All of these people mentioned here prove that following your career calling could lead to success even if you are already working in a completely different field at first.
The sooner you decide to follow your career dreams and aspirations, the easier and happier life would be for you in the long run! It is never too late to follow your true calling and here are examples that should inspire you.
AKSHAY KUMAR
The ‘Khiladi’ and heartthrob of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar was born with the name Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia in the small city of Amritsar in Punjab. Although he always aspired to be an actor or performer, Akshay Kumar had very humble beginnings. As a teenager, being a fan of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, he went to Bangkok, Thailand to learn martial arts where he also worked as a cook and waiter at a local restaurant to make ends meet. After returning to Mumbai, he was recommended a modelling assignment because of his now obvious good looks. Hence he became a model, and then later an actor. The rest is history.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
The Austrian-American star, now almost 69, never stuck to a single career. He started out his life as a professional bodybuilder and became the best bodybuilder the world had ever seen. He was the youngest Mr. Universe at the tender age of 20, and a 7-time Mr. Olympia, which is the highest bodybuilding honour in the world. He further moved into acting and became one of the most famous Hollywood movie stars. He starred in blockbusters movies like the Terminator Series, Commando and many more. Arnold then transitioned into becoming a politician, and was associated with the American Republican Party, and served two full terms as the Governor of California. He is a good example of a person who, through dedication, hard work and drive, found success in whatever he pursued.
BOMAN IRANI
He started out work at his family wafer shop, which measured 10 by 4.5 feet, where he fried potato wafers on a large furnace. Boman Irani’s story is one struggle eventually leading up to the discovery of true career calling. He has proved that age is but a number, and it’s never too late, as he stepped into acting at the age of forty. Before switching to acting full time, he was also a fairly successful professional photographer. However, it was Bollywood where Boman finally found bliss, and gained critical acclaim, with national awards to back his tremendous talent.
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ELLEN DEGENERES
Emmy-winning talk show host Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, a New Orleans suburb. She began her career as a speech therapist to become one of the most phenomenal comedians of America. She held a wide variety of jobs until she turned to stand-up comedy, making her bones at small clubs and coffee-houses, before working her way up to emcee Clyde’s Comedy Club in 1981. Today her talk show hosts influential celebrities, including the likes of like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and many more.
JAY-Z
From being a legendary rapper and music producer to a full-fledged business whizz, Jay is one of his kind! His clothing line is no short-lived celebrity spin-off as he built up the brand, sold the rights for $240 million, and still oversees the creative side of the business. From owning a chain of clubs, to selling high-end beauty products, to being a sports manager, Jay’s career is quite surprising! True calling for Jay-Z however initially came in the music industry which eventually led for him to become a successful businessman.
KEN JEONG
Holding a medical degree at the University of North Carolina, Ken Jeong, pursued his interest in comedy while completing his residency in internal medicine in New Orleans. Best known as Mr. Chow from The Hangover, actor and comedian Ken Jeong first earned his MD from the American University and began his practice as a physician. In 2007, after a string of stand-up jobs on the side, Jeong made his first feature-film debut in ‘Knocked Up’ as a doctor.
MAHATMA GANDHI
Mohandas K. Gandhi left his law practice in South Africa when he realized that he should be spending his life helping this world from the demons of racism and inequality. He found his true calling in rural India to serve the common man. Hence, he fought for the independence of India, and is widely known for his propagation of peace and swadeshi. He later came to be known as ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, the ‘father of the nation’.
POPE FRANCIS
When he was still known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis studied chemistry, and worked as a chemical technician. According to the Vatican, Bergoglio taught literature and psychology at Immaculate Conception College, and also taught the same subjects at the Colegio del Salvatore in Buenos Aires in 1966. He studied theology and received a degree from the Colegio of San José from 1967 to 1970, and finished his doctoral thesis in theology in Freiburg, Germany in 1986. He was declared as Pope at the age of 76 in 2013.
SYLVESTER STALLONE
Sylvester Stallone, in his early days, attended a special high school for troubled youth. After graduating, Stallone eventually went on to college, and further worked as a deli-counter assistant and a lion cage cleaner. Before stepping into the boxing ring, actor Sylvester Stallone was earning $1.12 an hour at the Central Park Zoo, among some other not-so-glamorous jobs. He later went on to become one of the most popular, successful and highest-paid actors in Hollywood, having done blockbusters like The Rocky series, and many more. Clearly acting and performing were his true calling.
THOMAS EDISON
Edison became a telegraph operator after he saved three-year-old Jimmie MacKenzie from being struck by a runaway train. Thomas Edison secretly conducted experiments in his office at the Western Union, until one night in 1867, he spilt some acid that ate through his entire floor. He got fired and decided to pursue inventing full-time. Edison received his first patent two years later, for the electric vote recorder. He later became a prolific inventor, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. More significant than the number of Edison’s patents was the widespread impact of his inventions: electric light and power-utilised sound recording and motion pictures all established major new industries worldwide. Edisons true calling came in inventing things that changed the world.
VICTORIA BECKHAM
From a pop star to a world-renowned designer, Victoria Beckham has been a profound singer and now, fashion designer. She was always interested in fashion even when she was Posh Spice in the British pop-group, Spice Girls. She then married famous English footballer, David Beckham and came out with her own fashion catalogue. Now with a flagship store on London’s prestigious Dover Street, she’s a high-end Fashion Designer, and it is safe to say that she has surely left her singing career behind to concentrate on her fashion business, which was definitely her true calling.
WALT DISNEY
Before moving on to entrepreneurship and the world of animation, Walt Disney, started off as a newspaper editor. However, success didn’t come on a platter for Walt. The founder of The Walt Disney Company wasn’t a very good newspaper editor, and was apparently fired because he lacked imagination and creativity. Then, he started off with creating his own animation characters and created Mickey Mouse, arguably the most popular cartoon character in the world. There was no looking back after that. Today Disney Inc. is an $88 Billion company, with 14 amusement parks throughout the world based on his cartoons and animated characters.
So what’s your true calling?