There's that scene in The Godfather:

The Don has just been shot. Sonny Corleone, the Don's eldest son, and the captains are discussing what to do, how to exact revenge. Michael Corleone sits quietly in an armchair, listening. Then, he starts to speak, and the camera slowly moves toward him. Calmly, he explains how he, the younger son, the war hero, the quiet one whom no one would suspect, could lure Sollozzo and McCluskey, those responsible for the Don's shooting, to a restaurant under the pretence of negotiating a truce.. and shoot them dead.

Michael Corleone had arrived, and with that scene, Al Pacino, the actor, had arrived as well.

Al Pacino had come perilously close to being fired from The Godfather. Studio executives at Paramount hated him, preferring a more famous actor for the role. However, director Francis Ford Coppola stood up for him. Ultimately, it was the shootout scene in the restaurant that convinced the executives that Al Pacino was the right choice. The Godfather became one of the most successful films ever made and launched Pacino into superstardom. It was his breakthrough

Or was it?

Pacino was 32 when he landed the role. For most of his adolescence and throughout his twenties, he had been a struggling actor in New York, surviving on odd jobs and occasional theatre work. In his autobiography, Sonny Boy, he recounts an experience at age 26. While performing in children's theater, he received a script titled The Indian Wants the Bronx. Immediately, he recognised how deeply the role resonated with his personal experiences. Through this recognition, Pacino made a critical discovery: acting was intrinsic to him, something he felt he could dedicate his entire life to. He explains, and I paraphrase, that the words he spoke, though written by another, felt authentically his own, and the emotions expressed were genuinely his. He wasn't seeking this revelation, it simply happened. Pacino felt connected to something larger than himself. As he describes, "I knew I didn't have a worry after that. Eat or don't eat, make money or don't, famous or not—it didn't mean anything anymore. I had been given this insight into myself, and there was nothing else I could do but say, 'I want to do this forever.'"

In that moment, Pacino realised acting wasn't just a job; it was a calling.

That was his true breakthrough.

Breakthroughs aren't external achievements, like winning awards or becoming famous. A real breakthrough is a quiet realisation within oneself, a deeply personal moment when we find that one thing worth dedicating our lives to. True breakthroughs happen in small moments when we let go of a previous identity and embrace vulnerability. It's almost cliché to say, "It's not the destination; it's the journey," but perhaps more important is consciously choosing how we travel on that journey. A breakthrough may occur years later, or perhaps never, but the person we become in pursuit of it will be unrecognisable, in the best way, from the person we were before.

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them," said Henry David Thoreau. The foundation begins with deciding who you need to be and taking the first step toward that new identity.

A quote by poet Mary Oliver sits on my desk, a quote I cant escape: "The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time."

Each of us has creative potential. If deep within you there's a simple wish to find a way, give it time. Engage fully with the world, be present, act with purpose..but let your actions flow from an inner spring. Give it time.

That is the real breakthrough.

We’re busy working on a couple of new episodes, but in the meantime, why not explore the past ones? The Finding Meaning in Work podcast dives into conversations with people who’ve built lives and careers rooted in purpose. Guests include Simon Griffiths, Founder and CEO of Who Gives a Crap, who turned a simple idea into a global social enterprise; Fatuma and Laurinda Ndenzako of Collective Closets, reshaping Australian fashion through a celebration of African heritage and slow fashion; and Dr. Jason Fox, a self-described wizard-philosopher challenging the default metrics of modern work to spark curiosity and authentic progress