercise I do with my students that I work with when I used to adjunct instruct at colleges. It was a career course. So what I used to do is have them lay out every job they’ve ever had from their first one at McDonald’s to their current one, whatever it is they’re doing.

Miranda [00:05:57]:
And a lot of these students were adult learners, so they had a nice list. And I would say, what’s one thing that you would consider a building block to get you to where you are or where you’re going? Even if for myself, McDonald’s was my first job. And I remember the moment I realized the more I worked, the more money I made. I know it sounds very basic, but I think I made 525 back then. Don’t Google my age. But the the more I worked, the more my paycheck was. So I really learned the value of working actually, it was time for money, which is not how I roll these days. However, it it gave me a really good work ethic and made me excited to work more because I would bring in more of the reward.

Miranda [00:06:44]:
So the harder I worked, the more I would get rewarded in via the paycheck. So that’s kind of what I learned super early on. But then in the middle of my career, like jobs as a radio DJ, jobs working and marketing at MTV, And then even as a recruiter, when I came back from Manhattan and lived back here locally in upstate New York, I became a recruiter. And as a recruiter, all you do is talk. You talk to people who need jobs and you talk to jobs who need people. And it was just continuously using my brain and my heart and my gift of gab to be able to create what I call magic, but connections between the employee and the employer. And I just kind of fell often. I called it.

Miranda [00:07:27]:
I would fall into these career paths. I fell into being a recruiter. I fell into being a career director. I fell into being an in house talent acquisition manager. I I fell because, technically, all of these jobs kind of led one into another. It wasn’t until I started to really see the pattern that I was doing the things or pieces of the things that I was meant to do. So today, when we talk about our calling, it’s kind of a twofold conversation. 1, what have you already been doing in your world that can compound into where you wanna go? What can you pull out of your past experiences and your current experiences to to help you get to where you’re going? Now the second one, of course, is if you if you don’t know and you’re not really sure, this is really gonna help you to start to paint a picture.

Miranda [00:08:20]:
If you know exactly where you’re going and you’re just not living it out, that’s a whole different conversation, but I’ll tap into it. So probably around, I’d say, 2015 ish, I knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I also knew I needed my 6 figure income benefits, 401 k, PTO, all the things. So in 2015 was the first time I experienced the universe being done with my crap and saying, girl, you’re taking too long. You’re taking too long. I’ve put you on a path. You know what you’re meant to do. Why are you ignoring it? So I had a little divine intervention in 2015, and I had my first layoff.

Miranda [00:09:06]:
Now I say first layoff because there was 3 more that followed. Eek. That’s what happens, though, when you don’t follow your calling. Things stop working out. I’m curious if any of you are feeling that these days. In your career, are things just not working out for you even though you feel like they should? It’s probably the universe nudging you just a little to remind you you’re either going off path too far or you’re ignoring the path you know you should be on. So what happens when you ignore the call? Well, if you know exactly what you’re meant to do and you feel it in your bones, you couldn’t spend another day not doing it and you’re not actually living it out. These are often my clients that are 9 to fivers who want to go into entrepreneurship or they work in a a for profit and they maybe should be working in a nonprofit, they’re usually doing something out of obligation.

Miranda [00:10:07]:
Like, they fell into the job or they work for family and they it’s just what they’ve always done, so they’re scared to kind of transition into what they’re meant to do. Here are 3 things that I realized, really semi mid level in my career, that I realize these things happen if you ignore the calling on your life. The first thing that happens is it starts to affect other areas. So your home life, physically, mentally. It’s affecting you at work, of course, and it’s affecting you internally with your self esteem and confidence level. I realized very early on when I knew what I was meant to be doing but kind of ignoring it, maybe I dabbled a little. I started side hustling, coaching on the side, speaking at different events, but it wasn’t I wasn’t really giving it the attention that I should have been. I was just really resting on that 9 to 5 life that I had been living.

Miranda [00:11:04]:
And I started to realize it was weighing me down, right? I was starting to dim my light. I wasn’t owning my awesome back in those days because I just felt like too much. And if I’m being completely honest and I know some of you can resonate with this, I was in the wrong environment. I was I was not in an environment that encouraged individuality, that did not encourage me to be as extra as I am. It did not let me take chances or risk, different skill sets that I wanted to work in and just keep to the ones that I was hired to do. So I was in the wrong environment. And because of that, it affect how I felt. It affected my mood.

