The Success Principles Workbook Page 4
YOUR LIVELIHOOD
One of the keys to a happy life is to arrange things so that you spend more of your time doing things aligned with your purpose. When you’re able to combine your livelihood with your life purpose, achieving the success and lifestyle you desire becomes much easier and more natural. With a clearly stated life purpose and a vision of what you want in your life,* you can develop a clear set of criteria for making all your major life decisions (including your career) and for setting a lifetime’s worth of meaningful and fulfilling goals.
A PURPOSE IS NOT A GOAL
It’s important to be clear about the difference between a purpose and a goal. A goal is a specific target you want to reach by a certain time.* A life purpose is not about having something or achieving something. There is no end point to a purpose. Rather, it’s about using your natural talents and being a certain way or contributing in a certain way. It’s that which brings you joy and fulfillment whenever you do it.
Your purpose is your “Why.” It’s your ultimate reason for being. Then, with your purpose in mind, you can write your goals and achieve the results you want.
Your goals, on the other hand, are your “What.” They state what you intend to do, accomplish, or have. When your goals are aligned with your purpose, they’re meaningful for you, and you have more passion and perseverance to achieve them.
WHAT IF YOU’RE THINKING, MY LIFE PURPOSE ISN’T RELATED TO MY WORK?
Stand by! Once you craft your purpose statement in the exercises that follow, we will address this issue.
YOUR PURPOSE IS YOUR PERSONAL NORTH STAR
For centuries, ships on the high seas relied on the night sky for navigation. In particular, they used the North Star, at the tail end of the Little Dipper. While all the other stars appeared to move across the sky with the Earth’s rotation, only the North Star held its position. It served as a steadfast reference point with which sailors could determine the direction to follow.
Our life purpose serves as our own steadfast reference point, with which we can determine the direction we are to follow. This is especially relevant today, when we have so many options available to us. Our life purpose helps us decide among many possible paths, goals, and activities to pursue the ones most fulfilling and satisfying to us.
To determine your life’s purpose—to develop it using crystal clear words that are compelling to you and others—take your time to complete the exercises that follow. Then, finish by writing your own heartfelt purpose statement.
The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
ROBERT BYRNE
American Chess Grandmaster
PURPOSE IS PERSONAL
Since your purpose is highly personal and meaningful to you, the scope of your purpose doesn’t matter—not at all. A purpose statement usually includes some aspect of making a contribution, or doing something for others, in some way. When you’re experiencing joy doing what you’re doing, you are automatically contributing to others. Whatever that good is that you want to do, it’s right for you and others will automatically benefit from it. Whether your purpose is to discover new medicines, or to raise your children with love and caring, your purpose is worthy and sufficient—and it’s needed for the world to work. There is no satisfaction to be had in comparing the magnitude of your purpose with someone else’s purpose. It’s as personal as your favorite book or favorite song. While some people want to end hunger, others want to take cupcakes to the teachers at their neighborhood school. Whatever you’re doing, as long as you’re truly pursuing the expression of your unique purpose, it’s as critical as ending hunger. If it gives you joy, then it’s aligned with your purpose. Think about it. If everyone fulfilled their true purpose, all the needs in the world would be met. People who love to teach would teach. People who love to cook would feed everyone; people who love to fix things would be mechanics; people who love to write, paint, sing, dance, act, and play musical instruments would entertain us; and so on.
Karen Gilmore-Hall says she realized her purpose during her teens. Now in her 30s, Karen says, “My purpose is to be kind and loving and helpful, and to enhance our mutual experience of life.”
She can be “on purpose” almost anywhere or at any time, she says, by encouraging others, helping others feel understood and cared for, and doing her best to be a good friend.
“I try to put more love and smiles into the world,” Karen says, “and believe that good begets good.”
EXAMPLES OF LIFE PURPOSE STATEMENTS
Here are the life purpose statements of people from all backgrounds and interests, whether working locally or living out their purpose on a global stage.
My purpose is to use my talents in art and science to bring about the spiritual awakening of humankind.
SERGEY IVANENKO
Songwriter
My life purpose is to inspire every woman to realize her own personal beauty, regardless of her body type, size, or age, to love herself, and to live brilliantly.
