1. A Quest and a Call
Barrett Values Centre CTT Conference
Gregg Vanourek
June 2014
2. What is your quest?
Where are you going?
And why?
3. David was on a political quest.
And so it was surprising
when he said no to the White House.
“I am large.
I contain multitudes.”
–Walt Whitman
4. My Dad’s quest after grad school:
“I WANT TO RUN SOMETHING.”
My quest after college:
“I WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL.”
5. A message from
Warren’s soul:
ARE YOU THERE?
ARE YOU YOU?
ARE YOU READY?
(“It’s time to bake”)
6. Kimberly at a crossroads:
“This is not me….
I was killing my soul.”
7. Gerald at 2 a.m. in London staring at the abyss:
Am I a good husband, father, son, brother, citizen,
or just a good businessman?
“I’m never going to give myself those grades again.”
8. Your quest may be wrong for you.
It may actually be toxic.
“Failure’s hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you’re
successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money
and opportunity can lock you in forever.” –Po Bronson
Have you ever been on a quest in life or work
that was wrong for you?
9. “Let your
life speak”
-George Fox
Quaker saying
Some time when the
river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made.
Ask me whether what I
have done is my life.
-William Stafford, “Ask Me”
10. “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it,
listen for what it intends to do with you…. Before I can
tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my
life telling me who I am. I must listen for the truths and
values at the heart of my own identity, not the standards
by which I must live—but the standards by which I
cannot help but live it I am living my own life.”
-Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
12. Burnout:
“It is not enough to be busy;
so are the ants.
The question is,
what are we busy about?”
–Thoreau
How many of us
are productive but miserable?
Are you tired of being tired?
14. “In life itself, there is a time to seek inner peace, a time
to rid oneself of tension and anxiety. The moment
comes when the striving must let up, when wisdom
says, “Be quiet.” You’ll be surprised how the world
keeps on revolving without your pushing it. And
you’ll be surprised how much stronger you are the
next time you decide to push.” -John W. Gardner
15. What is your quest?
Does it still serve you? Does it fill you up or drain you?
Is it time to pivot from the willful quest of ego
to the deeper calling of your soul?
Do you hear a call? Are you answering it?
