As we begin on our journey to fulfill our desires, I believe we will need to fully understand what we love to do the most, in the form of service, or work.  We often see television interviews or read newspaper articles about people that are extremely successful in a certain area.  This extreme level of success manifested from passion and desire.  To me, passion and desire are the driving force of achievement.  Without it, the chance that we will give up or procrastinate greatly increases to the point where our goals will seem unattainable.  When goals seem unattainable, most of us give up and therefore never realize them. This can snowball and cause a tremendous amount of stress unless we stop it. 

Purpose is Who We Are

A story that comes to mind is of a good friend of mine. He wanted to become a dentist when we were in high school.  That was back in 1995.  After four years of college, he realized that he wasn’t doing what he wanted, but what he thought his family wanted him to do. He could not find the desire to continue his studies even after four years of hard work.  He found more interest in philosophy and psychology courses and courses that involved human potential.  He decided not to continue his studies to become a dentist.  Years had gone by in a “job,” when he finally realized what he wanted to do.  Today, he is a manager and is developing the level of success he desires as he says, “day by day,” by learning to apply simple principles to his life which contribute to his success.  He understood that he needed to follow his passion, and even more, he decided to break away from the fear and pressure he felt from his family to continue on his initial, “promise” to become a dentist. 

I think when we feel the fear, but persevere and do what we want anyway, we have truly followed something that we are passionate about and that can bring us joy and happiness.

Help for Identifying Your Purpose

Are you having trouble finding your life’s purpose?  Well, here is a method I used to help identify mine, which I adopted from a few different methods used by popular success coaches:

1.  What three things make you the happiest when you do them?
(examples: read, research, write, paint, exercise, drive, finances)

2.  What three qualities do you possess that stand out to others?
(examples: creativity, loving, funny, compassionate, helpful, caring)

3.  What three things could you work on for hours at a time and enjoy
(examples: non-profit work, math, web design, manage, public speaking)

4.  What three things do you like learning about the most?
(Note: You may notice that you learn more easily about things you enjoy)

5.  Look at your answers to these questions.  Can you see a bigger picture?  Ask yourself this final question while keeping all these answers in front of you: If I could create my life’s purpose from these answers in the form of a career, what level of success could I generate? After you answer this question, think about the essence of these answers.  They are connected to your life’s purpose. If you can match these to a form of valuable service to others, you will be able to monetize something that you love doing.  Your work can then become your life’s purpose, and the level of success
in many areas of your life can be enhanced.