“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
To find your purpose, ask yourself what you care deeply about. By focusing on purpose, you can align your life and work with your deepest values, and also relieve yourself of the expectation that life or the long slog of a career will be all (or even mostly) happiness and sunshine.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
For some people, the purpose of life may be to make the world a better place. Others may believe that the point of life is to find and achieve personal fulfillment. And some may feel that the point of life is simply to enjoy it as much as possible.
Many scientists would say that the purpose of life is to evolve and to live a life of purpose, according to Psychology Today magazine.
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
— Psychology Experts (@Psychology_EX) December 25, 2022
Evolution is the process that allowed organisms to survive and thrive. Humans, along with every living animal or plant, owe our existence to it.
Our purpose is to “evolve” during our lifetime because that is consistent with our evolutionary purpose.
Thus, the purpose of life?” is that we are here so that we can continue to live, adapt, learn, and grow. A purpose of life, and our purpose, is to continue to evolve.
We Evolved to Evolve
“Evolution” is a process of learning, adapting, and growing to be more effective and efficient, we see evolution everywhere.
Evolution is fundamental to every living organism. Inherent to our existence is that we learn, adapt, and grow. Additionally, maintaining healthy personal relationships is existential to our existence
Health, happiness, and longevity are the payoffs for this. Since our biological evolution is the foundation of our existence, a purpose of our lives is to continue to “evolve” during our lifetime by learning and growing.
There are several ways to grow, adapt and learn (to find purpose) in life, such as:.
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#NBA and #collegebasketball should implement a triple bonus policy of 15+ team fouls.
Basketball games are difficult to watch and appreciate from a fan’s perspective when one team is constantly committing personal fouls in the final minutes of the game in a desperate attempt to erase a deficit and achieve a comeback.
Currently, losing teams are free to commit an unlimited number of personal fouls to put the opposing team on the foul line in attempts to slow the game and to try to stage a come back. During these periods of relentless fouls and slowing the pace of the game, the game becomes difficult and painful to watch from the fans perspective.
To disincentivize this practice of relentless fouling in the final minutes of a basketball game, professional and college basketball should implement a triple bonus team foul policy of two free throw attempts and the ball out for the foul shooting or victimized team. This would speed up the final minutes of the game and would increase the enjoyment of viewing the game for fans. Television networks broadcasting or streaming the game would offer audiences a much better product, especially in the final minutes.
This triple bonus team foul policy would also force basketball teams and their players to become more discipline in the manner they play the game.
Fifteen total personal fouls are more than an adequate number of fouls to permit in a game. Effectively, every foul above fifteen would be treated like a technical foul, two free throw shots and retain possession of the ball.
It’s well past time to fix this part of the game that is painful to watch for fans.
Adam Leipzig gave a TED talk regarding discovering your Life Purpose in 5 minutes. In his talk, he discusses a five step process to find meaning and purpose in your life.
In a non-scientific survey of Yale University classmates attending a college reunion, Adam Leipzig discovered to his dismay — despite financial, material and career success — that:
He explained that the people who were happy with their lives knew their life purpose. For this to take 5 minutes, you need to already know the answers to these 5 things or questions:
The most successful and happy people in almost every field and walk of life are outward focus and focus on the people they serve first and foremost.
So, when people ask you, “what do you do”, just respond how what you do changes the lives of people. For example: “I help people build wealth, better manage their money, and achieve financial freedom”. In a way, this can become your personal brand and elevator pitch. And it can be that simplite.
Adam Leipzig is a producer, executive and distributor. and has produced more than 300 stage plays and live events, and one of the founders of the Los Angeles Theatre Center.
Your Life Purpose comes down to what you really want to do to serve others and what you really enjoy doing to serve other, in the end. What you feel the most alive and happy doing while serving others.
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Feeling good means that your body and mind are working at their peak level, and you have a general sense of well-being.
To feel good day after day, according to David Rakel, MD, director of the integrative medicine program at the University of Wisconsin, means that your body and mind are working at their peak level, and you have a general sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being. Dr. Rakel suggests:
Practicing Mindfulness: Stay focused on the present moment.
