I loved my job as operations manager for a small investment management firm. Numbers have always been a second language to me, and the work required me to be logical, methodical, and organized—useful traits which continue to serve me well.
In my early thirties, however, writing started tugging gently and persistently on my sleeve. I threw it a bone now and then by crafting humorous bits for local radio stations and covering the comedy scene for a weekly newspaper. The tipping point came when I began selling ideas to major greeting card companies. The beast became insatiable and demanded to be fed.
My priorities shifted. The left-brain work that had once satisfied me became a distraction from the right-brain work I was now consumed with. My job performance began to suffer; soon, my responsibilities were reduced, and I eventually was shown the door. I was equal parts relieved and scared. I knew that the kind of work I needed to do no longer involved balancing bank and brokerage statements.
As I heeded the siren call of my creative muse, my new vocation began to take shape. I began writing feature articles for local magazines, advertising copy for catalog companies, and corporate writing jobs wherever I could find them.
I accepted every assignment that came my way regardless of subject matter. Delving into so many disparate topics broadened my horizons and helped me form a more cohesive view of how the business world, and society in general, worked.
As the quality of my writing improved, so did my discipline, professionalism, and work habits. And toggling between creative and business writing helped me achieve an ideal blend of left-brain and right-brain thinking that enabled me to function comfortably in whatever world I happened to find myself in. I like the idea of pairing the mind of a mathematician with the heart of a poet.
In time, it dawned on me that earning an income had produced an unanticipated outcome; I now had the tools and maturity I needed to pursue an even greater calling. The irony was poetic: Everything I had learned in my work life had prepared me for my life’s work.
ABOUT PHIL BOLSTA
Phil is the author of Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything, a collection of 45 inspiring, life-changing stories from prominent people he interviewed, including Joan Borysenko, Deepak Chopra, geneticist Dr. Francis Collins, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Dr. Larry Dossey, Wayne Dyer, Dan Millman, Caroline Myss, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Dr. Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, singer Billy Vera, Doreen Virtue, Neale Donald Walsch, and bassist Victor Wooten.
Here is a three-minute video that introduces you to Phil and his book.
Reading this book is like spending a few minutes face to face with each of the contributors and listening to their personal stories. Click here to read unsolicited testimonials from readers. Learn more by visiting the official Sixty Seconds website.
Tags: creative muse, left-brain, life's work, right livelihood, right-brain, siren call, spiritual, work life, your calling
April 21, 2009 at 1:14 AM
Dear Phil,
I find your article about right brain thinking and left brain thinking interesting. Indeed we need to use both to live a balanced life. I can relate to your storyof discovering your right brain talent and changing career.
You know I got to know about your blog because I was smitten with Charice singing ‘ I will survive’ in youtube and I found myself singing with her telling myself, yes I will survive, my true self will survive, my spirit will survive!…wanting to know more about this girl with a big voice, I went to her website and clicked her bio. I found it very impressive and wondered who has written it, so I clicked the link at the end and lo, found your blog with the headline ‘Triumph of the Spirit’. Wow this is something! I thought to myself. And as I read more about you and the other posts you’ve written, I must say that you got me hooked Phil. I just thought that here I will find kindred spirits who share my own search for what is true , good and beautiful in our world. the comment I’ve written on your post about charice was actually the first I ever made. I never posted any comment before nor participated in any discussion. I was just going through life as if in a daze – but music just keep on calling on my spirit to go beyond and move on; to see beyond the external and superficial and discover that there is more in life… thanks Phil for sharing yourself and for listening to the voice within you…I will be looking forward to reading more inspiring posts from your blogsite.
Blessings!
April 21, 2009 at 1:15 AM
Thanks so much for your kind words, jopet. You made my day! I am glad to hear that you have undertaken an inner journey that is proving to be rewarding. Keep up the great work!
September 22, 2009 at 3:29 PM
Phil, left brain-right brain thinking is not holistic; even your left and right hands were designed by God to work together. The LB-RB dichotomy works only in the Bible, you know, like so: ‘Do not let your right hand know what your left hand does.’
September 22, 2009 at 3:31 PM
Not sure what you’re saying, Frank. Holistic means whole and when you combine the left brain and right brain you get whole-brain thinking. That’s the way I’m looking at it.