One of my favorite Zen Buddhist stories—so beloved that I’ve shared it before—tells of a novice monk who arrives at the monastery and stands before the head monk on his first day. “Before you reach enlightenment,” the master says, “you will chop wood and carry water.” So the young monk obeys.
Day after day, year after year, he chops wood and carries water. The labor is grueling. He dreams of the day when, as an enlightened teacher or contemplative, he’ll no longer need to toil with blistered hands and aching muscles. He imagines a life of wisdom, peace, and purpose—indoors, seated in meditation.
Decades pass. Through relentless effort and devotion, the monk attains mastery. He stands once more before the aging abbot, now himself a Zen master. With quiet pride, he asks, “I have faithfully done my work all these years. Now that I am enlightened, what will my task be?”
The old monk smiles and replies, “Chop wood. Carry water.”
This story comes to mind often this time of year, when students embarking on their careers ask me about the idea of work as a calling. My answer is always the same: Don’t wait for your calling to find you with the perfect job. Instead, transform whatever job you have into the path toward your calling.
You don’t have to be a career-obsessed overachiever to believe that work should mean more than just a paycheck or a means to survive. In Genesis, God places Adam in the Garden of Eden “to dress it and keep it.” Even in paradise, humanity’s first task was to work, not to lounge. Though the Bible doesn’t say Adam’s labor was easy or joyful, it clearly was meaningful. To tend the garden was to live in the image of the Creator.
Hinduism echoes this sentiment: “By performing one’s natural occupation, one worships the Creator from whom all living beings have come.” Across spiritual traditions, work is not a curse—it is a sacred act.
Even in modern secular life, people seek a sense of vocation—a transcendent summons to their profession. Career counselors are trained to help clients uncover this deeper pull because people crave it. Psychologists have studied this phenomenon extensively. In 2005, researchers at Boston University distinguished between “objective careers”—chosen for practical reasons like salary—and “subjective careers,” pursued out of a sense of calling. They found that those driven by calling experience greater fulfillment, even during difficult times. On the worst days, you might quit a job—but you don’t abandon your calling, because it chose you.
Success in an objective career is measured by money, power, or prestige. But success in a subjective career runs deeper—it’s tied to meaning. Studies show that people who strongly agree with statements like “I understand my calling in my career” report higher levels of life satisfaction. Their work becomes a purpose vehicle, not an obstacle to it. And it’s precisely that sense of purpose that gives life its deepest meaning.
It’s tempting to think that the most fortunate people are those born knowing their calling. You might look at a gifted athlete or a brilliant musician and assume they were blessed with certainty. But that assumption is flawed. Children who pursue a talent early can easily grow disillusioned. I know this firsthand: From age 8, I believed the classical French horn was my calling. For twelve years, I pursued it relentlessly. By 28, it felt less like a vocation and more like a cage.
The truth is, the secret isn’t finding the perfect job—it’s making *whatever* job you have into your calling. This transformation involves three key steps:
### 1. Look Within
Begin by identifying what economists call “intrinsic compensation”—the internal rewards of your work, such as personal growth, creativity, and connection. These contrast with “extrinsic compensation”: salary, status, benefits. While extrinsic rewards are necessary, intrinsic ones give work its soul.
Research consistently shows that when people are intrinsically motivated, they enjoy their jobs more, perform better, and stay longer. This applies beyond work: Students who solve puzzles for fun persist longer than those working for grades. Relationships thrive when kindness flows from love, not obligation.
### 2. Focus on Fascination
A powerful form of intrinsic motivation is interest. Evolutionarily, curiosity helped humans survive—it drove exploration and learning. Seek work that genuinely fascinates you. What captivates one person may bore another: One of my sons thrives as a data scientist; the other loves construction management. Neither could imagine doing the other’s job—or mine.
Of course, many people take jobs out of necessity, not passion. No job is endlessly interesting. But even in a role taken out of survival, you can often discover pockets of fascination. A musician friend, temporarily working in food service while auditioning for orchestras, turned his shift into a field study of human behavior, recording observations each night like an anthropologist.
### 3. Be That Person
Another vital source of intrinsic reward is service to others. Workplaces with strong cultures of mutual support and generosity tend to have the highest morale. Helping colleagues—even in small ways—can elevate your own sense of purpose.
One young man once told me he felt trapped in a cubicle, surrounded by disengaged coworkers. I encouraged him to start small: bring someone coffee, send a note of appreciation, offer help unprompted. Being generous, I said, would change how he saw himself—and his job.
When I left music behind in my 30s to switch careers, I feared I’d simply be trading one dissatisfaction for another. But what I do now feels deeply like my calling. Still, I realize now that if I’d read this very advice back then, I might have found far more meaning in my musical life.
I could have embraced the joy of playing some of history’s greatest compositions. I could have deepened my curiosity about the composers and their world. I could have lifted the spirits of fellow musicians through simple acts of kindness.
Finding a calling isn’t about the literal act of chopping wood or carrying water. It’s about how we *make* those actions meaningful. It’s in how we serve others through our daily work. That, the Zen master knew, is the true path to enlightenment.