Taking that leap forward to follow your spiritual calling, can seem a little scary at first. Incredibly scary actually, to be completely honest. But where it leads you is such a wonderful place. It takes you to an elevated state of mind. You start seeing your life from a whole new perspective as you open your mind and your heart at the same time. You learn how to shut your ego up and how to allow that inner voice to get into the driver’s seat.
Everything changes. And not in a magical, easy way at first. When you gather your courage to follow your spiritual calling, you’ll very likely face some challenging situations. When you finally have enough faith in yourself and start taking action, your spiritual development accelerates in a way that you can’t prepare for.
What triggers your spiritual calling?
“Just because something is good it doesn’t mean it’s extraordinary. Extraordinary, as when you do something that fulfils your heart entirely”
This was a sentence that really stood out for me from Adorján Illés, who decided to quit his IT engineering job to go on a 4-year adventure to follow his calling. His spiritual journey turned into a physical one as well: he travelled to 39 countries on his bicycle, pedalling 28200 miles (45000 km).
He faced multiple challenges while cycling 62 miles (100 km) each day. His bicycle was 110 lbs (50kg) with his sleeping bag and tent. His own development journey manifested in tough physical scenarios, especially in the first 6 months.
But how did this all start and why am I telling you all this? First of all, I truly believe in the power of real-life stories. No jazzed-up angles, no sales pitches, just raw, authentic stories of other changemakers out there. Perhaps reading Adorján’s story will inspire you to follow your spiritual calling on your own terms. And secondly, I came across his story when it was published on a Hungarian media platform (I have Hungarian roots in case you didn’t know), and I felt this inner calling to connect with this soul. I simply messaged him on social media and a few days later we were having a blast on Zoom. Yes, just like that. Simply because I took action when I listened to my inner voice.
So here’s a real-life story of how it looks like when you actually follow your spiritual calling
Adorján didn’t just start travelling because he had nothing else to do. He had a job that he actually liked but he started feeling that he wanted to do something more.
“I didn’t feel fulfilment. I wanted to be more creative and use my wings. And do everything that I love. One of my trigger points was that I went to a Tony Robbins seminar in 2014 in London. It taught me that everything is about mindset, conditioning and faith. Faith in myself”
From that moment he started to have more faith in himself and started taking action more. One of them was quitting his job to allow his true calling to come to the surface. When he resigned in 2014, he wasn’t quite sure what will come next. Oh, that sounds way too familiar to me when I suddenly quit my CEO job in 2018 without a plan B. I just felt that I needed a drastic change to realign myself (spoiler alert: I ended up living in a jungle in Sri Lanka for a while.)
But back to Adorján.
He started paying attention to his spiritual development at the age of 28: meditating, attending retreats and learning about psychology and energy healing. He learned a lot during those 4 years before he took off on his physical journey at the age of 32. During his trip, his spiritual knowledge skyrocketed. It was a different level of learning.
When he finally started cycling around the world, his body had to adjust to the extreme conditions. He had to get used to the physical challenges. It took him about 6 months to conquer his body with his mind. By the time he reached India, 6 months after starting his journey from Hungary. During this time, he crossed steep mountains and dealt with different weather conditions. The highest point of his journey was in Tajikistan, at 15200 ft (4650 m) above sea level with a lack of oxygen and below zero temperatures.
6 months for his body and mind to come together before he could fully enjoy his journey physically as well. Let this be a reminder to you that inner transformation doesn’t come overnight. He was clear on his mission and whys. He believed that he can do this, no matter what.
I was curious to find out whether he got impatient with himself through his journey. Not just the physical one but I was more interested in his inner, spiritual journey.
“Sometimes yes, it can be a labyrinth. When you start your spiritual journey, you’ll probably find gurus and people who are more advanced in some topics than you are. You might feel like you’re not good enough. Because here’s this person who manifests $1 million in 1 day and I cannot, so I’m little and not enough. But I learnt how to accept myself and my own pace.