When you stop, look around and be mindful of the present moment, this life is pretty amazing.
“If we can learn to recognize the clutter that our mind is in and learn to be more mindful of the present moment, that can be a tremendous asset to our overall sense of well-being,” Rakel says. The “clutter” that can make you feel bad includes regret about the past and worry that bad things might happen to you.
A practice called mindfulness can help you reduce the clutter by keeping your focus on the present moment.
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
To be more mindful, try to:
Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodeling the physical structure of your brain.
Essentially, mindfulness lights up parts of our brains that aren’t normally activated when we’re mindlessly running on autopilot.
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally,” says Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the research-backed stress-reduction program Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
Practice staying positive.
The definition of being positive is having hope and confidence in one’s ability to handle what’s tough, along with remembering that nothing is all negative all the time, states Angela L., editor for A-Lifestyle.com.
Shifting perspective can help you live a happier, more fulfilling life.
Being positive starts with changing your perspective on how you see things. The same event can happen to two people, and one views it as a positive and one views it as a negative. So try to see the good side of the things and people around you; it can help you stay free of anxiety and depression, Rakel says.
Research says that we have powerful capabilities to choose positive ways and emotions of thinking. Our emotions change our body at the cellular level. Rather than trying to get rid of negative feelings, we can choose to respond to them differently. To live a happier life, it’s essential to learn how to highlight the positive thinking and improve your outlook on life.
If you believe something is negative, then it probably will be (and vice versa). Challenge that negativity by embracing the mindset of a fixer and a doer. If there’s a will, there’s a way! That’s truly how to stay positive.
You can’t control what happens to you, but one things you can control are your perspective and how you respond. It’s up to you to look for the right side in everything and react most positively.
Make a spiritual .
As long as your happiness depends on things that are impermanent, such as new luxury vehicles or new homes, you will always be disappointed and unhappy over the long-term.
If you want to achieve long-lasting peace and serenity, then your spiritual practice must become a way of life.
Rakel defines this spiritual practice as spending time on “that which gives your life meaning and purpose.”This could be your spiritual beliefs, enjoying nature, or sharing moments with loved ones. “If we get up in the morning excited about something that gives us meaning and self-purpose, our bodies do all they can to heal,” Rakel says.
In short, your happiness must depend on something that is constant and consistent. One thing in your lives that is constant is the present moment, and this is at the core of spiritual practice.
Be around people.
Having good interpersonal relationships and a good support network of family, friends, coworkers, and other people who care about you can help you stay healthier, feel less stressed, and even live a longer life. Spend time with these people regularly, and work to keep your relationships with them strong.
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“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” – Napoleon Hill
What’s the purpose of your life? Or to be more specific, what is it that adds meaning and satisfaction to life? What is it that gives us a sense of purpose?
Like many people, you might feel that you’re simply existing in life, going through the motions without understanding what it all means.
In living the “a purpose driven life”, you’ll start to find meaning in every moment of your life. You’ll learn to deepen your love for yourself and others, find the unique purpose you were made for, and prepare yourself for a meaningful life.
Jack Hawley writes in Reawakening the Spirit in Work, “Our life direction is about moving into the vacant upstairs flat.”
Purpose is that home within, that place where our talents, values and service to others-drive reside. It’s there all the time, waiting for your arrival. You may have been too busy “living your life downstairs” to even notice.
Successful investors and wealth builders tend to be purpose driven. They tend to have a clear vision about what to focus on and a plan on how to accomplish their wealth building and investment goals.
They have deadlines and milestones, and stick to them, holding themselves accountable for their progress or lack of progress. They focus on the prize and literally speak their reality into existence. Once they say they will do something, they do it!
People aren’t successful by chance.
People choose to be successful and then make it happen by first having a vision and written goals. They don’t ask for permission and they don’t search for acceptance from others. They win by not getting angry or making excuses. They clearly know what they want and take responsibility for for their progress or lack of progress.
No matter who you are or what you do, within, there is a purpose for life. Life may throw you heartaches and failures but your purpose drives you to persist, improve, learn and grow.
You can strive to “be better/do better”, which means to always try to be better day after day. It may only be a small percentage of improvement, but small improvements over time can compound into big changes.
