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“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it” ~ Bhudda.
We’ve talked about Purpose and its importance in your life – bringing Peace, Love & Happiness.
I don’t want you to think that finding your purpose means you drop everything and go on this frantic search for it. If that’s what you are doing, like chasing the wind, you won’t get it.
It is simply an awareness…. something that makes you happy. gives you pleasure.
What you can do is put yourself in a place that allows this to happen – some peace and quiet, gentle music, restful sleep and just as you awake, relaxing bath or shower, meditation – any situation in which you are relaxed. It could come to you in the middle of a screaming stadium during a world cup game, but that would be unlikely, unless you found yourself day-dreaming for a short period.
Finding your purpose will feel like you have found the answer to “What is the meaning of life” for you!
It feels natural, it just flows from you. It feels like a tailor made suit or dress, in which you feel good and look great!
Once you have found your purpose, you can now plan out more meaningful goals.
Goals that are linked to your purpose have a much better chance of being fulfilled – it is like something drawing it forward and pushing it to destination at the same time.
There is a gentle wind behind your sails!
Enjoy the journey, because you are meant to!
Do you want to share what your purpose is? I’d love to hear it, so leave me a comment below. And be sure to Like me on Facebook – there is an easy button on the right side!
In this post, I’m sharing a recent experience that brought this to mind.
I, like you, tend to make assumptions – simpler and easier all round! Thing is, other people can’t read my mind, and have no real means of knowing what I really think if I don’t actually say so!
It doesn’t stop at saying it, though.
Paraphrasing Alice in Wonderland talking to the Mad Hatter, she says…..
“At least I mean what I say – that’s the same thing, you know“; to which he replies…
“Not the same thing a bit! You might just as well say that “I see what I eat” is the same thing as “I eat what I see“
So not only is it important to SAY what you mean when you do say it, it is just as important to MEAN what you say. This puts forward your authentic self, which is what you need communicate in order to build a successful network.
Kindness is one of the attributes of a successful leader – it takes no real effort to acknowledge the good work and judgement of a member of your team or an employee, and the rewards in motivation are huge!
People want to be seen AND acknowledged, to feel that they matter! Have you taken the time to acknowledge your team? Just say it!
I’m exploring the topic of Purpose & Goals further, with some thoughts.
When have a purpose – a WHY, your life has a smoother flow to it, and are and feel successful.
In the example I speak about, it brings out that Purpose is enduring. Expect it to be life-long, and the goals you set are the way to achieve that purpose.
It is clear that, if we say that your Purpose is life-long and innate, it is unlikely to change significantly over time. It is a part of you.
The acorn does not spend any time in worrying what it will become – it has a purpose – to grow into an oak! That is natural to the acorn, and it see’s no reason to explore and become a redwood or anything else.
As humans, we also have our purpose deep inside of us – it will be evident in our times of quiet and reflection. It will be what comes naturally to us.
Since goals are a means of achieving your Purpose, you will almost certainly have to change or cancel some and institute new ones at some point in time. This may happen several times – persistence and focusing on the Purpose becomes key.
The closer your goal takes you to your purpose, the stronger will be your incentive to get it done. If you want to be sure to set strong goals, ask yourself how far it takes you in fulfilling your purpose?
What really is the difference between a purpose and a goal?
In this video, I delve into this very topic and help you clarify the differences.
We are talking about purpose here in the broader, deeper sense.
The more complete saying is “The purpose of life is to live with purpose”
Your purpose is a deep-seated “knowing”- a lot of theologians say it is the WHY we are alive. It gives meaning to our life and actions, the REASON we are alive and breathing. We are drawn to it naturally.
Purpose does not conform to being measured – and there is no time limit to fulfilling it. Your purpose is also not subject to change, at least not easily.
Since it is pretty much universal that we want to be happy, it should be fairly obvious that fulfilling your purpose has something to do with happiness.
Goals are specific and can be measured, something you want to achieve. They can be adjusted as required. When your goal is designed to accomplish your purpose, it becomes really powerful. It’s as if the purpose magnetizes the goal towards it, and you are more likely to stick with it and achieve the goal.
You can’t measure the delight you get from teaching a geography class and opening up your students to the world around them (your purpose), but you set a goal to get at least 80% of your class a passing grade in geography at the end of the semester.
Here is a short cut to happiness – Know what your purpose it, then set your goals with that in mind. That’s Happy!
What on earth do I mean by that? And no, I’m not getting into your bedroom here, just giving you some food for thought and motivation to get things turbocharged.
You’ve probably heard the quote, attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”
Put another way, you are virtually guaranteeing failure if you don’t prepare!
If you really want to to enjoy success, you’ve got to PLAN for it.
The process of planning can be quite tedious and time consuming, but if you knew that by going through the planning process, your results would be spectacular, don’t you think it would be worth it?
