The Second Question
Your job pays the bills. Your calling finds your people.
Let’s face it: we do some things in life because we have to and some things because we want to.
When it comes to your career, the perfect world is where those come together like a beautiful Venn diagram.
The differences fascinate me. Hosting a morning radio show for decades, I would frequently ask callers to the show, “What do you do?” And my follow-up was often, “Do you enjoy it?”
It broke my heart when the majority of callers would groan at that second question. Driving home from the radio station, I would quietly express gratitude to the universe that my profession intersected with my vocation.
For years, I didn’t understand the difference between those two—in fact, I thought of ‘vocation’ as just a synonym for ‘profession.’ It’s not.
The word sprang from the Latin vocare, or “to call.” Today, we think of it as your “calling.” Teaching may be your profession, but your desire to educate young people is your vocation.
Hosting radio shows was my profession; my vocation was to entertain people and give them something to think about during their drive to work.
Where This Gets Personal
Writers may have one basic profession—write to make a living—but one writer’s vocation could be drastically different from another. Personally, I feel like a storyteller. Other writers seek to educate. Some write to invoke laughter. Some simply like to piss off anyone who doesn’t agree with them politically.
Hey, I consider that a vocation.
It’s important for you to separate the two in your own head, no matter what your profession. When you clearly understand what brings you joy, you may be better able to apply yourself to a particular profession.
And if you’re in the arts, especially writing, having a clear vision can pave an otherwise bumpy road for you.
When I first set out to produce a spy series, I took my love of thriller novels and aimed for an audience that also enjoyed science and humor. My vocation was to provide escapist adventure for people who didn’t take thrillers too seriously.
When I wrote the Galahad series for young adults, I simply channeled 12-year-old me, recalling the rollicking sci-fi stories I enjoyed at that time. Those books weren’t written for some vast audience “out there.” They were written to entertain juvenile Dom.
But that’s the real secret. Writing the things that would entertain you will often be the books that find their people. People like you—as frightening as that may seem. Because while strangers can admire what you make, only your people will feel it.
You have a profession. That’s the paycheck. Your vocation is the part where somebody, somewhere, realizes they’re not alone.
Dom Testa writes fiction and nonfiction, and still hasn't figured out which one is the day job.
Find most of his books at DomTestaBooks.com.