RANI ST. PUCCHI
Fashion Designer and Author
My purpose is to use my skills as an educator to inspire, motivate, and empower others to find their light and to create the happiness they desire.
ROBYN ALLABY
Vice Principal
My purpose is to inspire young women everywhere to pursue their dreams with passion and an unrelenting drive for excellence.
KATRINA OKO-ODOI, PH.D.
My purpose is to publish books of enduring beauty, integrity, and wisdom, and to inspire others to fulfill their most cherished dreams.
JANET MILLS
Coauthor with Don Miguel Ruiz of The Four Agreements
My purpose is to expand the world’s compassion and connection.
JEFF WEINER
CEO of LinkedIn
DETERMINE YOUR LIFE PURPOSE STATEMENT
Now I’d like to help you uncover your life purpose statement.
The Structure of a Life Purpose Statement
After decades of helping others determine their life purpose, I have found a format that seems to work best for a clear and focused purpose statement. Work with these two guidelines and see if they work for you and your purpose statement:
A single sentence
Easily memorized
Why a Single Sentence?
When you hold your purpose statement to a single sentence it helps avoid the tendency to write long, all-inclusive statements. It helps to bring your purpose to a focus, and identify the essential elements. And it is easily learned and memorized.
Why Easily Memorized?
It’s important to be able to memorize your purpose statement, so that you can call it to mind at any time, and easily share it with others. Your purpose statement isn’t something you write down, file away, and then have to go and look up.
DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT YOU:
Guided Meditation
In my live and online Breakthrough to Success program, I lead the participants through a guided meditation to discover their life purpose.* (We will explore the power of meditation and mindfulness more fully later, in Chapter 12.) This meditation allows you to tap into the intuitive and creative aspects of your mind. We have included this meditation for you at jackcanfield.com/workbook-resources.
Step 1: Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for at least 20 minutes. Have a pen and paper nearby. Bring your Internet-connected device. Listen to the meditation now.
Step 2: If you received a gift during the life-purpose meditation, draw a picture of the gift below. If you have crayons or colored pencils, draw the gift in color.
Step 3: Describe that gift and what you think it means in terms of your life purpose.
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WAIT! BEFORE PAUSING OR GOING FURTHER, DO THIS:
Write a brief description of the gift in Your Life Success Journal in the back of the Workbook. Then return here.
THE JOY REVIEW
Those things that bring you the greatest joy are in alignment with your purpose.
When you’re experiencing joy, it indicates that what you’re doing and how you’re being are on purpose. It’s like the GPS in your car or on your phone letting you know that you’re on the correct route. Otherwise, it tells you to make a U-turn. When you go back and review the experiences of your life, and look for what brought you the greatest joy, you begin to get a sense of what your purpose is.
DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT YOU:
The Joy Review
Set aside about 20 minutes to go back over your life and make a list of all the times you felt the most joy. What were you doing? How were you being? You can record them below.
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ALTERNATIVE JOY REVIEW
Here’s another variation on the same exercise. To begin to hone in on your life purpose, make a list of five moments when you were doing something that brought you joy. To be most useful, you can state these activities in the present tense by completing the phrase, I feel the most joy when I’m . . .
Examples:
I feel the most joy when I’m spending time with my children.
I feel the most joy when I’m creating a plan to expand my business.
I feel the most joy when I’m teaching others new leadership skills.
Your turn:
I feel the most joy when I’m .
I feel the most joy when I’m .
I feel the most joy when I’m .
I feel the most joy when I’m .
I feel the most joy when I’m .
Now, look at what you wrote and see if you can find a pattern. Are two or more of them a similar type of activity? Write that activity below. Do that once more for the remaining activities. For me, one of the patterns of my joyful times is when I’m teaching. The second one is when I’m leading.
Joyful activity
Joyful activity
WAIT! BEFORE PAUSING OR GOING FURTHER, DO THIS:
Write your current version of your life purpose statement in Your Life Success Journal in the back of the Workbook. Then come back here for the conclusion of the life purpose discovery process.
DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT YOU:
The Life Purpose Exercise
While the meditation, The Joy Review, and the Alternative Joy Review will help you discover your purpose, this exercise is a simple but powerful way to create a compelling Life Purpose Statement. Take the time now to complete this exercise.