Successful empires are built by having solid plans – Planning is Foreplay!
Planning (or preparation) is leverage – the time and effort invested in planning will yield you a huge windfall, a whole lot more than if you did not prepare.
By having a plan, you have given yourself the best chance of successfully achieving your goal. That does not mean that the plan is static – you may have to revisit it as the situation demands and adjust accordingly, but you had a plan to start you off with!
Now that you have your goal (and success) firmly in your mind, knowing that planning it out will be the catalyst to hitting the target should be enough to spur you to action.
When you ask most people why they want to be successful, they’ll mention freedom at some point.
Hmmm… that is a catch-all, and means different things to different people.
Can you define it better? And let us know what you really really want (to adapt a Spice Girls tune – they had a point there:-)
I hope you realize that the pursuit of freedom does not happen at anyone’s expense. It wouldn’t be freedom otherwise.
If you define what you really want to do or be, then you set in motion a plan to enable you to do so. Once you have the ability to do something specifically, that to me is FREEDOM.
What is your definition of Freedom?
What would you want to achieve that will be your indicator of Freedom?
Leave me a comment below and see you on the Freedom side.
Here is my take on what Peter Diamandis of Singularity University has to say on the importance of innovation.
He was talking about the importance of innovation as it relates to the growth of the technology industry, mostly through the activities of entrepreneurs.
I think we can apply innovation and entrepreneurialism to just about any growth-oriented and progressive field.
Amongst other things, I’m a healthcare professional and entrepreneur. Being a true entrepreneur requires me to innovate and Peter outlines what motivates us.
1. Curiosity – The kernel of the idea starts from a curiosity about how you can make things better, whether it is bigger, smaller, thinner, faster or whatever will make things better. Or simply because you can make a difference somehow.
2. Fear – this one is a no-brainer. As humans, we do our best when we are moving away from pain. It is a powerful motivator. You want to prevent your family, friends, a group or community from suffering and pain.
3. Wealth Creation – When you help people solve problems, you are providing value, and you’ll get rewarded in proportion to the solution. If you provide a great solution, you’ll get more than a partial solution. And with the solution comes the exchange of the value you provided as money and the opportunity to create real wealth. Find a deep pain and provide a solution!
4. Quest of Significance – At our core, we wish to be recognized, to do something that matters to those we like and love. It becomes even more compelling when we do something that matters for people you don’t even know and may never meet. You can scale it up any way you want, but realize that making a difference to one person is significance.
Go on, go out there and INNOVATE – Wealth & Significance will follow, as surely as night follows day.
Here is the scenario – you are waiting at the train station, and from the corner of one eye, you see someone down on the train tracks (or subway, tube, tram). There are loads of people milling around and the notices indicate the train is arriving fairly soon. What will you do?
The young man would never have imagined himself in that situation, and that the person who literarily saves his life is an elderly lady with a stroke, just going about her way.
On the surface, there is nothing in common between these two people – one is a young, hip caucasian professional, the other is an elderly moslem lady with a physical disability.
The vast majority of us like to think we will spring into action – and like Superman or Superwoman, save the day!
Reality is often very different from that, unless we already have a mindset that makes that kind of action natural to you.
In our current society where the majority no longer get up for a pregnant lady or elderly person or even a mother with her very young children, all of whom would love a seat, the norm is to carry on and leave them to fend for themselves.
To be kind, let’s say that the others in the station were stunned into immobility. Why? Why weren’t there a mass of people doing something to help the young man? Most were younger and fitter than the lady who did so. Did she have some superhuman powers?
Let’s ask a high-value question.
The question to ask is “What was it that got this lady to act so swiftly, without consideration of the consequences to herself?
She certainly had not done anything like that before. She did not think of herself or disability in that situation, but was entirely focussed on getting the young man off the tracks before the train hit. Her mindset was that of Superwoman – she was fearless, because her mindset was not focussed on self, but on on other people, caring. It had nothing to do with age, sex, religion, ethnicity etc. All that mattered was that someone needed help, and she was going to do everything possible to give it. Notice I did not say her best. I said everything possible – BIG DIFFERENCE!
When we do our best, we already have an idea, a limitation on what that is. It will hold us back. In this situation, she could have thought to herself “He is a young, strong looking caucasian, male, maybe suicidal or just mentally disturbed. I am an older, weaker, female, obviously different ethnicity and religion – we have next to nothing in common and I really don’t think I can make a difference, compared to all those around here in the station. SHE DID NOT THINK LIKE THAT. Her mindset was quite different.
Over her 77-odd years, she always put everything into whatever she did – she and her family were expelled from Uganda during the Idi Amin era, with barely the clothes on their back. They had to leave their comfortable life for the uncertainty of Canada. And start from scratch, with 3 children! Is it any wonder that, having survived and then thrived through all of that, she did not have limitations in her mind? Age had made her even better – like some marvellous fine wine! Which vintage are you or will you want to be? You can’t get to be a vintage wine without putting in TIME!
The older and elderly person have a lot to offer us when we are open to it. The cost – actually listening to them, acknowledging their contributions and celebrating them. We will learn a lot that way, and it will enrich our own lives.
If we realise that we are all part of a whole, and need each other to function, I think we will act and feel differently.
Consider how I look at it. I’m one of the liver cells that enables the liver to do its job, the liver is an organ that allows the digestive system to work well, and the digestive system is one of the systems that make up the systems in the body.
That single thought, that we are all in this together, will impel our actions – and to offer help whenever possible.
By now, you know how important it is to have something to aim for, a goal or goals.
In the process of setting the goals, it is easy to hit overwhelm with all the information out there.
Me? I LOVE simple and practical – something you can start RIGHT NOW, and won’t cost you a fortune either.
Now for how to set a successful goal!
I hope you’ve have a pen and paper handy and are taking notes.
1. Keep things SIMPLE: Start with a single goal, especially if you haven’t been through a goal setting process before. If you tell someone about it, can they understand it? Within 10 seconds? If not, back to the drawing board – and simplify!
2. Be SPECIFIC: Think about what you need to do and convert that into your goal. Lets say your major goal is to get out of debt. You’ve identified your credit card debt as the main component. How are you going to get rid of it? Your goals are really action steps. Example:
* Make a weekly budget and spend cash only.
* Don’t pay any bank charges on ATM withdrawals
* Pay it down by $25 per week by eliminating that daily expensive coffee shop drink or two.
* Reduce eating out and deliveries to a max of 3 per week (this includes all meals and snacks).
If you want to be really proactive and have an entrepreneurial mindset, start thinking of ways to bring in additional income – short and long term. They could be taking on extra hours, making some money from that hobby of yours, learn a new skill that you can monetize.
3. You’ll need to give up something to REPLACEyour new habit or goal. In getting out of debt as discussed in step 2, you’ve stopped using the credit card and started paying with cash only. You’ve dropped the expensive coffee shop and take out/delivery habit and started eating more home-made coffee & food. If you replace old non-productive habits with new ones, you can actually “feel” things getting better.
4. Focus on your STRENGTHS: Within your goal, there will be something you do very well. How about doing more of that? You may be a great photographer – how about finding out how to earn some extra $$$ from it – stock pictures online, friends celebrations, where for a small fee, they get a unique keepsake? You are great at web design – join some outsourcing outfit? There is always something you can do and think of monetizing. The other things you need bit are not great at, you outsource – you can trade it for your talents too!
5. Be GRATEFUL: I came across this phrase which I love “When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates”. Never underestimate the power of gratitude. You become a calmer, centred person. In giving, you will attract what you need.
Once you have your goal, COMMIT and start with something straight away – this very moment! Don’t wait for some day in the future – if it really is that important to you, you’ll START NOW.
What is your major goal – and your action steps? Leave a comment below.
In asking “Do you have what it takes?”, I simply want you to think a bit more about it.
My answer to that question is – we all do!
It’s whether you are prepared to work on it and do whatever it takes that makes the difference from one person to the next.
Are you willing to keep going, to do whatever it takes to get you to where you want?
Have a listen to the video below. I wanted to get it out to you as soon as possible.
I was in Austin for a weekend at the Empower Network event “Release Your Inner Badass”, headed back home very early in the morning, when I sat next to the young man I mention.
If you are prepared to do what it takes, you WILL be successful.
You’ll keep on going, through all the false turns and disappointments that are inevitable on your journey if you keep focused and avoid distractions.
One easy and important way to stay focused is to attend your industry events.
The energy is really high in such places, you get to network, learn some new and helpful information.
Look at your network as the GOLD in your business.
Since you are the average (in earnings) of the five people closest to you, and you don’t have high net-worth or very successful friends, what better way than to attend events and get to meet the movers and shakers in your field? That is the easiest way you will meet them, and a lot of them, in short time and in the same location.
Think of travel and hotel costs if you had to travel to meet them individually – assuming you can afford to pay for their services and they have the time to meet you.
Be prepared to go beyond your comfort zone. Staying comfortable is from the remnants of our reptilian brain responses, when everything known was better, as there was a lot of dangerous stuff out there, Not so anymore. Going out of your comfort zone is the only way to improve, to grow and flourish. And this is vital for any success. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!
Another tip: Take your business seriously – not as a spare time thing. You may be part-time, which is fine and quite different. People who operate their business in their spare time are fitting in their activities between the TV and their couch, sports games, and other entertainment activities. It shouldn’t be any surprise that they are hardly moving forward. A part-time business person is focused: have eliminated all distracting activities and are putting in the effort upfront.
