Living Your Purpose

You have a purpose. You have specific gifts, talents, and abilities that are uniquely yours. At the intersection of "what you love to do" and "what you are good at" you will find your purpose. Do you know your purpose? Do you know why you are here on this planet? If not, then it's time to ask the questions:

• What do I love to do?
• What am I good at?
• When do I feel most alive?

Once you have answered these questions you need to gather the courage and confidence to act upon the answers.

In my speaking and coaching work I have met thousands of people who are on purpose. They are people who are good at what they do and they love what they do. They are people in health care, banking, manufacturing, education, associations, and government. There are leaders, writers, musicians, speakers, consultants, and artists. Each person brings their unique set of gifts in service to others.

At the same time I have met thousands of people who dislike their work. These people are not on purpose. They may complain about the organisation, their compensation, their fellow employees, and a host of other things. Their real problem is that they are not on purpose. When you are not on purpose you create stress, pain, and conflict for yourself. Your gifts lay within you, unopened, abandoned. Much has been said about what to do to motivate people. Meaning and purpose motivate people. Truly successful organisations are made up of people doing work they love toward a meaningful purpose

Many will say that they know what their gift is, but they can't make any money at it. There is a way to make money at anything. The problem isn't money. It's confidence. They really don't believe their gifts have value, and so they believe no one else will value them either.

Once you develop confidence, you begin to see opportunities. The world, and possibly the organisation you work in, have abundant opportunities for you to live your purpose. This brings up the other reason for not living on purpose. We tell ourselves that we are not getting the support we need from others. Our family, friends, and colleagues are not cheering us on.

From the day you are born you will receive comments, opinions and criticisms from others. You must choose whether you are living their dream or your own. You must decide that your purpose is too important to abdicate responsibility for it to others.

If the biggest problem is confidence, then how do we get the confidence? Here are some ideas for you: 

1. Listen to the still small voice within. Practise listening to your intuition and following it. This voice should trump all external voices when deciding how to live your life. Access this voice through prayer, meditation, or quiet contemplation.

2. Study and practise to develop your gifts. Confidence increases with knowledge and skill.

3. Let go of the negative opinions of others. You owe it to yourself to listen within and trust that inner voice rather than putting your trust in the opinions of others. Find people who will encourage and respect your gifts, because they will reflect back to you your growing inner confidence. On the other hand, listen carefully and non judgmentally to criticism. Valid criticism will show you where you need more learning and practise. Invalid criticism will test your resolve.

4. Don't waste your time comparing yourself to others. Certainly others may serve as models for you, but envy and negative comparison will not help you. Do your best with what you have now.

5. Make sure the purpose you are expressing is really yours, and not one assigned to you by someone else. Also, know that a purpose can be very simple. It isn't always romantic or grand, but it does feel good. I have had clerks in stores and servers in restaurants who have made my day. These amazing people were each living their purpose. I have met assembly line workers, custodians, and receptionists who were living their purpose. They brought total focus and joy to their work. Sometimes your purpose is not "out there somewhere", but it's right here in front of you. Live the purpose that feels right to you.

6. There are no good excuses for why you can't follow your purpose. Make time. At one point in my life I decided to hone in on my purpose. Every night before falling asleep, I asked the question: What is my purpose? I placed a notepad and pen next to my bed. When I awoke, I wrote down the first thing that came to mind. I did this for seven consecutive mornings. Once I defined my purpose, I listed all of the things I was good at and that I enjoyed doing down the left side of a piece of paper. Next, I listed all of the industries I could think of across the top of the page. I divided my paper into columns and rows, creating a matrix. I placed X's on my matrix wherever I saw a fit between skills/interests and industries. I highlighted the industries where I felt most excited about expressing my skills and interests. I decided to focus my attention on positions in the industries where my skills and interests fit and where I felt the greatest enthusiasm. Within a week I found an ad that matched my area of focus. I was hired within a two months.

