Finding Yourself Takes a Search Party
Exercise 8: Building Your Search Party - Called for Adventure: 12 Exercises to Discover and Live Your Life’s Calling
Exercise 8: Building Your Search Party
Called for Adventure: 12 Exercises to Discover and Live Your Life’s Calling
This is part of a 12-exercise journey to help you discover and live your life’s calling.
If you’re new here, start with Exercise 1: Committing to the Process to get oriented.
We’ve spent the last several weeks looking inward — at your big story, your origins, your successes, your turning points, and your imagination.
Now it’s time to look outward.
Because you can’t do this alone.
No One Finds Their Calling Solo
Every great story has allies.
Luke had Leia, Han, and Obi-Wan.
Frodo had Sam, Gandalf, and the Fellowship.
Dorothy had Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion.
(Or Rose, Blanche and Sophia depending on your Dorothy preference.)
When you’re stepping into a new adventure, there will be dragons.
And you need people who will walk beside you when you meet them.
Most of us have been taught to think of “calling” as a solo project — something deeply personal that we must figure out alone.
But that’s rarely how it works.
Calling is discovered in relationship.
It’s refined in conversation.
And it’s lived out in community.
Today’s exercise is about identifying the people who will make up your Search Party — the small, intentional group who can help you navigate the next chapter of your life.
Four Roles in Your Search Party
In every great story, the hero meets a few key types of characters.
Your life is no different.
Here are the four kinds of people you’ll need in your Search Party:
1. Encouragers
The people who believe in you when you forget how to believe in yourself.
They see your potential, speak life into your ideas, and remind you of who you really are when you lose confidence.
2. Truth-Tellers
The ones who love you enough to tell you the truth.
They’ll call out your blind spots, hold you accountable, and challenge you to stay authentic. Their honesty is a gift — even when it stings.
3. Mentors (or Guides)
People who’ve walked a similar path before you.
They carry hard-earned wisdom — and they’re generous enough to share it.
You don’t have to imitate their life, but you can learn from their experience.
4. Fellow Travelers
Peers who are also on a similar journey — people who understand what it’s like to be in the messy middle. You share progress, swap stories, and remind each other that nobody’s got it all figured out.
Your Work: Build Your Search Party
Grab your journal and draw a simple circle.
In the center, write My Search Party.
Then, around that circle, make four smaller circles labeled:
Encouragers, Truth-Tellers, Mentors, and Fellow Travelers.
Start filling in names.
Don’t get too legalistic about the categories.
If someone comes to mind, they belong on your page somewhere.
And if someone fits in multiple circles — even better.
Once your circles feel complete, here’s your next big step:
Choose three people from your list — any three you want — the ones you most want to share your progress with.
Now reach out to them today.
Text, email, or call. Let them know you’ve been doing some personal and professional reflection and would love to share what you’ve been working on.
Make it clear that:
You’re not in crisis.
You’re not asking for money or inviting them into anything.
You simply value their perspective and would love their input.
If they live near you and you have the means, buy them coffee, a drink, or lunch.
If not, set up a Zoom or phone call.
Almost everyone will say yes.
If someone doesn’t, that’s fine — thank them politely and move on.
Ideally, schedule these conversations for next week or later, because the next exercise — Seeing Your Map — will give you the material to share with them.
If your circle feels small and you only have one person right now, that’s okay. Start there. This isn’t about quantity.
It’s about connection.
Why It Matters
Your calling isn’t found in isolation.
It’s discovered in the sacred tension between who you are becoming and the people who see you clearly as you change.
You need voices that remind you who you are when you forget.
You need companions who won’t let you drift back to comfort.
You need a search party.
Because no one finds themselves alone.
How You Can Help Support My Life Calling
I’m called to help people understand their calling and live out their next great adventure. For the first time, I am offering my most valuable content in this series at no charge so that anyone who wants to find their life calling can do so.
But I also have real financial needs.
If you have the means and find my work valuable, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or supporting me through the methods below.
Thank you all for being a supporter (and for being a friend.)
I apologize in advance that this song will now be in your head all day. :)