How do you find your purpose in life? Is it really that important? I am enjoying running from one exciting adventure to the next. What does purpose have to do with it? Can’t I just enjoy myself and not be so serious?
One question that I have asked myself repeatedly over my life is, “what is my purpose”? Why did God create me? Yes, I do believe that God is my Creator. I believe that He (or She) created me for a purpose. I am only on this earth for a short while. What is the purpose? I remember giving this question a lot of thought 20 years ago after going through a difficult time in my life including a job loss, divorce, and financial challenges. I joined a small group of men who were studying the book, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. The one thing that I remember from the book was a statement that goes something like this, “your greatest passion comes from your greatest pain”. I remember experiencing a lot of emotional pain during that time of my life. After reading the book with the support of my friends, I decided I wanted to help other people find their purpose and passion for their work and life.
Most of my life has been focused on work. I started working when I was 13 years old earning $5 each time that I picked up trash and prepared a baseball field for that day’s game. It was my belief, as a male, that it was my responsibility to provide for myself and my family. I took my role seriously. Early in my career, I made a goal of making $100,000 per year. That would solve all my problems and create the life I wanted. It sounded like a good plan to me. I worked, strategized, got promoted, took on new opportunities in my career until the I reached my goal and the end of my rope. The company let me go. My spouse let me go. And I let me go.
I was devastated and decided to work on me. During that period, I realized the importance of having a support group. At that time, I joined a men’s small group. Over the years, my support groups have been my friends, my family, DivorceCare, a study group, or a Toastmasters club. Most recently, it has been my transformational table group introduced by John Maxwell. With the support of others, I continue to rediscover my own purpose. I focus on opportunities that bring me joy, meaning, and a sense of purpose. I have always enjoyed teaching and encouraging others. I have found that I do this best through speaking, coaching, and mentoring. I have always appreciated the importance of finances because of my childhood experiences yet I found out 20 years ago that serving my purpose is more important than serving my paycheck. My faith, my family and my community are most important to me. My purpose is to help others get from point A to point B in their work and in their life. I do this through helping them to discover their unique gifts and identifying what brings them joy. Personally, my work brings me a tremendous amount of joy. I also enjoy helping others discover their strengths and values. Whether it is their faith, their family, their work, or their community, I love to help people discover opportunities to contribute and serve their own purpose.
How has discovering my purpose been beneficial? It has provided me a reason to wake up every morning and a way to contribute. It has provided me with meaning and joy. It has enriched my faith and connected me with others that I can serve with my gifts.
What is your purpose? Where do you start? Check out some of the resources I mentioned above. Find a support group. If you want to start a transformation table group, reach out to me, or check out the website: www.changeyourworld.com.
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