Dr. Arianna Molloy, a calling researcher and author of *Healthy Calling*, joins to explore the hidden costs of pursuing a true calling. She highlights the importance of humility in achieving sustainable success and shares four key elements of a genuine calling. The discussion includes practical strategies to prevent burnout, such as setting boundaries and embracing creative rest. Arianna emphasizes that true fulfillment comes from understanding our relationship with work and community, and encourages listeners to prioritize well-being alongside their passions.
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insights INSIGHT
Calling Defined
Calling is about contributing positively to others, not self-serving compulsions.
It combines meaning, a perceived caller, passion, skills, and community impact.
insights INSIGHT
Hidden Meaning in Work
Reframing work reveals hidden meaning and purpose, even in seemingly mundane jobs.
A dentist's calling isn't fixing teeth, but instilling confidence and connection.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Chick-fil-A's Personhood Focus
Chick-fil-A's video highlights seeing customers as people with stories, not just transactions.
Recognizing personhood transforms work and customer experience.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In 'Free to Focus,' Michael Hyatt presents a comprehensive productivity system designed to help readers manage their time and energy more effectively. The book emphasizes the importance of focus, outlining a three-phase approach: Stop (formulate, evaluate, rejuvenate), Cut (eliminate non-essentials), and Act (build momentum). Hyatt introduces the 'Freedom Compass,' which categorizes tasks into zones such as the Desire Zone, Drudgery Zone, Distraction Zone, and Disinterest Zone, to help readers prioritize tasks that align with their passions and skills. The book aims to help professionals achieve a better work-life balance by doing more of what they love and less of what they don't.
Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work
Ariana Molloy
The Whole-Brain Child
12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
Tina Payne Bryson
Daniel J. Siegel
This book offers 12 revolutionary strategies to help parents nurture their child's developing mind. It introduces the concepts of the 'upstairs brain' (higher-order cognitive functions) and the 'downstairs brain' (more primal emotional responses), emphasizing the importance of integrating these two brain regions for self-regulation and wise decision-making. The authors provide age-appropriate strategies to deal with day-to-day struggles, help children integrate their memories, and build positive, nurturing relationships. The book also highlights the value of viewing mistakes as opportunities for growth and teaching important skills through everyday parenting challenges[2][4][5].
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
Jim Collins
In 'Good to Great,' Jim Collins and his research team investigate why some companies achieve long-term greatness while others do not. The book identifies key concepts such as Level 5 Leadership, the Hedgehog Concept, a Culture of Discipline, and the Flywheel Effect. These principles are derived from a comprehensive study comparing companies that made the leap to greatness with those that did not. The research highlights that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance but rather a result of conscious choice and discipline. The book provides practical insights and case studies to help businesses and leaders understand and apply these principles to achieve sustained greatness.
The Ideal Team Player
How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues
Patrick Lencioni
In this book, Patrick Lencioni explains how to identify and cultivate the three essential virtues of an ideal team player. The story follows Jeff Shanley, a leader who must restore his uncle’s company’s cultural commitment to teamwork by identifying and building a culture around the virtues of humility, hunger, and smarts. Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for leaders, HR professionals, and team members to create a culture of teamwork. Ideal team players are described as humble (sharing credit and emphasizing team over self), hungry (self-motivated and diligent), and smart (emotionally intelligent with common sense about people)[1][3][5].
Make Your Job a Calling
Make Your Job a Calling
Ryan Dick and Brian Duffy
What is a calling? How does it shape our work and life? What’s the hidden cost of pursuing it (and what can we do about it)? In this engaging, high-energy conversation, Michael and Megan sit down with Dr. Arianna Molloy—calling researcher, author, and professor—to unpack the power and pitfalls of purpose-driven work.
Arianna reveals the four key elements of a true calling, practical safeguards to prevent burnout, and three concrete shifts anyone in any field can make to start experiencing a greater sense of purpose and meaning at work. She also explains why humility—not just passion—is the key to sustainable success. If you’ve ever struggled to balance meaningful work with a healthy life, this episode is a must-listen.
Memorable Quotes
“Burnout from a calling isn’t just, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.’ It’s, ‘I don’t know who I am anymore.’”
“To learn how to rest well, to learn how to have good boundaries actually protects that healthy sense of your calling.”
“It is so important that work is not all that you have and all that you are because, guess what? At the end of the day, [your work] is going to change and shift… If we hold that with a closed hand, it’s not going to go well.”
“[Calling is] really relational. It’s a relationship with yourself, the caller, and it’s a relationship with the community that you impact.”
“Most of the time, [calling] happens upon reflection… In the moment, it’s not so obvious. This subtle sense of peace, or just a feeling like, ‘I think this is right.’”
“We don’t honor that need and importance of play as much as we could.”
“The lynchpin is humility. Part of humility is the willingness to learn more, to know that you don’t know everything and that is not a threat—it’s actually exciting.”
Key Takeaways
The Bright and Dark Sides of Calling. A strong sense of purpose can fuel motivation, but without boundaries, it can also lead to burnout and identity loss.
The Four Elements of a True Calling. Calling isn’t just about passion—it requires meaning, an identified caller, skill development, and a connection to community.
How to Reframe Your Work. Even if your current job doesn’t feel like a calling, job crafting—adjusting your tasks, relationships, or mindset—can create a deeper sense of meaning.
The Role (and Definition) of Humility. True calling requires both confidence in your strengths and an openness to growth and makes it possible to step away from work without guilt.
The Power of Rest. Sustainable success isn’t just about doing more—it’s about recognizing your limits and practicing the right kind of rest to restore energy and creativity.
The Double Win 
