The Art of Work by Jeff Goins EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Jeff Goins
- Publish Date: March 24, 2015
- Language: English
- Genre: Job Hunting & Career Guides
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Pages: 240
- Price: Free
- ISBN: 978-0718022075
Preparation
ONE
Listening to Your Life
The Call to Something Old,
Not New
Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it,
I must listen to my life telling me who I am.
—PARKER PALMER
You don’t “just know” what your calling is.
You must listen for clues along the way,
discovering what your life can tell you.
Awareness comes with practice.
The halls of Emory Hospital were particularly busy that day as Jody Noland
navigated the crowds to locate her friend’s room. She brushed past people visiting
their loved ones, and a queasy thought came to her: How could something so
terrible be happening to Larry?
Larry Elliott had recently decided to reprioritize his life, selling his successful
insurance business to serve hurting children in the world. It began with serving
alongside his wife, Bev, as houseparents at a children’s home in Alabama but had
led to a leadership position at another children’s home outside of Atlanta. He was
changing gears in what he thought would be the second half of his life, but he had
much less time than he realized.
Larry and Bev decided to take their family on a long-awaited vacation to
Europe. This was a chance to spend some quality time together and reconnect with
their kids. It was a trip everyone was looking forward to.
The pain started on the flight to Italy, beginning with a throbbing sensation
between Larry’s temples. In Florence, a CAT scan revealed a mass in his brain, and
the family was forced to end the vacation prematurely. On the flight home, the pilot
had to fly at a lower altitude to minimize the amount of pressure in Larry’s head.
The next morning, he was scheduled to go into surgery. At forty-eight years old,
Larry was battling a brain tumor.
His room wasn’t that difficult to find, as Jody later recalled in her book: “It was
the one where people overflowed into the hallway.”
1 There was not enough space
to fit all the friends he had accumulated in his lifetime. And in spite of the pain,
Larry did his best to comfort his visitors.
There was a sense of urgency to his demeanor that day. At one point, he asked
his wife if she’d brought a pen and paper, something that seemed odd to Jody. Later
she asked Bev what that was about, and Bev explained that Larry wanted to write a
letter to each of their children before going into surgery. He didn’t know if he
would make it out alive and wanted to express his love, affirming what was so
unique and special about each of his children.
Larry lived another nine months before ultimately losing his life to cancer.
That same year, Jody lost two other friends who were both in their forties and
passed away without warning. The deaths came as a shock to everyone. As Jody
watched three grieving families, she thought of the comfort Larry’s words had
provided his family.
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