The main thing is to enjoy the present. It’s ok if you have goals and if you have feelings in your heart what you want to be manifested, but it’s also important to be in the present moment.”
He’s so right. Sometimes we end up comparing our journeys to others. This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that anyone can do along their journey. Stop comparing yourself to others. You’re meant to be walking your path and going through your own spiritual journey. Someone else’s life has nothing to do with you.
“I learnt that life is FOR me. This means that everything happens in order to learn something or in order to open my heart more. And to also open my mind. To accept life as it is.
To accept everyone,
including myself.”
The challenges of spiritual development
Once you take that leap forward and start following your spiritual calling, your whole spiritual development explodes in a way that you can’t even explain. The downside of that though (at least what I see within the spiritual community) is that some of your relationships will also transform. Some of them will phase out or abruptly end.
Why does this keep happening? Because when you follow your spiritual calling, you are changing so quickly and deeply as a person internally. You are growing so rapidly, that there might be some people around you who can’t keep up. They don’t change at the same pace and they might end up leaving your life. No one really prepares you for this.
Another downside is that some of your friends or relatives might think you went crazy. It’s perfectly ok when these things happen to you during your spiritual development.
As you are growing and evolving, you are no longer the person you used to be and not everyone will be on the same wavelength as you are. And not staying the same person, should be the whole point for all of us: to keep bettering ourselves day by day. It’s ok when some of your relationships change during your personal growth.
So when Adorján decided to cycle around the world for 4 years obviously he also experienced these challenges as well. But he was also meeting so many wonderful people during his journey who made a lasting impact on him.
The positive outcomes of following your calling
When you step onto your authentic path, you’ll be surrounded by experiences that leave a permanent imprint on your heart. Somehow you end up connecting with people who have inspiring stories. Maybe it’s just because you’re more aware of your surroundings and you really learn to listen.
I remember when I went travelling into uncertainty back in 2018, I kept crossing paths with amazing people who truly inspired me. From the taxi driver to the Airbnb host to the random stranger in the restaurant that I eventually shared my table with. When you open yourself to seeing people for who they really are, some kind of magic happens.
I couldn’t help myself to find out who left a lasting impact on Adorján during his 4-year journey.
Turns out it happened when he was cycling across Nullarbor Plain desert in Australia (which is by the way 808 miles /1300 km).
“I was cycling one way and then from the opposite direction, there was this guy running towards me. We met in the middle. He had nothing, just a pair of sunglasses and a big smile on his face. I asked him if he wanted some water or anything but he said no and we started having a conversation. He introduced himself and said he was running every day for nearly a year. The day I met him was his 330th day. He didn’t take any rest days, he was running every day. His daily average was 50 kms (31 miles). So basically every day, he ran a marathon. He was 63 years old.”
This inspiring gentleman was Serge Girard, who simply proves the point that no matter how old you are, you can live out your dreams, no matter what. When you know your whys and are clear on your mission, your journey becomes enjoyable, fun and liberating.
Adorján was also clear on his mission. He had 3 of them during his journey:
- To know himself better
- To plant trees
- To take photos of people with honest smiles
Oh yes, not only he cycled for 28200 miles (45000 km) he was also planting trees and capturing genuine happiness on camera. What an inspiring person!
He returned to Europe in 2019 and since then he published a book of those authentic happy moments, while also supporting companies with coaching and mentoring.
If that was not enough, he also works with individuals helping them use their intuition and energies in a positive way.
“I can believe in myself and I love humanity, I love everybody. One of my gifts is that I can see in you and everybody the magic, the miracle. Even if you don’t believe in yourself and your magic. I also love to work with intuition because I believe that intuition is the wisest part of ourselves. Somehow, it knows everything.”
This is just a fraction of his story, I could go on forever. I honestly love connecting with such changemakers as Adorján. If you also felt that buzz in you to connect with him, you can do so right here.
