For years, I said my children were one of the most important parts of my life.
But if you had looked at my calendar, you might have reached a different conclusion.
Early in my speaking career, I traveled constantly. I was building my business, serving my clients, and doing work I believed mattered. But I was gone so often that I missed many of my children’s activities and important moments.
Of course, I had plenty of explanations. I was in demand. I had commitments. I had bills to pay.
But eventually, I had to face an uncomfortable truth: I could not keep saying my children were a priority while giving so much of my time to everything else.
If I wanted to live with integrity, I had to bring my schedule into alignment with what I said mattered most. So I cut back on my travel and spent more time with my children.
That decision taught me something I have never forgotten:
Purpose is not what you say is important. Purpose is what your choices prove is important.
You can be busy without being purposeful
Many people have never given much thought to their purpose. They get up, go to work, collect a paycheck, pay the bills, raise the children, complete their chores, and repeat the cycle.
Those are necessary and often honorable responsibilities. But they do not automatically create a meaningful life.
You can be extremely busy and still be drifting.
You can accomplish a great deal and still wonder, “Is this all there is?”
You can climb the ladder of success only to discover it was leaning against the wrong wall.
That happens when your life is controlled by pressures instead of guided by priorities.
Pressure asks, “What is demanding my attention right now?”
Purpose asks, “What is truly worthy of my life?”
Without a clear purpose, the urgent will almost always crowd out the important. Other people’s expectations will shape your calendar. Distractions will consume your energy. And years can pass without your ever deciding what you really want your life to stand for.
Here is a revealing question:
If someone studied your calendar, your spending, and your conversations for the last 30 days, what would that person conclude is your real purpose?
Purpose is larger than your profession
Some people assume that purpose must be a particular career or one great mission that changes the world.
It doesn’t.
Your purpose may be expressed through your work, but it is larger than your job title. It can shape the kind of spouse, parent, friend, leader, neighbor, or grandparent you choose to be.
And purpose does not disappear when you retire.
You may retire from a position, but you should never retire from making a difference.
Whether you are 25 or 85, purpose gives you a reason to get up, grow, contribute, and invest yourself in something beyond mere comfort and convenience.
Three questions that reveal your purpose
If you are not sure about your purpose, begin with three deceptively simple questions.
1. What are you good at?
You have talents, abilities, experiences, and personal qualities that can be used to help others.
Ask yourself:
- What comes naturally to me?
- What do people frequently ask me to do?
- What have I done that earned the appreciation of others?
- What can I do well, even when it requires considerable effort?
If you have trouble answering those questions, ask five people who know you well, “What strengths or talents do you see in me?”
Do not dismiss their answers because those abilities seem ordinary to you. What feels ordinary to you may be extremely valuable to someone else.
2. What excites you?
Purpose is closely connected to what makes you come alive.
Ask yourself:
- What activities give me energy?
- What do I enjoy talking, reading, or learning about?
- What desire keeps tugging at my heart?
- What would I attempt if I knew I could not fail?
- What problem troubles me so deeply that I want to do something about it?
Pay attention to both your joy and your frustration. Your joy points toward what you love. Your frustration may point toward a problem you were meant to help solve.
3. What difference do you want to make?
In the end, purpose is not merely about personal achievement. It is about contribution.
You do not have to become famous, build a huge organization, or influence millions of people. You can make a profound difference in one family, one workplace, one classroom, one neighborhood, or one person’s life.
Ask yourself:
Because I was here, what do I want to be better?
Your purpose is often found where three things meet: what you are good at, what excites you, and what difference you want to make.
Bring your life into alignment
Discovering your purpose takes more than reading an inspirational quotation. It requires reflection, honest questions, and practical exercises that connect what matters most with the way you are actually living.
After more than 40 years of research, teaching, speaking, and working with people around the world, I have become convinced that there are 12 pillars of knowledge and skill that the happiest and most successful people have learned to master.
One of those pillars is PURPOSE Alignment—knowing what matters most and making sure your priorities, decisions, relationships, and daily behavior reflect it.
That is the pillar we will begin digging into tonight in my NEXT-LEVEL YOU™ class from 7:00-7:55 pm Eastern Time.
In NEXT-LEVEL YOU™, we do more than discuss good ideas. We turn those ideas into practical actions that can improve your confidence, relationships, leadership, and life.
And tonight I am opening 75 free seats to those who want to attend this session and see what NEXT-LEVEL YOU is like and sincerely want to work on their PURPOSE Alignment. 42 of those seats have already been claimed.
If you want one of the remaining seats, it requires that you print out two handouts and actually attend and participate in the class. There will be no replays. If that doesn’t work for you, no problem.
If you can make that commitment, click the link below to claim your free seat … if there is a seat still remaining. If you’re one of the lucky ones, I will send you the handouts and link to the live class.
[I WANT A FREE SEAT IN TONIGHT’S CLASS]
Purpose gives you direction when the world pulls you in ten different directions. It gives you perseverance when life becomes difficult. And it gives you the satisfaction of knowing your days are adding up to something meaningful.
You were not put on this earth merely to stay busy, pay bills, and get through another day.
You are here to live intentionally, love deeply, grow continually, and make a difference.
ACTION STEP:
Set aside 15 quiet minutes today and answer these three questions:
- What am I good at?
- What excites me?
- What difference do I want to make?
Your answers may reveal the purpose that has been waiting inside you.
Keep on growing. The best is yet to come!
Dr. Alan Zimmerman
Hall of Fame Speaker | Executive Coach | Author