Miranda [00:11:52]:
It affected how I treated my family. It affected how successful I was. I had been getting promotions for a little bit in the first, I’d say, couple of years. But then after, you know, a little bit of time, I stopped climbing because it just wasn’t fulfilling anymore. Like, the work wasn’t what I was meant to be doing. I was just doing it because I had to. So it also affected me physically. I remember one of my jobs, I would have the worst physical effects.

Miranda [00:12:20]:
Right? I would break out like crazy. I think I started losing a little bit of my hair because of stress. I I started having some anxiety, some belly issues. Like, it was physically affecting me going to this place every day. And it wasn’t the people. I loved loved the people. They were my girls. But it just the work itself and the treatment and the expectations and what I thought was lack of support, But it probably wasn’t lack of support.

Miranda [00:12:48]:
It was probably just me, like, not leaning into it because it wasn’t for me. So that’s one thing that happens when you start to ignore the call, when you know what you’re made to do when you’re not doing it, or you don’t know what you’re meant to do and you feel off, these things are probably happening. It’s because you’re not living out your calling. They start to affect other areas. It happened a lot physically for me. It happened a lot for me internally. I started, like, talking down to myself a little bit more. I started having low confidence, poor self esteem.

Miranda [00:13:24]:
Just I started making decisions that that I would never make, and I certainly would never let my daughter make. So that’s one thing I try to look at. Am I doing what I’m doing today, would I allow my daughter to do that to herself or to her career or to hold back? Nope. Sure wouldn’t. I would make sure that she does everything she needs to possibly to be exactly who she is and the environment she’s meant to be in and doing the work she’s called to do. So if I wouldn’t let her hold back, why would I let myself? Right? So if for those of you who’ve got any little ones out there, try to put it into that perspective. So when you ignore the call, it affects every other area in your life. So take a quick scan of your home life, your physical life, your emotional, spiritual life.

Miranda [00:14:07]:
What’s happening? Is it all out of whack? Maybe it’s because you’re not following your calling. The second thing it does, I realized, is that your perspective changes. You’re I am a very positive, happy go lucky, happy for everybody kinda girl, but I started getting jealous of other people’s successes, other people’s promotions. I started getting annoyed when I wasn’t winning awards, and I’m like, you guys are crazy. That award was mine, and I would, like, find evidence to support it. I I remember there was one company who would give out awards based on values, and nobody had a better better value connection to 1 or 2 of these values that we had than I did. At least that’s what I thought. And I remember one day after the award announcement, I had, like, 3 or 4 people either email me or walk up to me and say, I voted for you for blah blah blah.

Miranda [00:14:57]:
I can’t believe you didn’t win. That’s crazy. And I’m like, yeah. It is it is crazy, isn’t it? And I started, like, taking notes as to, like, who said they voted for me, and I was so mad. And I was seriously gonna go to somebody, but I just I kept it in, and I got so angry. So I became a little jealous. I became a little bitter. I I also became less grateful and less focused on what I currently had.

Miranda [00:15:23]:
And there’s a client I’m working with currently that’s in a very similar position where they’re just they’re not as grateful. I remember when they first got the job that they’re currently in, and they cried. It was like the world was changing. This allowed so many things for them to to happen in their world. It opened so many doors. It just confirmed all the awesomeness that they were, and they felt amazing. Fast forward 3 or so years, they’re every time they get a walk in the building, they’ll send me a text and say, I can’t believe I’m walking in this building. And I’m like, when are we gonna make a change? Right? I just started working with this client again, so, obviously, we’re gonna make some changes for them.

Miranda [00:16:05]:
However, you start to have a a perspective shift. Things are no longer fantastic like they used to be. Now, of course, when you get a job, it’s not always gonna be roses and rainbows. Right? Like, let’s be honest, like, it’s called a job. It’s called work. However, when you’re doing your calling, your life’s calling, it’s it there’s it’s rare that you have those days that you don’t wanna walk in. Those are more the rarity where when it becomes the norm, that’s when it’s time for a shift. So you start seeing changes in all areas of your life.

