Living With Purpose and On Purpose

"Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be." - George Sheeta

They say that these are the two greatest moments in a person's life:  The first is when you are born. The second is when you discover why you were born.  Defining what you were designed to do.  Defining who you were meant to be. Defining your purpose.

What inspires you?  How do you contribute?  What is your life purpose?  Why are you here?  Why do you do what you do? What drives you? What motivates you? What gives you pain and what brings you pleasure? What is it that you want so much that it will help pull you through the tough times, and self-motivate you to move forward? Your purpose should help define your actions. Defining what this is for you will lead you to live a more fulfilled life.  It will give it more meaning and a focus and serve as a daily motivating factor.  We have to know why we are here.  Purpose helps give your life meaning. We need to live our life with a purpose.  

A while back I watched a TED Talk from Simon Sinek on "How Great Leaders Inspire Action". If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. In it he talks about what it is that make some people and some companies great. What makes them more innovative than their competition, when on the surface they are just like everyone else, with the same opportunities, people and things available to them. In his analysis of several great inspiring leaders and organizations, he discovered a similar pattern in how they all think, act and communicate. He refers to, what he calls the Golden Circle: The Why, How and What. 

He says every single person and every single organization knows "What" they do. Some know and have defined "How" they do it. But very few truly know "Why" they do it. And by Why, he means: What is your purpose? What is your cause? What is your belief? Why does your organization exist? And why should people care? He says most people start with the What: what they do, what they provide, tell you their How: how they go about it, how they differentiate, to lead you to your Why: why you should care, why it should be important.  An example he used was Apple. He uses Apple because they are easy to understand and everybody gets it. He says that if Apple were like everyone else, their marketing message might sound something like this: "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. Want to buy one?" Hmm maybe, maybe not.

The truly successful shift the thinking and reverse this order, to actually start with the Why…their Why. Then explain to you how. Which results in, and is embodied into, what they do.  He states, how Apple actually communicates: "Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user friendly. And, we just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?" This small shift gives 'what they do' more meaning. People don't necessarily buy into what you do; they buy into why you do it. The same goes for us as individuals. We need to define and understand our Why first. Then, the how and what should follow and tie into our Why.

Just as important, you must live your life ON purpose, intentionally.  Living on purpose is the path to peace. You must direct your thoughts, choices and actions on getting the results you desire, and living the life you deserve. Two things I tend to talk about often is: Doing things With Purpose, and Doing things On Purpose.  These two things go hand in hand, and I believe that these two things are critical to us if we intend to live a life of significance. It is not only important for you to live WITH A purpose, but also important for you to live ON purpose, or intentionally.  

I believe that if given a choice, every one of us longs to live a life of significance.  We would choose to give more, inspire more, help others more.  We want our lives to matter. We want to make a contribution, to be a part of something noble and purposeful. We want to be significant. 

No one wants to feel like the world wouldn't miss him if he'd never lived. But many people wrongly believe significance is unattainable. They worry that it's too big for them to achieve. That they have to have an amazing idea, be a certain age, have a lot of money, or be powerful or famous to make a real difference.

The good news is that none of those things is necessary for you to achieve significance and create a lasting legacy. The only thing you need to achieve significance is to be intentional. And to do that, all you need to do is start. You can't make an impact sitting still and doing nothing. Every major accomplishment that's ever been achieved started with a first step. Sometimes it's hard; other times it's easy, but no matter what, you have to do it if you want to get anywhere in life. If we truly want to create positive change we need to face our fears, release the brakes, get going and do something about it. You need more than just good intentions, you need to intentionally act upon it. You cannot have any re-action (or results), without including 'action'. 

Start each day seeking opportunities to live intentionally. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.  Push harder today than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow. Your only limit is you. A year from now you'll wish you had started today. 

You don't just have a great day, you can make it a great day. 

Make today great!

Curtis

"You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously." - Steve Maraboli