Maybe you already know your purpose. Are you challenged enough? Can you be living your purpose at a higher level? Once you find your purpose it is important to continue learning and growing. Listen to the voice within and follow it. There is a reason you are here. Whether you see yourself as young or old, working or retired, you have a purpose. It is calling to you from deep within. Answer the call. Allow it to take hold of you. It is in living your purpose that you will find fulfilment.

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Do You Know What Your Purpose Is?

Have you ever wondered what your life is all about? Why you are here? What you are supposed to be doing with your life? Who you really are? The answer to these questions lives in your purpose. And we all have one - a purpose in life, and a unique one. To the degree that we know what our purpose is and direct our energy toward living and expressing it in what we think, say and do and in who we are, to that degree we will be fulfilled and live fully with deep meaning and joy.

Imagine waking up in the morning eager for the day, ready to take it on, saying, "Yes," as you get out of bed, "this is my life and I love it. I love this day." If you're not already waking up this way, it is possible. It's possible if you get clear about your purpose and live it.

If you don't yet know what your unique purpose is, you can begin with a universal purpose such as the one I mentioned in the last newsletter - to add value to life and to experience and spread more love, joy and aliveness. Simply focusing on any one aspect of it such as experiencing and expressing more joy in your life will begin to turn your life around and transform how you get out of bed in the morning. And you'll be able to look back at the end of the day and say to yourself, "This was a good day!"

Our unique purpose incorporates using our natural talents and gifts to fulfill a universal purpose in a way that speaks to each of us personally, that is compelling and alive for us. It will be unique because we each are.

First, be assured that you have a purpose - you're here for a reason. The nature of the universe is that every living thing is created for a purpose that serves the greater good, that contributes to life in it's continuing growth and expansion. Your purpose has to do with "being" and "doing" for yourself and others. With this in mind, the most important, and practical, part of all of this is to have one, today.

Discovering your life purpose can be really simple. The simplest way for now is to decide what your purpose is. Right now. choose a really good one, one that deeply moves you, that makes you light up and that is compelling. It might be something like to love and be loved, to develop my natural gifts and talents to the max, to make a difference to everyone I come in contact with, no matter how small, to only speak the truth, to do what I love and support others to do what they love... It can be as simple as "joy."

Stop reading now for just a few moments, keeping in mind the essence of what "purpose" is. Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. Ask yourself, "What is my purpose?" And smile as you allow an answer to your question to arise, or as you decide on a purpose. Open your eyes, congratulate yourself and repeat your purpose silently or out loud. Then write it down. Congratulations!

I suggest you write down the purpose you chose, or your purpose as you know it today, and look at it every morning. Write it down as a positive statement beginning with "My purpose is..." and filling in yours. Remind yourself of it during the day by repeating it silently or out loud. You could, of course, sing it, or dance it, or write it on your bathroom mirror. It's most important that you keep it alive - it will exponentially return the favor.

There are other ways to explore your own unique purpose. The start you've just made - you have made one haven't you - will begin to create a synergy that will help you to grow and evolve your purpose over time. For now, you have a way to live on purpose each day. So "Live on Purpose!"

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The Secret to Purpose

Victor Frankl psychologist and author of man's search for meaning said; "Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he can not be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.

As a young boy I had a poster on the wall in my room. It was a picture of a very busy and crowded city street. The city was full of confusion. People everywhere, crowded streets, with signs and billboards. The words across the top of the poster ask the question. Why am I here?

My question to you is why are you here? What is your purpose on this earth? Maybe you've ask yourself that question before. Maybe you know your purpose but you've never made the decision to act on it.

Peter Drucker says; "The best way to predict the future is to create it."

The majority of people never live a life of purpose because it takes hard work and discipline. Most people just settle for what comes along. They live the life of quiet desperation. They talk about what they should do and dream big dreams, but never go forward. A life without action is a life without purpose.

