Has there ever been a moment in your life when the answer to a question that you had been pondering just hit you all of a sudden? AHA! Or even better, an answer to a big life question like “what do you want to do when you grow up?” I can still hear my primary school teachers asking me “What do you want to do when you grow up?” And for most of us, having a definitive answer to this lifelong adage can seem inadequate. Like even though we say one thing, we may not believe it in our gut. And when we can’t figure out the answer, it almost creates a sense of failure. But how do we really know what we want to do or how do we know what we are doing right now is what we want to do?
I have been pondering this question about what I want to do when I grow up for years, decades, and pretty much my entire adult life. I’ve heard people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s tell me that they are still trying to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives.
HOW I DISCOVERED MY HIGHER PURPOSE
Last October (2018), I was looking down at the Irish Sea out of my airplane window flying at 30,000 feet somewhere between Ireland and England when it hit me: I want to help others. And more specifically, I want to inspire others to become their best self. I feel that I have a gift and a passion to help others.
So I reached into my backpack, pulled out a pen and began writing on the napkin on my tray table in front of me. “My higher purpose in life is to inspire others to become their best self. To help people understand their higher purpose and align that purpose with reality as early as possible in life.” And I am dedicating the rest of my life to inspire others to take brave moves to make positive change in their lives.
Earlier this month, I reached the milestone birthday of 40 years old. And today, as I launch my personal website www.corycalvin.com, I want to announce that my personal mission is to INSPIRE OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE by the time I turn 50 years old, over the next ten years.
ADD YOURSELF TO THE INSPIRATION COUNTER
Since that life-changing airplane ride over the Irish Sea last year, it seems that many dreams that I have had throughout my life can all help achieve my goal. So I’ve written everything down on paper, and today, I want to share it with the world.
I will achieve my goal to inspire one million people through the following inspirational, eco-system:
- BOOKS: I’ve just released my #1 Best Seller “I Almost Became Me: A Memoir” (CLICK HERE to purchase) and I have a goal to finish my second book by the end of 2019.
- ONLINE COURSES: If you could spend one hour each night for one week re-evaluating your life and then creating a path to ultimate happiness, finding and living out your true passion, would you? Launching the summer of 2019, I am creating courses that will give you the tools to unlock your life and get you unstuck.
- TRANSFORMATIONAL TRAVEL EXPERIENCES: These once-in-a-lifetime experiences will change your life forever. Applicants for these trips must be at a point in life like I was at two years ago (read below): ready to make a life change! Held in exotic locations around the world, these trips are designed to help you begin building the life you have been dreaming of. The first trip is scheduled in Bali in October 2019. I launched Pivot Trip yesterday! CLICK HERE to learn more.
- SPEAKING FROM THE STAGE: My goal is to share my experiences and help others by speaking from the stage. During my work at PepsiCo, I became an expert at building ally and equality programs within organizations, and I spoke about my experiences at different workshops, conferences and events across the country. I’d like to continue this experience by spreading a message of inspiration and hope. I’m available to speak at workshops, conferences and events related to transforming your life or the lives of others. Feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn or through Facebook.
I would like to track my progress to achieve my goal of inspiring over one million people over the next ten years. On my website, I have an inspiration counter. If you have been inspired, CLICK HERE make sure you add yourself to the counter by clicking on the “I AM INSPIRED” button.
HOW I FOUND WHAT I WANT TO DO WHEN I GROW UP
I had spent years, sixteen years to be exact, building an extremely successful resume. Investment banking. Wall Street. Leading a dot.com. Franchise consulting. MBA Graduate. Turnaround strategy. Corporate finance. Fortune 50 company. Global strategy. I had followed the path that I had been taught to follow: obtain a degree, get a job, make money, have nice benefits, save for retirement, work my way up the corporate ladder, get a car, buy a home, MAKE MONEY, (and eventually retire)! Because that is what life is all about, right?
Throughout my career, everyone saw me as successful on the outside, but there were many moments where I didn’t feel successful on the inside. My gut told me that there was more to life than sitting in my cubicle creating financial models and writing strategy documents for someone else. What was my purpose in life? Why was I doing all these things that I thought that I HAD TO DO? It was what I was taught to do.
After long, frustrating days, my commute home was frequently consumed by the thought of leaving the corporate world. But then I would think to myself, “I can’t leave my job. How will I make money, save for retirement and have medical benefits if I left my job?” But the biggest question I would quietly ask myself was: “What did I want to do with the rest of my life? What job would I do that didn’t feel like work at all? What job could I earn income that didn’t feel like work?”
I would ask myself those questions and my mind went blank. I had succeeded at everything that I was trained to do throughout my life. But I wasn’t succeeding at feeling happy with my career. And it felt like my life had been defined by my career. How could I overcome the mental barrier I had created for myself? To realize there was more to life than career, money, benefits and retirement.
I was too comfortable. The money was just too good to leave. I was on auto-pilot. And since I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I just stayed. My employers wanted me to stay. They didn’t want me to think about anything else but working for them.
As I would drive to work on Monday morning, my gut shouted loudly: “LEAVE. Go be you.” The Sunday night blues mixed with the Monday morning commute and then sprinkled with late nights at the office, all made me wonder “there must be more to life than feeling this way”. I would think “all I need to do is get through the day. All I need to do is get through the week. All I need to do is get to the next three-day weekend. All I need to do is get to my next vacation.” All of these thoughts of wishing away my days, weeks, months and years.
Until one day, I had built up enough courage to say enough is enough. I decided to leave it all behind. I broke my two-year lease in New York City, packed all of my belongings into a storage unit, sold my car, and began traveling the world nonstop for over a year.
It was during this time – free from conference calls, unnecessary meetings, deadlines, etc. – where I had time to think. Time to think about my life and what I wanted. And this free time eventually led me to uncover my true passion in life. And I have made it my mission to inspire others.
STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH CORY
My personal website, www.corycalvin.com, shares everything that I am currently working on: Book, Transformational Travel, Blog, and Non-Profit. I also include some fun testimonials from people I have met around the world while traveling. From a woman, now a close friend, that I met during my trip to Antarctica (November 2017) to a taxi driver that helped me in Dublin (October 2018), I have met some incredible people around the world on my journey. And I can’t wait to meet more. Hear what they have to say by visiting my website.
If you want to receive updates when I release future books, online courses and transformational travel experiences, add your information into the form below:
I am available to speak about my journey of inspiration. Please CLICK HERE to go to my contact page and send me a note.
