Quote · On Purpose with Jay Shetty
John Mackey: Not Sure You're on the Right Path In Your Career? (Use THIS Framework When You Feel Lost About What's Next)
Where this was said
Confronting Your Inner Critic
At 32:55 · chapter starts 30:36
Jay Shetty raises one of the most common listener anxieties: 'I don't know what my passion is.' He acknowledges that this is a real, painful place to be — not an abstract philosophical problem but a daily source of distress. Mackey's answer is both practical and philosophical. The most direct route is spiritual practice — meditation, breathwork — but for those not ready for that, joy is the clue [1] — John Mackey "Joy signals you're on the right path: Mackey says the surest signal you're following your true calling is experiencing joy, discovery, crea…" 32:53 . When Mackey moved into the Prana House co-op and encountered natural and organic food, he couldn't stop learning about it. That insatiable curiosity, that fire — that is what a soul on its right path feels like. You know when you're there because you're happy and creative and playing. You know when you've strayed because those feelings disappear. Mackey also shares the personal cost of staying on his path: his mother died in 1987 believing her son was a failure because a grocer without a college degree didn't match her definition of success. But Mackey was on his hero's journey and it was giving him joy — and that, he says, is how you know.
When people ask how to find their passion, Mackey says joy is the clue. His food awakening — where he couldn't stop learning about organic agriculture — was his signal. When you're on the right path, you feel happiness, creativity, discovery, and play. When those disappear, you've strayed.
Mackey says the surest signal you're following your true calling is experiencing joy, discovery, creativity, and play — and their absence signals you're off course.
