“Tear down old walls of limitation and fear of success, choose to live your life with purpose on purpose.” – Debra Oakland
What’s your purpose, have you found it? Living a purpose driven life can take us down a long road of challenges. Are we able to embrace our purpose when we discover it? Who do we share it with? We can contemplate purpose for years before we identify what we are here to do. Some people are born knowing theirs and never waver. Our purpose may change throughout our life, according to our experiences. What do you love passionately?
When you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. It’s true! I like to think of loving my purpose so much that the joy of engaging in it brings abundance naturally. I understand abundance holds a different meaning for each of us. I think we can agree that abundance is one of the many faces of freedom.
Steve Pavlina says: “If you want to discover your true purpose in life, you must first empty your mind of all the false purposes you’ve been taught (including the idea that you may have no purpose at all).”
I struggled with my purpose for much of my life and found it sitting right there under my nose, but I was not ready to ‘live’ the experience. In my heart of hearts I knew I wanted to be a writer, but life swept me up and carried me away. There were bills to pay, challenges to overcome and a laundry list of reasons I put off living my passion and engaging with my purpose. Writing in secret and hiding it under my bed or in storage became a habit over the years. It did not occur to me that anyone would be interested in what I had written. Now that I look back over those squirreled away poems, stories and inspiring thoughts, I realize, I was meant to be a writer and author. I took my passion off the shelf, dusted it off and made a conscious decision to share what I have to say with the world.
None of the many interests in life I experienced gave me the sense of freedom writing does. You would think that being an avid reader, loving a blank piece of paper, excelling in typing class, collecting pens and pencils and hanging out in bookstores would be my first clue! Seriously, right under my nose and I missed it. Yes, I believe our purpose is moved into alignment with us when we are ready. I was not ready. Now I am. My purpose is to live consciously, in courage, writing of love and spiritual inspiration while living my best life.
Over the years, the story of my loss of family members – both children and both brothers in 4 years, then my father to prostate cancer has been published in several best-selling books. Over the last 6 years I have written my book Change Your Movie, Change Your Life: 7 Reel Concepts for Courageous Change which was released Feb 17, 2016 and became an International Bestseller. I am filled with a sense of freedom and gratitude I can’t explain. I ‘feel’ it, and I have to tell you, it feels good. If you have not found your purpose yet, do not give up, it may be sitting right under your nose. Just know your purpose will come into alignment with you when you are ready.
“We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of great courage. We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities. Obviously the most beautiful fate, the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being, is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do.” – Abraham Maslow
We each have one gift to share with the world that is unique only to us. Yes, our messages, products and services may be similar to another, yet when presented with our imprint will reach different people in a way that touches and inspire them in a way no other can. What we have to share will energetically connect with those who most resonate to it.
How do you find your purpose? You already know what you are passionate about. I always tell people to think back to when they were between 4 and 12 years of age. What did you love most? What did you want to be when you grew up? What lit a fire under you and stirred your soul? It’s a great place to start uncovering the path to your passion and purpose, if you have not identified it yet. For many people this happens later in life. No matter when we choose to express ourselves in this expansive way – trust in the process, it will guide you.
To end, I want to share this powerful quote from Og Mandino with you: “I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”