Living a purpose driven life may help you to live longer, as research suggests. Scientists found that those individuals who have a purpose in life had a reduced mortality risk. In short, finding meaning in one’s life promotes positive aging and longevity.
Why is so important to have a sense of purpose?
Feeling that you’re making a difference, that what you’re doing has a meaning, can have a great impact on your life.
Having a sense of purpose can make all the difference in your life! It can help you to get up each morning, feeling excited about the upcoming day. Even more so, it can help you to confront difficulties and overcome even the biggest obstacles that lie in your path.
Personal Mission Statement
Here’s a quick way to get a sense of your life’s purpose.
By reviewing the kind of person you are and the abilities that come naturally to you, even if they got you into trouble in the past, you can gain insight into your life purpose, says psychotherapist Tina Tessina, Ph.D., author of The Ten Smartest Decisions a Woman Can Make after Forty. Do so by writing down a list of descriptions about yourself in each of the following categories:
Personal qualities (e.g., friendly, intellectual, a good communicator)
Your talents (e.g., painting, motivating people by public speaking, athletics, mentoring)
The circumstances that tend to repeat in your life (e.g., do you wind up teaching others, listening to people’s problems, working with children or technology?)
Your desires (e.g., traveling, cleaning up the environment, running for political office). If you’re doing something you’re not interested in or passionate about, you’re usually doing it with a bad attitude, a lazy demeanor, or doing the task grudgingly.
Then take the answer that is most important to you in each category and complete the following sentence:
I ________________ (your name) am designed to be a ________________ (insert personal quality) who can ________________ (insert talent) and I find myself ________________ (fill in recurring patterns or circumstances) often, because I am supposed to ________________ (desire).
Example:
I, John Smith, (your name) am designed to be a good communicator (insert personal quality) who can motivate people through my experiences and expertise (insert talent) and I often find myself listening to people’s problems (fill in recurring patterns or circumstances) because I am supposed to operate an executive coaching company and improve their circumstances (desire).
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“We have the vision, which is the what. We have the mission, which is the how. We have the purpose, which is the why.”
There is a well worn aphorism that goes, “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” In other words, you must have a purpose for your life, or you’re likely to live aimlessly and to live a life without meaning.
To psychologists, purpose is “an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goals that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world.” The goals and dreams that foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change the lives of other people, like launching an organization, researching a disease, or teaching kids to read.
Your purpose will change over the course of your lifetime as your identity and responsibilities changes when going from teen into adulthood, and make the shift to retirement.
Like happiness, purpose is a journey and a practice. That means it’s accessible at any age, if you’re willing to explore what matters to you and what kind of person you want to be—and act to become that person.
If we’re able to revisit and renew our sense of purpose as we navigate milestones and transitions, suggests this research, then we can look forward to more satisfying, meaningful lives.
It’s imperative for young and old alike to know and embrace their purpose in life. By doing so, it gives life meaning and a mission. It gets you up out of bed in the morning and make your day joyful and rewarding when done with purpose.
Vision Mission Purpose
A vision (What) is where you are going or what you will become. It’s what the future looks like if goals and intentions are accomplished and laid out to be the driving force of how you define success. It is your destination at a point in the near or distant future. Vision defines your goal and sets the expectation of what you’ll experience when you arrive at the destination.
A mission (How) is an actionable vision statement — something that will give the vision legs and traction. It’s the what, who and why. It helps you define the immediate goals and helps you stay focused on the plan. It is the path you follow to arrive at your destination: When someone asks you where you are going, they ask you how you are going to get there. Your mission is the how: the unique way you do what you do, the path you choose to follow, the decisions you make to get to your destination.
Purpose (Why) is your sense and feeling of resolve or determination. It’s your why for you are doing the work you are doing. What great problem are you solving, or what movement are you championing? It’s your why do you show up. It is the reason you began the journey, guided by the deeply-held values and beliefs that inspire it to make a difference.
Your purpose is the reason you exists beyond making money. And, once you know your purpose, you know what fulfills and completes you.
