How to Find Your Life Purpose

What is a life purpose?

It is what propels you out of bed in the morning and energizes you to go out and set the world ablaze.

It is the expression of the authentic YOU in the world around you.

It is your way of making a meaningful difference, if that is what turns you on.

It could be just plain doing what you love to do more than anything else.

A life purpose, sometimes referred to as higher purpose, or as your chief aim in life, is a never-ending journey. The journey is what energizes you because it consistently fulfills your inner desire to express your inherent talents.

The journey itself is a series of short- and long-term goals that keep you focused and aligned with your higher purpose.

Without a life purpose...

Life without purpose is without direction and often without high energy and enthusiasm.

Individuals without a life purpose often find themselves bored and at the mercy of external factors such as the weather, the emotional state of people around them, and the miserable condition of the world.

Finding a life purpose is easier than you think...

Just ask yourself:

• what do I love doing more than anything else;
• what do I do exceptionally well, or could if I improved my skills and acquired more knowledge;
• what comes so naturally and easy to me that other’s say I make it look easy; and
• what could I do for the rest of my life and never get bored doing it.

The answers to those four questions contain your life purpose.

If you have ever dreamed of making a difference in the world, of making a significant contribution to this planet, all you have to do is look in your heart. It may not be clear at first but further exploration with desire and intention will surely reveal your purpose in life.

Copy the world’s greatest managers…

The Gallup Industry conducted a 30 year study to learn what the world’s most successful managers have in common. Their findings revealed that they consistently do what they love to do. They ignore conventional wisdom, disregard the golden rule, and they play favorites.

Instead of improving their weaknesses, they focus on developing their inherent talents into valuable strengths. They focus on their employees greatest strengths and encourage them to develop those areas.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, authors of the book, Now, Discover Your Strengths, we are all born with unique talents. They are easy to detect because they are the aspects of ourselves that we love to express more than anything else.

In a recent publication, StrengthsFinder 2.0, the author, Tom Rath, provides a password to access and complete an online questionnaire to determine your top 5 inherent talents.

It was by examining my top 5 strengths that explained why I felt so happy and complete while engaged in certain activities and so miserable and frustrated during other times.

For example, each of my top 5 inherent strengths explains why I:

• preferred specific employment positions more than others;
• chose to become an independent contractor in real estate sales, an entrepreneur in my own practice as a personal life coach; and
• eagerly ventured out on a limb to become an Ishaya monk and teacher of meditation.

Follow your dreams…

Your inherent talents will beg to be expressed. They will come to your attention through thoughts and emotions.

Let's suppose that for most of your life you have enjoyed pleasing others by making them laugh. You discover that have a natural ability to "clown around".

You find it easy to create joy in most environments and you love doing it so much that you never get bored doing it. You may even dream of being a funny clown in the circus, or at children's birthday parties.

This is an indication that you are in touch with an inherent talent.

Finding your purpose in life can be that easy. Be persistent and follow your dreams. You will find immense joy and satisfaction by mastering your clowning skills.

Parents do not always know what's best for you...

Sorry to say this parents, but we make mistakes. From the surface level of the mind we think we know what is best for our kids, but it is often just a reflection of our own subconscious needs that we project on to them.

The best thing we can do is to pay attention to their preferences in life - they will let you know what they really want to do. Get yourself out of the way and support them in their desire to express who they really are.

Develop your natural inherent talents...

Studying and acquiring all the knowledge necessary to develop your talent into a valuable strength will be a lot easier than trying to fulfill another's expectations of you.

You may eventually count yourself among the 20% group of individuals who attain great success and wealth, while consistently doing what they love to do.

Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University until July, 2008 when he died of pancreatic cancer, left this precious gift of wisdom.

I am a college professor. I get to see the train wrecks that arrive in my office when a child has been desperately trying to fulfill the dreams that their parents wanted for them…my personal belief is that the worst thing you can do is to say to your kids, my dream for you is to do X. Because...if you aren’t lucky enough to pick what would have been their natural inclination and desire,you’ve just set up a situation of terrific tension that may not work out well.

You can watch Randy’s last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. He says it all so clearly and sincerely.

Commit to your life purpose…

It is never too late to find your purpose in life and commit to it. You just need the intention to make the commitment and the Universe will provide you with everything you need to know to fulfill it.

It’s worth more than you know to get on this as soon as possible.

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