Rule 66: Answer the Call

[July 12, 2026]  As we walk through life, as we normally do, there are things that will call out to us.  If we pursue them, they will take us on a deep journey.  It doesn’t matter so much what calls; what matters most is that we pursue it and we pursue it.  And that pursuit means that if we do so without reservation, we will be transformed into a better person, capable of achieving what is essentially unimaginable.  That’s the answer to the call.

The call can come from any direction, virtually from anywhere; we just have to pursue it with sufficient effort and faith in our abilities.  The sacrifices we make cannot be half measures. If we give it our all, if we bring everything to the table, then our sacrifice to that calling might just be acceptable, and we will be blessed with the outcome.  That’s what God tells Cain.  He says, “If you do well, you will be accepted.”  But in that story, God punishes Cain for offering half-measures in sacrifice.

We cannot get away with inadequate sacrifices.  Do we actually think we can offer half-measures and expect them to work? Has that ever worked in our past?  Has any second-rate offering ever turned out to be something we were proud of when we look back on it?  We all look back at our past to find evidence that we made a worthy offering that produced an outcome that was good; good by our own definition and by those around us.  That certainly can show us the enlightened direction when we are in a dark place.

We can ask ourselves what would happen if we were to do this all the time; to make the rightful full-measured sacrifice, our best effort, our full commitment. This is the burden of responsibility, and it may weigh heavily upon us. That means the best path forward is to take on the largest burdens we can carry. Doing so matures us. It improves and deepens the meaning of our lives.  It also improves things around us. It turns out that if we take responsibility, aim to improve our own lives and the lives of others, and work diligently, we not only improve our lives but also make things better around us.  

That is the justification for our existence.

Yet when we organize ourselves around the highest aim, our existence reveals itself as a set of challenges and problems.  If we solve them properly, we stay on the pathway toward that aim.  This pursuit is a way of living.  Orient toward the highest good.  The alternative is bleak, even bleaker than we can imagine.  Don’t waste your life trying to avoid this great responsibility.

If we configure our lives so that what we are genuinely doing is making a full, all-in sacrifice while aiming at the highest possible good, then the things we need to live and thrive each day will be delivered to us.  If we dare to do the most difficult thing we can conceive and make the proper offerings, our lives will work out better than if we do anything else.  The logical question is, How are we going to find out if that’s true?  The answer to this crucial question is that it’s a leap of faith.  There is no way we can find out if this is true unless we do it.  

We can only know it if we answer the call.

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NOTE: Many of these ideas today are from Dr. Jordan Peterson.

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Please read my books:

1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).