Purpose focuses on three elements:
If you’re creating or evaluating your mission statement, substitute the words Why, How, and What for Purpose, Mission, and Vision. These substitutions will help you minimize any confusion between the terms and what they mean.
Vision is the picture. Mission is the road map to get there. Purpose is the feeling that you have when you accomplish what you set out to do. For example, here is a life purpose that might resonate:
“My life purpose, to love and honor God, is foundational. My professional purpose is to be a ‘Builder’ of a future that transcends ways of working for the wellbeing of people and businesses throughout the world.” –Miles Everson, Former Vice Chairman, PwC US
Your mission is your vision in action, connecting your purpose. Here are a few additional examples of purpose statements:
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Once you have clear and meaningful purpose, vision and mission, you’re better able to focus your attention on what’s most important and what you value the most in life. And, you learn to say “no” to everything else.
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Believe in yourself.
You are often your own worst critic, and so can you be your own best supporter. If you do not have confidence in your own value, abilities and contribution, then nobody else will either. You must have faith in your intrinsic worth. We each have something to offer that is necessary and valuable, though we may not know what that something is.
You do not have to be able to see the end zone. Just because you aren’t able to visualize where you might go and how you might succeed, that doesn’t mean it will not happen. And just because you may have made mistakes does not mean that you can’t achieve your goals in the future. You can do far more than you can imagine if only you believe you can.
“With whatever you are struggling to master in your life, create a small habit or routine that gets you one step closer to it each and every day. ” Brendon Burchard
Now more than ever is the time to really appreciate the small, meaningful moments in life. It’s time you stop waiting for ” the anvil of purpose” to fall onto your head and suddenly everything, like life’s vision, purpose and meaning, become clear!
Instead, sit down with yourself and really think about what that purpose, that meaning, that vision for your life can really be.
There is no better time than the present to start this journey of self-exploration and find the ways in which you can truly feel alive, fulfilled, and happy in this life.
Thus, it’s important to make getting better everyday and self-improvement a way of life. It’s important to:
In the past, how many times did you achieve something or have special moments with your kids, spouse or friends, only to quickly move on to the next thing?
Life is so short to breeze by these special moments and not appreciate them. Really take the time to feel the day and fill your heart with gratitude. You’ll be happier too!
There’s still time to reclaim your day and schedule activities that add real value and meaning back into your routine. By pursuing your dream for 2 minutes or even 30 minutes every single day.
Don’t wait until next weekend when you might have the time for your goals and vision. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed and that big dream of yours isn’t going to materialize if you keep pushing it off.
Break down your big audacious goals into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Work on your goals every single day and you will move the needle in your progress and success.
Additionally, if you want to achieve your goals, you should develop a growth mindset. A growth mindset allows you to explore more, take more risks, try new things, and grow more into what you’re capable.
The Power of Reflection
Clarity only happens when you reflect on your long term goals, habits and relationships — daily. It might be time to take a hard, unflinching look at your own performance in these important areas of your life.
When you live a life with intention each day, that brings about true purpose and meaning to your life. And when your days are filled with more purpose and meaning — more happiness and fulfillment tends to follow. And isn’t that the ultimate goal? To live a happy, purposeful and meaningful life.
Personal growth, goals and purpose are things that must be worked on everyday, otherwise you will lose touch with them.
Your Wealth Building and Financial Freedom Coach,
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Small, daily actions can gather momentum to become an unstoppable force of change.
It’s not too late to prioritize your health and wellness, explains Brendon Burchard,
! If you haven’t already, put your health at the forefront and do everything you can to get your healthy eating, sleep, and exercise routine in place. Because small, daily actions can gather momentum to become an unstoppable force of change.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs
Purpose is an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world, according to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The goals that foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change and improve the lives of other people. “If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily”, says author Jack Canfield
Purpose is not a destination, but a life’s journey, a mindset and a practice. It’s accessible at any age and at any income level, if we’re “willing to explore what matters to us and what kind of person we want to be—and act to become that person”. Filmmaker and author Drew Scott Pearlman writes: “Your purpose must be particular to you. This is the road less traveled. Your purpose cannot be someone else’s path, not your family’s path nor your friends’ path.”