What are two unique personal qualities that you most enjoy expressing in the world?* Your unique qualities are strengths that are natural and easy for you to express, such as love, joy, enthusiasm, passion, authenticity, curiosity, transparency, creativity, courage, humor, generosity, kindness, patience, peacefulness, perseverance, and wisdom.
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List two ways you most enjoy expressing those qualities when interacting with others, such as supporting and inspiring. Other ways might include: writing, speaking, coaching, empowering, mentoring, singing, dancing, painting, leading, managing, inspiring, nurturing, protecting, healing, solving problems, building a business, inventing, traveling, creating, organizing, and integrating.
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WAIT! Are You Reading This Exercise, But Not Doing the Work Required?
Sometimes it’s easy to just keep reading or scanning the next section to get to the “new stuff.” Remember, this is a workbook, designed for you to actively apply these principles in your life. Grab your pen or pencil and complete each exercise fully in order to move toward the success you long for. If you don’t have the time or desire to do this now, put the book away and come back when you are ready.
Assume the world is perfect right now. What does this world look like? How is everyone interacting with everyone else? What does it feel like? This is a statement, in present tense, describing an ultimate condition, the perfect world as you see it and feel it. Remember a perfect world is a fun place to be. Example of my perfect world: Everybody is fully living their highest vision of their life, one in which they’re doing, being, having, and experiencing everything they want.
Other examples might include: Everyone is taking 100% responsibility for their own lives . . . or Everyone is living an ecologically sustainable lifestyle . . . or Everyone is living in peace and harmony with everyone else.
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Combine the answers to the three prior questions into a single statement. Example: My purpose is to use my creativity and enthusiasm to support and inspire others as we all freely express our talents in harmony, love, and joy.
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Check your life purpose statement in terms of the two guidelines mentioned earlier: (a) Is it a single sentence? If not, you can consolidate it below.
(b) Can you easily memorize it? Shorten it, if needed.
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How does your life purpose statement look to you? Do you want to revise it further? If so, use the spaces below.
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WILL YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE DETERMINED YOUR PURPOSE?
Maybe. On the other hand, you may need to try it on for a while. Soon you may find yourself saying, Yes, that is what’s really important to me.
You may think that what you wrote seems too obvious to be as special as your life purpose. You may even think, Everyone probably has a similar one. But if you’re thinking that, don’t be misled! It may seem common to you, but it is uniquely yours. The fact that it has always been true for you may make it seem ordinary.
The test is to ask yourself, Is this what’s truly important to me? When your answer is yes, you’ll know you’ve landed on it. It may be that your newly discovered life purpose statement is like a new pair of jeans that you need a bit of time to feel comfortable in.
ARE YOU THINKING, I CAN’T LIVE MY PURPOSE, GIVEN MY SITUATION?
Do you see obstacles in your life situation preventing you from fully living your purpose? Is it finances, family circumstances, your job, or something else?
If this is what you see, then take 100% responsibility for it, and change your situation! Your happiness, fulfillment, and success are at stake. Here are two approaches.
APPROACH #1: BE RESOURCEFUL AND CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE
Brainstorm and then research ways that you can live in alignment with your purpose and incorporate those into your life, here and now—or at least very soon.
Here is how one woman solved this problem for herself.
When Julie Marie Carrier was a child, she loved animals. Adults around her would say, “Julie, you should be a vet!” When it came time for college, she enrolled in the pre-vet program at Ohio State University. She was lucky enough to spend her senior year in England, away from family and faculty. As she studied more of the sciences, she came to a stunning realization: I’m totally miserable. I don’t want to be a vet!
She began to reflect on this, and finally asked herself, What is a job I would love so much that I’d do it for free but that I could actually get paid for? Julie thought back over all the things she’d done in her life and what had made her the most happy. Then it hit her—it was the youth leadership conferences that she had volunteered at, and the communications and leadership courses she had taken. With decisive action, she changed her major, and upon graduation, became a senior management consultant in leadership training and development for the Pentagon—all by the time she was 23! But that’s not the end. She started speaking at events for kids all across her home state, and then went on to launch a new career as a public speaker on leadership and character. She had found her joy, and then created a life—and a livelihood—around her purpose.