Success has been studied and researched for years. We have more information on success today than ever before and one outstanding similarity is that the winners in life all have a major definite purpose. You see, it's your purpose that keeps you in a forward motion. Your purpose gives you momentum. We need to know that we are growing and making a contribution. Each time you reach a goal your self-esteem will grow and then you'll build on that accomplishment, like an avalanche it will grow as it pushes forward. That's why winners have goals and a major purpose for their life.

Tony Robbins says, "People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals - that is, goals that do not inspire them."

Some people have a goal to get up and go to work. Go back home set down in front of the television have a couple of beers and go to bed, only to do the same thing the next day and the next day and the next day.

If you don't have a major purpose in your life, you will always be bound under the power of the people who do.

I believe that many people that you find in hospitals, prisons, and in the court systems are without a major definite purpose. Without purpose you have no compelling future to look forward to. Without a compelling future you give up on life and find yourself in a state of mind that's not productive. And through the law of attraction you attract more depression and more of the things you really don't want. Without a compelling future, people turn to drugs and alcohol to change their state of mind which is only a temporary solution and the reason it's repeated over and over.

I worked as an EMT in my twenties and witnessed people without a compelling future many times. On one occasion we got a call to a railroad crossing in a little out of the way country town. The call was a train hit a man on the track. As I was driving to the scene I was trying to imagine what to expect. I was thinking of different scenarios in my mind. We didn't know if this person was alive, if they were in a vehicle or what. So I was trying to prepare myself for action. When we got there I could see the end of the train way down the track and a figure of a body laying on the track about thirty away from the crossing. Then I realized that it was a man that had been ran over by this train. We later found out by a witness that this man had set there on the tracks for hours drinking beer waiting on this train. And just at the last second as the train was roaring down the track this man stood up in front of the train and his life ended in a tragic way. I have no doubt that this man had no definite purpose in his life to look forward to.

If you're not growing in this life you're dying. This world will eliminate you just as nature eliminates plants and animals. Think about all the things in your world that at one time served a purpose that you no longer have. You've gotten rid of those things because they no longer serve your needs.

If you don't know your major purpose in life, that's ok. Most people don't know what their purpose is. It has been estimated that only about three percent of the population ever have clear goals in life. As you learn to set small goals that are consistent with your values you will begin to see your purpose unfold. Some people decide on a purpose at an early age, some wait much later. Col. Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC as they call it today in his sixties. He said; "I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me."

Ralph Waldo Emerson said; "The value of a principle is the number of things it will explain."

Here are twelve principles and action habits that have worked for me and many others that you can apply to help you find your major goal or purpose.

1. Some people never set goals because they feel they don't deserve them. They have a low self-worth and low self-esteem. They don't believe in themselves and feel no one else does either. I can tell you until the end of time that you must believe in yourself, but if you have low self-esteem that's not going to happen. The only way to raise your self -esteem is to start small with small goals and build your momentum. Start by serving others in a positive way. That will also build your esteem. Start by volunteering at a local church, civic group, or a hospital. A person once ask Einstein, why are we here? He paused and said we are here to serve others.

2. Pursue your passion not your profits. Some people never have a definite purpose because of the mindset that their purpose wouldn't pay much money. I have found if you do the thing you love the money makes no difference. The money will come. If you love what you do you'll work hard at it and you won't mind. You love it so much you would do it for free, but you're so good at it you get paid for it.

3. Know what you value. When you start to set goals you must be congruent with your values. Make a list of your values and place a number from one to ten next to it. Number one, being the most important value and so on. If you value your relationships the most put number one there. If you value your health the most put a number one there. Only you know your highest value.

4. Surround yourself with successful, positive people. Be willing to ask questions, you'd be surprised at how eager successful people are to help you with answers. King Solomon said; "Better to be rebuked by a wise man than praised by a fool." Don't be surprised that as you begin working on this area that you may give up the old negative friends you may have in your life. Don't be surprised if your old friends don't see you as a successful person. Some so called friends don't want good things for you because they want you to be as miserable as they are. Don't let them hold you back.