Individuals with a sense of purpose report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction—which seems associated with better health, wealth and emotional well-being outcomes. For many people, it was good and beneficial to have a purpose or a goal, no matter what it was.
Additionally, the physical health benefits of a sense of purpose are well-documented. For example, a Harvard’s School of Public Health study found that people who report higher levels of purpose at one point in time have objectively better physical agility four years later than those who report less purpose.
Moreover, researchers suggest that people take better care of themselves when they feel like they have something to live for. Having a purpose also seems to be associated with lower stress levels, which contributes to better health and emotional well-being. And, according to Helen Keller, “True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Additionally, people with a more “prosocial” purpose—one aimed at helping others—experienced greater personal growth, integrity, and health later in adulthood. This result was echoed by a 2019 study by Anne Colby and colleagues at Stanford University. They surveyed almost 1,200 Americans in their midlife about their well-being and what goals were important to them. The researchers found significantly better physical health and higher emotional well-being among people who were involved in pursuing beyond-the-self goals, compared to those who were pursuing other types of goals. In other words, engaging in prosocial goals had more positive impact on physical health and emotional well-being than engaging in non-prosocial goals.
A sense of purpose appears to suggest that humans “can cooperate and accomplish big things together”. Research suggests that team leaders can effectively boost the productivity, work experience and well-being of their team members by helping them connect to a task-related higher purpose. The 2013 Core Beliefs and Culture Survey revealed that 91 percent of respondents who believe that their company has a strong sense of purpose also say it has a history of strong financial performance.
“Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself.” Oprah Winfrey
Purpose also helps both individuals and the species to survive and thrive. Purpose often grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll almost certainly find others traveling along with you, hoping to reach the same destination—a community.
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According to research by Kendall Cotton Bronk, a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Claremont Graduate University, finding one’s purpose requires four key components:
Often, finding our purpose involves a combination of finding meaning in the experiences we’ve had, while assessing our values, skills, and hopes for a better world. It means taking time for personal reflection while imagining our ideal future. “Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself’,” says Oprah Winfrey
A sense of purpose as we navigate milestones and transitions means that we can look forward to more satisfying, meaningful and abundant lives.
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Nietzsche
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“Wealth is the product of a man’s capacity to think.” – Ayn Rand
“We become what we think about.” — Earl Nightingale
Wealth building begins and ends with your mindset, thoughts and behaviors. Thus, it’s imperative to keep your thoughts focused on the positive, on success, on making an impact, on changing the world and on changing people’s lives for the better.
There is an old adage that goes:
You must not fix your eyes on current world conditions or even your own personal situation. Instead, you must focus on what you can control, on how you respond, and on how well you maintain a positive and winning mindset and attitude. Focus on the solution not the problem.
So, your keys to success tips include:
In order to build wealth and to achieve financial freedom, you must develop a wealth building mindset and follow a deliberate plan. As you will discover, your wealth grows to the extent that you do.
“We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.” – Earl Nightingale
Bottomline…for success, keep your focus and thoughts on wealth building!!! Because, what you focus on expands and establishing habits is the key to expansion.
Don’t focus on the problems your dealing with today or the conditions of the world; fix your eyes on your systems, habits and the destination.
Napoleon Hill describes success as the product of having a definite objective. In achieving that objective, you need a clear definite aim and a definite plan to get there.
A definite chief aim means in simple terms that you must have a clear objective that you are aiming to achieve. Success — building wealth and achieving financial freedom — will not come to you and you will not be able to manifest what you want, unless you know what you want.
Success is ultimately achieved by focusing on a clear objective, and pursuing that objective deliberately and with all the means at your disposal. In simple terms, success is simple, but not easy.
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill
Actually, you just have to be exceptionally clear about what you are trying to achieve, passionate about achieving it, comfortable and happy that what you’re doing matches your values: and finally, and perhaps more important than anything else, you must believe that you can achieve it, you must expect to do so, and you must have a plan to achieve it.
So it’s imperative that you use the power of your thoughts and mind to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This works similarly to building strength in the muscles of your body. As you focus on what’s going right in your life, it will grow and expand like a muscle.
What you focus on grows and expands!
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