Smart Women Know the Difference between a Job and a “Calling”

July 9, 2010 By Joy Chudacoff

I am fortunate to spend time with a lot of Smart Women. A topic that comes up on a regular basis is this idea of a job vs. a “calling.” What’s the difference? How do you know what a “calling” is? Jobs are something that we do in our lives to keep ourselves and our families together. A “calling” is when our true purpose, our life’s work, is discovered.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Smart Women Articles Tagged With: , , , , ,

Smart Women Love, Give……and Have Fears

November 12, 2009 By Joy Chudacoff

This morning, as I sit here at my desk looking out the window at a beautiful, 11-12-09Article[2] sunny fall day, I’m a bit at a loss on how to begin this article. This article isn’t any different from the others I share with you each week. As usual, it’s about my own life and the reflections that I believe are helpful to other Smart Women. This article is about loving deeply, giving gifts and feeling fear along the way. Sounds like something all women deal with—yes?

Over the last few months, I’ve been going through testing at UCLA Medical Center here in Los Angeles to determine if I might be a possible match to donate one of my kidneys to my husband, Greg. Greg has Polycystic Kidney Disease and one of the affects is possible kidney failure over time. His kidney function has steadily been declining and we’ve known for some time that this day would come. What we didn’t know until now, is that I am, in fact, a match! On Tuesday, December 1, we will go together to UCLA Medical Center where I will undergo a procedure to remove one of my healthy kidneys and Greg will receive that kidney so he can feel healthy, energetic and enjoy life to the fullest once again.

Why do I tell you this story? Because what I’m going through right now holds many similarities for women. Women love. Women give. Women have fears. Some days I want to go jump in my bed, pull the covers over my head, go to sleep and wake up to realize that this has been a bad dream. Do you think I’m scared? You bet. Do I have anxiety? Of course. Will I feel the fear and do it anyway? Absolutely. How do you feel the fear and do it anyway? I’m sure, as you are sitting here reading this, you are thinking about some fears that you have, right? And it’s possible that you haven’t been able to overcome that fear yet.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Smart Women Articles Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Smart Women Know the Difference between a Job and a “Calling”

September 26, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

I am fortunate to spend time with a lot of Smart Women.  A topic that comes up on a regular basis is this idea of a job vs. a “calling.”  What’s the difference?  How do you know what a “calling” is?  Jobs are something that we do in our lives to keep ourselves and our families together.  A “calling” is when our true purpose, our life’s work, is discovered.

I think most women would prefer a “calling” rather than a job.  Why?  Because jobs are too small for us.  We are destined to do something more meaningful with our lives, our gifts.  So why do we resist?  Well, jobs are critical.  We do need to “earn a living.”  And “earning a living” gets in the way of the exploration to look for and reveal our “calling.”

We hesitate to answer the call from our authentic self, especially as we move into midlife.  We become torn by the realities of being mothers and daughters—of taking care of our children and possibly our aging parents.  We also become susceptible to accepting comfort and predictability.  Predictability is typically the choice we make because, well, it’s predictable.  We have a guarantee.  Making a new or different choice creates an unknown, a mystery of sorts.  Many women will ask the question, “Is it possible that I do not have a calling”?  The truth is, we are all chosen.  We all get the call.  The challenge is making a decision to embrace your “calling” once you make this marvelous discovery.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Tips, Have The Life You Love!, Inspirational Messages, Smart Women Articles Tagged With: , , , , ,