5. Write your goals down. Most people never write down their goals because they say they know what they are and don't need to. The winners in life write down their goals in a clear focused manner. Just by writing down your goals you start the law of attraction to working for you. You will start to attract the things you focus on the most. You should have one major goal or purpose then smaller goals to support that one big goal or purpose. When I started on my black belt in kenpo karate I knew the big goal was the black belt, but the most important belt is the first belt. The smaller goals will always support the big goals. Write your goals down in the present tense as if they were already here. Write your goals down with a deadline. Give yourself a time limit to accomplish each goal. Make sure each goal is measurable. For example you can measure a salary increase or losing weight.

6. Determine the price you'll have to pay for it. I know you're saying what? Pay for it? Yes, here's what I'm saying. What are you going to have to learn to reach your goal? How hard do you need to work for it? What are you willing to sacrifice for it? Are you willing to stay up late at night and get up early for it? Are you willing to sweat hard for it? If you can't answer these questions, then you are not committed to your goal. You must pay the price. There's no free lunch in this life. You must pay in advance.

7. Write down every reason you can to support your major goal or purpose. Why is it you are working toward this goal? Through research we know that if we have reasons for our goals we tend to stay focused on the goal at hand. I myself do what I do because I had people in my life that said I couldn't do the things I said I wanted to do. They would laugh or just roll their eyes and walk away. Some were of my own family too. So think of reasons that will inspire you. Reasons that will get you re-fired for action when you need it.

8. Create a plan and make it happen. Write out your plan in detail. Go back about every three months and reevaluate where you are. You can't build something that will last without a plan. Start were you are now and think about were you're going. Start from the foundation up. Just like a giant skyscraper. Zig Ziglar says you can determine how high a building is going to be by how deep the foundation is. Get your foundation deep by preparing yourself for action with a good plan.

9. Make sure your major goal serves people in a virtues way. When you do this you will respect yourself and gain the respect of the people around you. Be kind, patient, and generous to others. Remember the law of sowing and reaping. When you sow a good seed you reap the good rewards every time. The greatest gift you can ever give is the gift of yourself. When you have the virtues of kindness, patients and generosity you build your character and your inner strength.

10. Be bold. We come into this world without fear of new adventures, without the fear of what others may say or think. Our brain is designed for greatness, but as we grow we become programmed for failure. We are born with the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other fears we learn as we get older. The good thing is that our fears are learned and conditioned responses. That means we can unlearn them and recondition our habits. The best way to defeat fear is through action. Make action a habit every day. The action habit will help you grow in confidence and lift you self-esteem.

11. Take action. Take some type of action toward your goals as soon as you finish all the other steps. Action will help you gain momentum. We all learn in school from Isaac Newton that once an object is set in motion it remains in motion until acted upon from an outside source. So get in motion now. Now if some outside source shows up to throw you off course, and it will. Gather more information, reevaluate your options and change your approach if you need to. When a plane takes off from Dallas and has a destination of New York, it's off course most of the time. The pilot is always adjusting the plane to keep it on course. The pilot knows where the plane is going and keeps moving in that direction. The same is true when you're working on your major goals in life. You'll be off course from time to time, but if you know where you're going and you have the self-discipline to adjust your path and keep in a forward motion you will get there.

12. Read your goals list daily. We know that we can only hold one dominant thought in our mind. Emerson said; "A man is what he thinks about all day long". The bible tells us that "As a man thinks than that also shall he be." When you review your goals daily you begin the process of attraction. You'll begin to notice things that will lead you nearer to your goal. People will show up to help. You'll find resources that didn't exist before. The universe will be on your side. The things you're seeking are also seeking you.

Now will it be hard? Yes! Will there be times when you'll want to give up and quit? Yes! Will there be times when people will turn their backs on you and let you down? Yes! Will it all happen over night for you? No! But, if you follow these steps and stay persistent, and continue to learn and grow from the successful people in life you will arrive at your goals much quicker.

