What’s Your Purpose?

We are taught at an early age that if we try hard enough we can be whatever we want.  I do believe this, to a certain extent, but it misses the point of real success.  Yes, if I spend my life working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week staying on top of all the financial journals and magazines, neglecting my wife and kids, forgoing real opportunities to do good in society and to help others then there is a very real possibility that I can be successful in making some money.  If I did this, though, I would be miserable and so would everyone around me.  I would add no real value to the world.  I would just be a slave to what I think success is. 

Take the example of someone who, without a God given athletic ability, sets out to play basketball in the NBA.  He has been told that he can be anything he wants if he sets his mind to it.  So he goes out in pursuit of his “dream.”  He spends his day practicing, giving up opportunities to meet new people, and add value to other people’s lives.  He may even make it into professional basketball but because that isn’t what he was meant to do, there is a tremendous amount of unhappiness.  He feels unfulfilled and begins to spend his money on frivolous things.  To fill the void in his life he begins experimenting with drugs. He ends up bankrupt and, in a rehab, somewhere wondering how it happened.  Sound extreme?  I don’t think so!  This story is being played out every day in every sport, in Hollywood and in every other industry.  The same thing happens to us even though we are not in the public spotlight.  When we give everything, we have and push for something we aren’t supposed to do we end up bankrupt: spiritually, emotionally, socially and financially. 

By allowing your relationship with God to form the basis of your pursuits and aspirations, you are tapping into a source of unlimited power and potential.  Yes, YOU WERE CREATED FOR SOMETHING!  By pursuing the reasons for your existence, you will be more successful than you ever dreamed possible. Success should flow in your life, not be a constant struggle. Yes, there are setbacks and difficult times along the way, but the overall direction of your life and pursuits will all make sense and fall into a pattern of actions, which despite all of the circumstances around you, will move you forward in pursuit of that childhood dream or vision that you had for your life before it was distorted by worldly thinking and influence. 

I am not saying that you will have a “free ride” and that your life will be effortless when you find your true purpose and begin to fulfill it, but I will tell you that you will have a sense of peace, serenity and confidence in the face of calamity.  You will develop a sense of faith to see you through the hard times and a sense of humility to see you through the easy times. 

You will learn to take the next right action in your life, and you will begin to see how these tiny actions in your life string together to create success in every area of your life. 

The victory has already been won.  All you need to do is look at the choices you are presented with and make the

right ones.  Choices as small as holding the door open for the person behind you at the mall or making a phone call in the next 5 minutes to speak to someone who you have been putting off.  It doesn’t matter what “compartment” the next right action is in, take it in the moment and God will lead you along the path of success.  You will enjoy peace and prosperity like never before.  Will you give it a try? 

Michael at R2W