By Brianna Wiest
Most books about creative work teach you how to do it. However, Great Callings asks why you have not started yet.
The point is not to “make it”. The point is to let the work shape you. Walk toward the fire and let it forge you. Then say, “This is what I saw when I was alive”.
Why Great Callings stands apart
Great Callings is Wiest’s most focused book. She wrote it specifically for people who carry a sense of creative purpose they have not yet fully answered. While The Mountain Is You confronts self-sabotage across life, The Pivot Year offers daily language for becoming. By contrast, Great Callings speaks directly to people who know they are meant to build, write, create, or lead something. Yet they still find reasons to wait.
Wiest identifies the barriers with remarkable precision. She explores the fear of being seen and resistance disguised as preparation. She also examines the need for external validation before beginning. In addition, she addresses distraction as a form of avoidance and the inherited belief that suffering or struggle must come before worthwhile work. She then reframes each barrier. Rather than treating them as proof that you are not ready, she presents them as invitations to deepen your clarity and resilience.
A calling is not waiting for you
Drawing on some of history’s greatest artists and thinkers, she argues that your calling is not waiting for you to become worthy of it. Instead, it has been waiting for you to stop preparing and start living it.
Readers describe the writing as poetic and contemplative. It is longer and more meditative than The Pivot Year. As a result, readers can enjoy it slowly and return to it over time. Great Callings has found a devoted audience among writers, designers, entrepreneurs, coaches, and anyone building something they believe in. Many readers also connect with its message because they cannot fully explain why their work matters so deeply to them.
Perfect for readers who:
- Are creatives, artists, writers or entrepreneurs who feel called to something they keep putting off.
- Struggle with fear of visibility, perfectionism, or waiting until conditions are “right”.
- Have read The Pivot Year and want Wiest’s next evolution in depth and contemplation.
- Are looking for a book about purpose and creative courage that does not feel like a productivity manual.
- Want a meaningful, beautifully written gift for a friend in the early stages of building something brave.
About the author
Brianna Wiest is the bestselling author of 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, The Mountain Is You, The Pivot Year, and more. Her books have sold millions of copies. They regularly appear on global bestseller lists. They are also being translated into more than 40 languages. She holds a B.A. in English from Elizabethtown College. She also received an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the same institution.
- PUBLISHER | Thought Catalog |
- ISBN | 978-196582013 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R300.00 |
- Classification | Motivational |