Miranda [00:16:39]:
Your perspective changes. And the third thing that I realized, and this was a big one, is when the universe is knocking and saying, hey, girl, you’re supposed to be doing this and you ignore it, it will knock you down. If you don’t answer the call, it will find a way to make sure you do. So for me, it was layoffs. Laid off once in 2015, rocked my whole world. I I didn’t understand it. I was just shocked. 2018, laid off again, completely shocked because I drank the Kool Aid.

Miranda [00:17:14]:
I started to actually, you know, buy into the organization and really change my lifestyle based on their needs. And I think God recognized that and said, uh-oh, she’s too far off the path. You can be happy at work, but it’s one thing to go so far off. You’re becoming somebody you’re not meant to be in this life. 2019, laid off again. This one, I knew something was off. This was I remember walking into this job, and I I looked up and I said, god, on day 1, I said, god, if this is not for me, I hear you. 3rd time’s the charm, and I wasn’t testing him.

Miranda [00:17:51]:
I wasn’t testing the universe. I just knew. I knew what was happening. I knew on my core, these weren’t the rules for me. I saw it after the second one. I had a taste of entrepreneurship after that first layoff. And by the time the third one came, I was just ready, but I didn’t do a couple things to set myself up, and that’s what we’ll talk about next. Setting yourself up to accept the call on your life.

Miranda [00:18:18]:
You know what? I wonder if I should save this for our next show. Maybe we’ll save it for the next. This will be a part tour, a part 1, a part 2. So, really, today, I just want you to think about what is the calling on your life? Do you know what it is? And if you do know what it is, are you following it? Have you answered the call, or are you avoiding it? 2, if you know exactly if you don’t know what it is, let’s go find it. Let’s do an audit. Let’s do that past exercise I talked about. Let’s figure out what the calling is because we’re all here for a very specific reason. We’re not here to just pay bills, to get a 9 to 5, to pack our kids’ lunches, and to sit in a rocking chair and watch Netflix as as an old people.

Miranda [00:19:06]:
We’re just not. We’re put on this earth for a very specific reason. If you don’t know what it is, I can help you find it. Let’s have a conversation. If you do know what it is and you’re dabbling and you’re not going all in, that’s a different conversation. We need to really focus in or you need to focus in on some real strong strategies to figure out all the things that you can use as a foundation, as stepping stones from your previous and current experiences to help catapult you into your calling. If you are where I was before the universe knocked me down and you need the 401 k, you need the salary, you need the benefits, I get it. I’m never gonna tell you to quit your job with just just leave everybody hanging and not not feed your family.

Miranda [00:19:53]:
I’m gonna tell you to get a plan in place. Start doing things a little bit small, one step at a time to get you one step closer to living out your calling. Get yourself in that environment, even if it’s part time, volunteer basis. That way you’re around the people and the environment and the energy of your calling so you can start to watch things unfold before you and set up a plan. Now if you know exactly what you’re meant to do, where I was when I got to that 3rd job that I got laid off from, you know exactly what you’re meant to do and you’re just flat out ignoring it, you need a harsh wake up call. I’ve been there. It’s bad. Nobody likes it.

Miranda [00:20:34]:
Your hair looks messy. You gain all the weight. You break out. You feel crazy. It is not the life for you. I want you to know that there is something better out there for you and you you already know what it is. I want you to follow it. I want you to pick up the phone when the when the call is coming in.

Miranda [00:20:53]:
Every time you’re around what it is you’re meant to do, you feel alive, there’s that spark within you, you feel called and pulled to it more and more every single day. You’re just ignoring it because you’re scared. The only reason you’re scared is because you haven’t prepared, and that’s what we’re gonna talk about next week, preparing yourself to answer the call that’s been put on your life so you can ultimately own your awesome. Thank you, friends, so much for listening in. If you enjoyed this part 1, stay tuned next week for part 2. And if you kinda wanna be a little part of the show, shoot me a DM on Instagram. I’m at Miranda dot Von Frickin. Talk to me about your calling.

Miranda [00:21:34]:
What is your calling? What what area are you in? Are you you’re not sure. You kinda know when you’re dabbling, or you full on know when you’re just not following. Tell me where you are. Tell me what the calling is so we can go back and forth, and maybe maybe I’ll bring a little bit of specifics to you in part 2. All right, friends, until next time. Keep owning your awesome. Have a great day.