In the movie, “City Slickers”, there is a scene between Mitch (Billy Crystal) and Curly (Jack Palance). In this scene, Curly shares the secret to life. The scene goes like this:
Curly: “Do you know what the secret to life is?”
Mitch: “No. What?”
Curly: “This” (Holding up index finger)
Mitch: “Your finger?”
Curly: “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean ****.”
Mitch: “That’s great, but what’s the one thing?”
Curly: “That’s what you gotta figure out.”
This one thing, when you find it, is your calling.
To find this ‘one thing’, this one primary focus for your life, you can ask yourself the following:
- “What one thing is worthy of pouring in all my talents, strengths, and my life?”
- “Is this something that I want to be remembered for?”
- “Is this something that leaves people better than when they started?”
Start with an answer, even if it’s crappy. Then keep revising your answer until you feel like you’ve really found your one thing.
Maybe, you’ve been focused on retirement. You’ve got plans to vacation all over the world, and your whole life is focused on this. So you ask, “Is this really worthy of pouring your whole life into? Will this leave people in a better place?”
So you decide a better focus would be to help homeless people. But you just can’t get excited about this. This answer sounds better, but you just doesn’t connect with it.
Helping the homeless isn’t working for you, so you revise it again. You think back to your own life. Maybe you were adopted and you had to wrestle with the thought that your biological parents rejected you. You found peace around this issue in your life, and your heart breaks every time you see someone struggle in this area. So you write down, “My one thing is to build self-esteem in people who were adopted.” Wow! Now this is something that can change the world (or at least a part of it).
Keep in mind that your one thing doesn’t have to look a certain way. It doesn’t have to be separate from your job. It doesn’t have to include your job either. It doesn’t have to be a charity. It doesn’t have to be something you start. It doesn’t have to be something you join. It doesn’t have to revolve around directly interacting with people. It doesn’t have to involve giving money. It doesn’t have to be done alone. And it doesn’t have to be something that someone else is already doing.
The only rules are it’s worth pouring your life into, it changes lives for the better, and it’s unique to you.
Have you found your one thing? Share with us, what is your one thing?
