Tag Archive for 'Life Purpose'

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If You Died Tomorrow

I finally bought the book, The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. I’ve heard so much about it for a couple years now, but I never made time to buy it.

So far, I’ve only read the introduction and the first chapter. I’m fully engaged in the book already….so much to the point that my evening plans are to curl up on my couch and dive further in.

As a professor who only had a few months to live due to cancer, Randy Pausch gave his last lecture. A last lecture is common for retiring professors, but this lecture was much different because this was a man in his 50s preparing to die.

Trying to figure out his lecture topic, he decided to right about being able to accomplish his childhood dreams.

It made me reflect on myself. If I died tomorrow, will I have accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted to do? What would my legacy be for the world, for my family, and for my friends? What haven’t I done that I want to do?

Think about it for your own life. If you died tomorrow, are you where you want to be and doing what you want to be doing? If not, why not? Create a “bucket list” for yourself and go after the desires in your heart.

Absolutely nothing is off limits unless you’ve  limited yourself. You can always find a million reasons why something can’t be done, but it takes a man or woman with courage to be determined enough to follow through on their dreams. Is that you?

Published on Wednesday June 9, 2010 in Choosing a Career, Life Purpose and Self-Discovery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The Answer is in You

A lot of people are always looking for answers outside of themselves, not realizing that every answer they’ve every needed is already there inside of themselves. Sometimes you just need the right question to draw it out. This is the power of having a life coach.

About a month ago I decided to take an online novel writing class. Anytime I share my writing experience as a journalist or express my desire to write a novel, people always say that’s something they have always wanted to do too. So…when I posted my status on Facebook and Twitter that I was going to take this class, I immediately got emails and comments congratulating me. In almost all of the comments sent to me, all of the people expressed a once upon a time interest in writing a novel.

One particular friend pursued the conversation with me a little further. He told me how passionate he was about always wanting to be a novelist and then asked me if I thought he should write a novel. My reply was, “If this is something that you are truly passionate about doing, the question is why AREN’T you doing it?”

Wow! That was all he needed. The next day he said he’s already included a thank you for me in his acceptance speech for the awards he’ll win from his novel. He asked me if I thought that was crazy. I said, “Absolutely not! I’m already ready for the several interviews I’ll have once I get recognition from the Oprah Book Club.”

Anytime I’m thinking about taking on a new project or participating in a new venture, I aways ask myself, “How is this going to compliment the dreams in my heart?” If it won’t, I don’t do it. I think the task is probably meant for someone else. If it does, I move forward.

Think abundantly and stay focused. If you think small, you’ll play small. If you think big, the possibilities are endless. Expect the best with every step of your journey and be mindful of not getting off track.

Published on Wednesday January 27, 2010 in Choosing a Career, Life Purpose and Self-Discovery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Discover Your Life Purpose Through Discovering Yourself

“As you become more clear about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you – the first time around.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

The path to self discovery is paying close attention to what you value in life. When you are happy about something, your values are being honored. When you are upset about something, your values are being challenged.

According to www.dictionary.com, a value is defined as, “the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard.”

By definition, everyone has different values. This is because people grow up in different households. People are taught differently. People live in different neighborhoods. And what one person learned was right and wrong is different from what other people might  have learned is right and wrong. Knowing this, it is easy to understand why people have different values. You can also be more willing to accept that it’s alright if someone else’s values are different from your own.

As you grow as a person, you might find that the values you were taught do not serve you anymore. And there may be other values that you hold onto. That is the key right there: keep the values that work for your life and get rid of the ones that don’t.

Take Action

Visit http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/list-of-values.htm to take a look at several general values. Come up with a list of 10 that you feel describe the type of person you are. Have your family and friends also come up with words they think explain who you are as a person. If you agree with your friends and family, put it on the list. If the value does not resonate with you, then do not add it to your list. Remember, it’s all about figuring out who you are. It’s not about others telling you who you are. Although they can be helpful in the process, they can’t define you. Only you can do that.

Once you have a list of about 15 values, take time to think about how you’d like to make these values more visible in how you live your life. If you notice that you are not honoring any particular value, jot down notes on how you might want to apply that value to your life.

Keep these values in mind while thinking about what type of career you want to choose for yourself. Make sure that you do enough research about the career to ensure that your values align with the common responsibilities of your career choice. Talk with someone in that career field to hear about their experiences, keeping your values in mind and thinking about whether there is a match.

Published on Monday November 16, 2009 in Choosing a Career, Life Purpose and Self-Discovery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Discover Your Life Purpose Through Your Passions

There are some things I prefer doing over other things. We are all wired with our own personal likes and dislikes. At first glance, it may seem like there is no real reason for our personal preferences in life. But that’s not the case. The things we enjoy lead us toward our life purpose. On a grand scale, our life purpose is really who we are meant to be in life. As a result of who we are, we then begin to act out the things we like to do. We act these things out by doing things like choosing our career, choosing our pastimes, and choosing our friends. Many of us even choose not to do things based on who we are and our dislikes of a particular activity.

Take Action

One major step in figuring out what you are meant to do with your life is reflecting on who you are and what you really like to do. Think back on your favorite pastimes as a child. Think about the activities you do now. Most likely, the activities that get you excited are the ones that are related to a career you would feel passionate about.

Take out a journal or a piece of paper and write this information down. A simple brainstorming activity on your passions will exercise your brain and help you figure out what career you’d like to choose. Remember that the choice is always yours, so make the ones that fulfill you.

Published on Monday November 16, 2009 in Choosing a Career, Life Purpose and Self-Discovery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .