The Call to Lead

About the Book

Why am I here? What am I being called to do? What problems do I deeply care about? What opportunities are present for me to start addressing these problems? What skills, life lessons, passions, and natural gifts do I have that can be of service to others? These are some of the questions that this book encourages one to ask themselves.

The Call to Lead approaches these questions of purpose and calling through the Ignatian lens of self-knowledge and service to others. It encourages both students and life-long learners alike to turn passion and personal strengths into purpose to create concrete and actionable plans to address gaps present within their specific environments and contexts.

The Call to Lead: Ignatian Wisdom and the Journey to Leading uses tools from psychology, narrative theory, and business to guide each reader to discover where one’s personality, history, passions, and specific skill sets converge to reveal a specific and deeply individual vocation in transforming the landscape of work, society, and culture.

A conversation on the origins of the book and ideas on calling, purpose, and leading.

In this conversation with long-time friend and TV host, Paolo Abrera, I talk about how I learned to hear my own call to lead — and what it means for all of us who are feeling stuck, restless, or like something’s missing. If you’ve been asking, “Is this all there is?” Or wondering what you’re really here for, this might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for.

In this video we talk about:

  • What are callings? How do they show up as a desire for more, disssatisfaction with the present, a difference we want to make, and a pain point we want to address?
  • How we are all on a journey to find our place and contribution to the world.
  • How we can look at four key things in our lives to articulate our calls and find direction.
  • How listening to our inner calls brings us to our sense of purpose and initiates us into the work of leading.

Stories & Thoughts on the Call to Lead

Interviews, stories, and reflections on following calls, and living with passion and purpose.

  • Calls and the Inner Journey of the Two Halves of Life

    Calls and the Inner Journey of the Two Halves of Life

    What if the disruptions in your life were not problems to be solved but a deeper inner calling of your Self? In this interview with…

  • What are your calls?

    What are your calls?

    “What is my calling? What do I do with my life?” That question has driven what I’ve done in my life as a TV producer,…

  • Rapa Lopa & His Call to Lead

    Rapa Lopa & His Call to Lead

    Rapa was my boss in a small accelerator company where I did finance and planning work. Rapa can be seen in halls of government, corporate…

  • If You Don’t Know What You’re Passionate About

    If You Don’t Know What You’re Passionate About

    There’s also a lot of expectation when it comes to talk about passion.  It’s supposed to give us meaning, a sense of purpose, even so,…

  • Have Passion But No Plan

    Have Passion But No Plan

    But the most important thing you can and should do — and if you do nothing else, make sure you do this: TELL PEOPLE WHAT…

  • If I Could Change The World

    If I Could Change The World

    Something about that Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” always spoke to me. The song reminds me of that movie and that idea of doing something…

  • Be Careful What You Wish For

    Be Careful What You Wish For

    I first heard that warning with the Jesuits. It was often used when someone talked about what they desired and hoped to do one day.…

  • A Strategy of One Person at a Time

    A Strategy of One Person at a Time

    For some of us that’s the change strategy we’ve discovered: one person at a time, hoping that the 15 or so weeks together (in not…

  • Using Your Super Powers

    Using Your Super Powers

    This exchange on Facebook sparked some thoughts for me: Former Student: Kindness is like a super power. You have to use it for good. Me:…

  • Five Big Life Lessons

    Five Big Life Lessons

    We share the significant experiences and insights of our lives.  And I suspect for leaders, this is where they get their sense of purpose.