The inspiration for this post was a hike with my friend Alan Briggs, my friend and mentor, helping me discern my path forward in a complex time of life. I freakin’ love Alan!!! We walked up and down Palmer Park for an hour and a half yesterday, deep in conversation, and I got to be the gracious recipient of his Superpower of adventure, clarity, and exhortation against the backdrop of a beautiful summer evening.
The Magic of Calling
There are people in this world who are so dialed into who they are and what they do, that it looks and feels like magic. It's the magic that happens when skill, experience, and focus converge together into Calling.
The Power of Naming and Repetition
I meet extraordinary and gifted people all the time. But it's more rare to meet people who:
Have put in the time to understand their gift and give it a name.
Have put in their "10,000 hours" in the intentional exercise of that gift.
Alan the Sherpa
For my friend Alan Briggs, it happened after years of exercising his gift of clarity, galvanizing, and guidance, until he began to see patterns and create a repeatable system.
He's like a mountain Sherpa. He has been far enough up the mountain that he knows the way. He meets people where they're at, then helps them navigate the twists and turns to get to higher ground. He did that for me.
My book and this newsletter are a some of the fruits of him doing that for me.
What Is Calling?
This newsletter is part of my Superpower Quest. I am fascinated and obsessed with people who have discovered the intersection between their Identity, Design (Superpower), and Experience. The intersection of those three is Calling.
Calling is the focused, intentional leveraging of your deepest being in a direction. Everyone has a Calling. Few people find it. Fewer people name it. Fewer still get the thousands of intentional reps required for it to manifest as a genius.
A Life of Connection
Over the last few years, (I’m Patient Zero of the SPQ framework) I have been pressing into my Calling as a Creative Connector, Hearer and Holder of Hearts, with rising intensity. My Superpower Statement is “Authentic Connection for Mutual Progress.”
I've gotten to the place where the majority of my waking hours are spent in Connection.
I’m seeing CRAZY results. Most recently, I got to introduce two influential authors who had a major impact on my life, recommending that they meet and collaborate. It happened. They did a podcast episode together.
Watching these two juggernauts of faith and wisdom effortlessly interact, and have a beautiful, meaningful conversation that will impact the hearts of many, was a magical moment for me. One of those moments where I got to taste the fruit from the tree that has been growing inside me.
I’ve always been a Connector, even when I didn’t know it. But the unveiling happens in stages. It goes from instinct, to clarity/naming, to intentional exercise, to genius.
You have genius inside you. Where are you in your Superpower journey?
Keep Going
You have a Calling. A big, beautiful, mysterious something, inviting you forward, beckoning to be understood, named, and intentionally exercised. Don't give up, my friend. Keep looking, keep asking, keep refining. Keep risking. Keep trying. You are a beautiful treasure. You are an unexplored wilderness.
Life is beautiful.
You are called to Adventure.
Let’s go!
Niche Community Updates
Please check out (and sign up for) niche communities that fit your passions, so you can connect with people who have like passions!!!!! I created a Communities page so you can easily see the niche communities of benefit I am creating, using the principles of the Superpower Quest! communities.johnnylevy.com
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Marketing Superpowers. Tyler Krause | SEO & Traffic Powerhouse
Pivot Crew. The Four Pillars of Career Transition
Kingdom Conversations. Chris Skaggs | Video Games as Sacred Storytelling
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