Finding Your Purpose

The purpose of life is to live with purpose and on purpose. That is easy to say; but, for many people, it easier said than done. It seems like the great majority of people tend to go through life without any real sense of purpose while vainly struggling for some imagined ideal of material success.

Of all the many questions that people email me to ask, there are two that I get asked over and over again… How do I achieve the success I desire? and… How can I determine the purpose of my life?

They are, in a way, the same question, phrased differently. If you know the purpose of your life and you are living it, then you are successful.
The how of life may be complex, but the why of life is simple. It is to revere, relish and contribute.

If you honor the sacredness of your life and all creation, you are living on purpose and with purpose. If you enjoy the pleasures afforded by life and are grateful for them, then you are living on purpose and with purpose. If you are making a conscious contribution to life, then you are living on purpose and with purpose.

How you choose to honor the sacred is up to you. It does not matter if you do it in a temple or in a forest. It does not matter what ritual you choose to use and what form you imagine divinity to have. It only matters that you consciously, and daily, honor the sacredness of your own beingness and the sacredness of all creation. Being grateful for the gift of life by honoring the sacredness of your own existence within a miraculous universe provides both meaning and purpose to life.

How you choose to enjoy life is up to you. It does not matter, so long as you harm no other, what form your pleasures may take. Of course, if you are already honoring the sacred in all things, you will not be choosing to take pleasure from harming anything, including yourself. Relishing the many pleasures that life has to offer is, in fact, one way to honor the sacredness of life. Being in a state of gratitude for these same pleasures is yet another way to honor the sacred. Life is meant to be a joyful event. Get out there and enjoy it.

How you choose to contribute is up to you. It does not matter how you choose to contribute, only that you do. Maybe you want to contribute by helping to end world hunger; maybe you want to contribute by making the world’s best chocolate chip cookies for yours kids and their friends. Both are valuable contributions. It does not matter how you choose to be of service. It only matters that you choose to be of service and that you are grateful for the opportunity to be of service.

Now let me tell you a BIG secret. If, every day, you wake up to recite a little prayer of gratitude to the sacred for the immense pleasures of life and the opportunity to be of service, you will never, ever wonder what the purpose of your life is, for it will become clear to you and you will simply go about living it.

Wake up. Connect for a few moments to the sacred. Say thank you. Then get out there and enjoy what you do, or do what you enjoy, while doing your best to make a contribution to all that you are honoring as sacred and you will be happy, fulfilled, and, this may surprise you…extremely successful.

How do you discover the purpose of life? Find your passion. Pursue it. Honor it as sacred. Enjoy the ride. Commit to being and contributing more and you will become wealthy. You will have found the purpose of your life. You will have a life of purpose and meaning. You will live each moment ‘on purpose’ instead of accidentally. You are blessed. Life is abundantly sacred. Life is abundantly enjoyable. Life is abundantly in need of your contribution. Become an ever-greater blessing and you will be even more abundantly blessed.

The most practical way to find your own unique purpose is to decide what your ideals are and what you are most passionate about and then simply go about making these personal ideals and passions manifest in your world.

The how of life may be complex (and thankfully it is, or it would not be very interesting), but the why of life is simple. Revere, relish and contribute.

How do you create the success you envision and desire? Live your purpose. Be passionate about it. Pursue it. Persist. Purpose plus passion plus persistence = prosperity.