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." 

..Theodore Roosevelt

When you find your purpose, you find who you are, what you are and most important why you are.

In the end it's not what you say, what you plan, what you intend or what you hope for; it's what you do that makes the difference. A life without action is a life without purpose. Live your life on purpose. Ask the question; why am I here?

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What is Your Life Purpose?

Have you been asking yourself 'What is my life purpose?'. Maybe you have been asking 'How do I discover my higher purpose?'. What you are about to read may be the answer you have been looking for.

Finding your life's purpose is a necessity to live a happy and fulfilling life. Sometimes your life purpose will find you.

If we lived in a world where everyone was living their highest divine purpose, we would literally have heaven on earth. Everyone's highest purpose involves benefiting the whole. To give you a clue of what your higher purpose may be, I guarantee you that it is something that will benefit humanity, benefit the earth and benefit your soul.

I believe the first step to discovering your life purpose is to be aware that you have one. If you are reading this article, you are probably already there. The next step is to continue to ask the question, that we began this article with, 'What is my divine purpose?'. When you continue to ask your higher power a question, the answer will appear. It's your job to be aware, when the answer does appear.

Your highest purpose will be something that you have natural skills at, a natural interest in and it will be something that you naturally love doing. You may notice that I used the word 'naturally' before all of those qualities. What you were 'naturally' born to do is your divine purpose. Many people stray from their higher purpose because they are living their life trying to please others, based on what others say they 'should' be doing. To find your highest purpose, you must erase all 'shoulds' from your life. Replace those 'shoulds' with 'want' or 'feel'. Instead of "I should be do....", replace that with "I want to..." or "I feel like doing....". If it does not harm or take away from another person, the earth or yourself, go for it!

Let's explore your highest purpose. We now know that whatever your purpose is, it will benefit humanity, the earth and your spirit. Now let us look at your natural skills, interests and passions.

I would encourage you to grab a pen and pad of paper, get quiet, close your eyes and take some deep breathes and start to imagine what your greatest skills, interest and passions are. Imagine the things that you absolutely love to do. Think of those activities, that when you are doing them, time doesn't exist for you. Now write down everything that comes to mind, don't analyze your answers, just write as soon as you feel or think of these skills, interests and passions.

Now write down the answer to this question, in as great of detail as possible; If you had unlimited money and time, what would you be doing, how would you spend your time?

Within everything you wrote down is your life purpose. Now for a lot of you, your mind is going to jump in and start coming up with excuses and reasons why you can't do these things as a career or to make a living. You must have faith that the Universe will support you completely, when you are living your highest purpose.

Now I'm not saying run out and quit your job to begin doing these things full time. Or maybe I am saying that. Having faith that you can live your purpose and the Universe will support you is key. For most of you I would recommend staying at your job, for now, and find ways to do these activities more often in your life. When you are clear that you have discovered your purpose and you have faith that you are able and deserve to live that purpose, there will come a time when you may need to take a bold leap of faith. When you jump, the net will appear.

Many people think that their purpose has to be some big fancy thing. That is ego, not spirit. Your purpose can be anything. Your purpose may be to be a janitor, a garbage man, a sales person, an artist, an entrepreneur, a teacher, a daycare provider, a stay at home Mom/Dad, or any other opportunity that is available. As long as you are providing a service that benefits the whole and you are happy doing it, that's all that matters. Don't let society's views and opinions of what is important limit you. Your higher self knows your highest purpose. Ask your higher power for inner guidance and clarity on what your highest purpose is, then pay attention to the quiet whispers in your mind, the guiding feelings in your gut and the external signs and symbols that are being sent your way.

You must recognize that by living your divine purpose, you will benefit the whole by being of service. You are destined for greatness and you deserve to be happy. And every single living person, animal, plant and organism needs you to step into your greatness and live your divine purpose.

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