--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be a CEO is a calling. You should not…" description: "\"To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling, and you have got to be involved in it with your head, heart and ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg" --- # To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it… ![“To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling, and you have got to be involved in it with your head, heart and hands. Your heart has got to be in the job; you got to love what you do; it consumes you. And if you are not willing to get into the CEO job that…” quote by Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg) > “To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling, and you have got to be involved in it with your head, heart and hands. Your heart has got to be in the job; you got to love what you do; it consumes you. And if you are not willing to get into the CEO job that way, there is no point getting into it.” [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being a CEO requires deep passion and total commitment, not just a professional role. **In simple terms:** CEO work needs heart, mind, and hands fully engaged. Key Takeaway Lead with love and total involvement. Themes leadership purpose commitment Mood determined inspired Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - executive recruitment - startup leadership - career transition - personal development Key Concepts organizational behavior authenticity identity career purpose Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel called to lead? - How can you align heart and mind in your work? A Different Perspective Passion alone may not compensate for lack of skill or experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ceo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceo/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [For David Halberstam journalism was a calling, not a job. You couldn't fire him and he wouldn't quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-marshall/for-david-halberstam-journalism-was-a-calling-not-a-job-you-couldn-t/) [Josh Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-marshall/) > [“Vocation is more a calling than a job”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-widmer-the-pope-and-the-ceo/vocation-is-more-a-calling-than-a-job/) Andreas Widmer The Pope and the CEO > [Calling it your job don't make it right, boss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donn-pierce/calling-it-your-job-don-t-make-it-right-boss/) Donn Pierce > [“This is how 99% of people select their jobs: pay, work environment, hours. But that's the point. Putting lifestyle first is how you find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/this-is-how-99-of-people-select-their-jobs-pay-work-environment-hours/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [When you gotta go out and make a movie to pay for the kid's private school and for the three ex-wives, don't talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/when-you-gotta-go-out-and-make-a-movie-to-pay-for-the-kid-s-private/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [“Indeed, this is how 99 percent of people select their jobs: pay, work environment, hours. But that’s the point. Putting lifestyle first is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/indeed-this-is-how-99-percent-of-people-select-their-jobs-pay-work/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [Entrepreneurship is not a job, nor even a calling - but a hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-johnson/entrepreneurship-is-not-a-job-nor-even-a-calling-but-a-hunger/) [Luke Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-johnson/) > [I'm really not a person who consumes a lot. I don't have a sports car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/i-m-really-not-a-person-who-consumes-a-lot-i-don-t-have-a-sports-car/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [“Fire consumes.' Lord Beric stood behind them, and there was something in his voice that silenced Thoros at once. 'It consumes, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/fire-consumes-lord-beric-stood-behind-them-and-there-was-something-in/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“She consumes me like a bright fire burning deep within my ribs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-diedrich/she-consumes-me-like-a-bright-fire-burning-deep-within-my-ribs/) [Kirk Diedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-diedrich/) > [“She consumes me with her eyes, her fiery touch, and the ways in which she loves me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-snyder/she-consumes-me-with-her-eyes-her-fiery-touch-and-the-ways-in-which/) [T.H. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-snyder/) > [That's what humanity is: a series of successes and failures, a testing of one's own nature and aptitude. Neither the body nor the soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/that-s-what-humanity-is-a-series-of-successes-and-failures-a-testing/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Music, music, music. It doesn't get much better than that! It pretty much consumes my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaggy/music-music-music-it-doesn-t-get-much-better-than-that-it-pretty-much/) [Shaggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaggy/) > [Love consumes us only in the measure of our self-surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-consumes-us-only-in-the-measure-of-our-self-surrender/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Indra Nooyi > [“Always assume positive intent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/always-assume-positive-intent/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [At the end of the day, don't forget that you're a person, don't forget you're a mother, don't forget you're a wife, don't forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/at-the-end-of-the-day-don-t-forget-that-you-re-a-person-don-t-forget/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [Combating climate change is absolutely critical to the future of our company,Green Cooler customers, consumers-and our world. I believe all of us need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/combating-climate-change-is-absolutely-critical-to-the-future-of-our/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [Most importantly, we want to create a company where every employee can bring their whole selves to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/most-importantly-we-want-to-create-a-company-where-every-employee-can/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [As a leader, I am tough on myself and I raise the standard for everybody; however, I am very caring because I want people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/as-a-leader-i-am-tough-on-myself-and-i-raise-the-standard-for/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [The one thing I have learned as a CEO is that leadership at various levels is vastly different. When I was leading a function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/the-one-thing-i-have-learned-as-a-ceo-is-that-leadership-at-various/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [I hear my own daughters talking about big companies polluting the environment, and then I realise they are talking about companies of which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/i-hear-my-own-daughters-talking-about-big-companies-polluting-the/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [By five or six, when the heels start to hurt, I kick off my shoes and walk bare feet. But that's not a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/by-five-or-six-when-the-heels-start-to-hurt-i-kick-off-my-shoes-and/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [I wouldn't ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/i-wouldn-t-ask-anyone-to-do-anything-i-wouldn-t-do-myself/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [My parents made us dream that we could be anyone that we wanted to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/my-parents-made-us-dream-that-we-could-be-anyone-that-we-wanted-to/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [Anything that's done to address unemployment in terms of massive stimulus spending is going to exacerbate deficits. And anything that's done to address deficits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/anything-that-s-done-to-address-unemployment-in-terms-of-massive/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [The glass ceiling will go away when women help other women break through that ceiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/the-glass-ceiling-will-go-away-when-women-help-other-women-break/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [I spent some time at a university for traditional Chinese medicine. There's a resurgence of people eating according to traditional Chinese medicine. So our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/i-spent-some-time-at-a-university-for-traditional-chinese-medicine/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [If I hadn't had mentors, I wouldn't be here today. I'm a product of great mentoring, great coaching... Coaches or mentors are very important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/if-i-hadn-t-had-mentors-i-wouldn-t-be-here-today-i-m-a-product-of/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [India is a country with huge potential, and it remains an attractive high priority market for PepsiCo. We believe we have only scratched the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/india-is-a-country-with-huge-potential-and-it-remains-an-attractive/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) [Explore all 78 Indra Nooyi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I was contacted by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, MP, through the Pune Film Institute and offered the post in the NFDC. I accepted it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-contacted-by-rajyavardhan-singh-rathore-mp-through-the-pune/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) Browse all 15,485 Because quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling, and you have got to be involved in it with your head, heart and hands. Your heart has got to be in the job; you got to love what you do; it consumes you. And if you are not willing to get into the CEO job that way, there is no point getting into it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Indra Nooyi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not-do-it-because-it-is-a-job-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Because" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not-do-it-because-it-is-a-job-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/indra-nooyi-8714_because_to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not_791514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling, and you have got to be…” — Indra Nooyi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Indra Nooyi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be a CEO is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not-do-it-because-it-is-a-job-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/to-be-a-ceo-is-a-calling-you-should-not-do-it-because-it-is-a-job-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```