Six million years later, the miracle of life is still unfathomable. For me, having my two sons really opened my eyes to how beautiful and amazing life truly is. There are recipes and blueprints. There are GPS and constitutions, but still no manual for life. Having kids also showed me how true it is about no life manual. Life however is beautiful in spite of the unknown. Some would say life is only meaningful and fulfilling when individuals choose their own path. I can say this has made my own life more meaningful and it was a long journey finding my purpose.
Some Zen masters hold that finding purpose in life is the key to happiness. A few teach that man’s purpose lies in love, work, and stoicism. I would agree love is a driving force for my own purpose – love of self, and love of ALL others, as well as wishing and helping them all to be their best selves.
Eckhart Tolle says… “we have two purposes in life, a primary purpose and a secondary purpose. Our primary purpose is to live in the Present Moment, this is also called Mindfulness. The secondary purpose is what you are meant to do. He goes on to say… Everyone has a purpose in life, a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” I can get behind that.
Friedrich Nietzsche said… “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.”
Victor Frankl swears by this school of thought in Man’s Search for Meaning. The truth is until one looks inward, everything else is misdirection. In Man’s Search For Meaning he also stated… Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life.
Simon Sinek believes that the WHY is the core that powers this machine called a human being. Clarity, meaning, and fulfillment, he proclaims, lie in wait when you ask WHY you do the things you do. If you have not read his book Start With WHY, I would highly recommend it. Here he talks about finding purpose and inspiration in this video.
Simon’s work helped me find my WHY or purpose. My purpose is to challenge people to become innovative leaders so that we can change the world together. Once I dialed this version in I now use it as the filter for all I do in life and it is a bit of my North Star always pointing me in the right direction. It took me years and help from a friend that was a great listener and counselor.
Here is a video I create in 2016 on Facebook and it’s of me talking about my life, some things that happened that changed my life and my trying to find my WHY before I had it dialed in. This stuff is probably what planted the seeds for Hellagood Life and living my purpose. Here’s a link to my BE THE CHANGE group.
Great ideas but choose your path.
There are countless tribes, languages, and cultures on the planet. This is an example of how everyone understands life in their own way. Retrofitting your entire life onto someone’s ideas and formulae has got to be the greatest sin.
Your purpose is not what your boss, parent, or great psychologist instructs. It is your choice of direction in life. You don’t need to create your raison d’etre (reason for existence) either. It’s already inside of you. If you are determined to make something out of yourself, you must do the self-reflection and soul-searching work yourself.
“When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” – Seneca.
Life starts when you find meaning.
Things only start making sense when you find your reason for living and your desired contribution to the world. Or at least for myself this is true, but the world started opening up in new ways.
Clarity and understanding
When you set yourself on the path of discovery for what gets you up in the morning, a side effect is an improved understanding of life and the things and people in your life that are most important.
Drive and energy
Inspiration and energy arise when there are clearly defined purpose, whether in business or life. Three things that Simon Sinek helped me realize is you only have one purpose, your purpose should serve both your personal life and your business/career life, and lastly, it has nothing to do with money. Without purpose, you are more likely to give up in the first instance of challenges. This is the stuff that gets you out of bed in the morning and keep fighting when you are getting your butt kicked.
A clear sense of self
Finding your purpose means distilling your life down to the essence. It means quitting an unfulfilling job, pursuing a hobby, starting a business, or launching a life-transforming societal movement. It is often also tied to serving others.
Building it from the ground up
Finding purpose is self-exploration. It means choosing your path and trusting yourself no matter how arduous that path may be. It means uninstalling old beliefs, updating and restarting yourself until every element syncs with seamless ease.
With the coaching I do, I have helped people (business owners mostly, but it can really help individuals as well) find their true purpose, innovate, and contribute to a better world. We’ve followed ideas from Start With Why, but on my own journey, it wasn’t until I had a partner helping me that I created or understood my true purpose that I have been able to stick with and know in my heart this is exactly who I am, and what I stand for, and live to do.
Your purpose is the most profound benefaction you have in life, but no one can unlock it for you, only with you through some exploration or detective work and lots of reflective work on your part. When I assist, I only inspire, challenge, and motivate you on your own reflection process and through experience from my own journey. This can be such a fun experience to go through and a game changer for the person going through the process. If you’d like to discuss how this works, get on my calendar and let’s talk! Schedule a WHY discussion today!
If you enjoyed this article, here are three other articles that you might enjoy…
- SELF CARE: IS IT SELFISH OR MANDATORY?
- GRATITUDE… FOR GRATITUDE
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A GROWTH MINDSET VS A FIXED MINDSET?
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