Are You Living On Purpose?

Your Purpose is who you are, what gets you excited; I might even say that your Purpose is remembering why you're here. If you're like a lot of readers, you might say, "I want to make my dreams come true, but, between you and me, I don't think I have a Purpose." Your Purpose is not a big, burdensome, heavy weight that you "must" accomplish in your life; rather, it's a joyous expression of who you are. One of my clients, who didn't think finding his Purpose was the way to double his business, didn't increase sales until he defined who he was; then it was easy.

Your Purpose could be anything that gets your juices flowing; it comes from what turns you on in life. Your Purpose is anything that touches your heart and makes a difference to you. If you're working at a job just for the money, and what you're doing doesn't make you feel proud, perhaps you've lost your sense of Purpose. The test is how you feel: are you turned on, or do you rationalize by saying that if you don't "sell this product, somebody else will."

Most people are so busy reacting to the needs of daily life that they're happy just to be getting through the day. It's hard to live on purpose when life revolves around daily crises and you're always feeling overwhelmed. By taking the time to define your Purpose, you'll open up more time and space, have more energy, and be more focused.

You may be wondering how to determine your Purpose. Here is a simple exercise that will help you get in touch with your Life's Purpose by looking at your past accomplishments. On a sheet of paper, list three times in your life, from the day you were born to this moment, when you accomplished something about which you are proud and passionate. Look for three successes about which you can say, "I did that; it felt good." Write them down simply and quickly; as you write the first one, the other two will come.

If you can't find at least three accomplishments--and I promise you've had at least thirty-three, maybe three hundred and thirty-three--perhaps you're being too hard on yourself and setting your sights too high. Now look for the pattern, the common component that made you feel good about those achievements. What was present for you in all three examples?

If you think at first that there's nothing consistent about the listed deeds, get in touch with what you were feeling then, about the events and about yourself. Avoid narrowing things down; try to stay with broad, generic statements. Perhaps all the items listed were fun or you were learning something new.

Don't be concerned if passion seems to elude you at first. Some people feel passion about their Purpose as soon as they define it. Others may not be sure if the stated Purpose is something that truly excites them. You may not experience passion until you're in action on a project; someone else may be turned on by the planning process. If you're having difficulty finding the common thread in all three accomplishments, but you were excited by two of them, you're probably on the right track.

It doesn't matter whether your Purpose is single-focused or multidimensional. Imagine using the zoom lens of a camera to capture your Life's Purpose in the most general way. Then play with the picture until the form, sound and "feel" of it is right for you. If your Purpose comes from what you feel passionate about, you are well on your way to making your dreams come true.

As Americas Dream Coach, Marcia Wieder travels the world - an ambassador for making dreams real. In 2006, Marcia will take My Dream Circle members through the entire Dream Coach process, step by practical step, during her First Tuesday DreamTalk calls. Join her live or download the hour long tele-classes to listen at your convenience. To learn more and see the remaining schedule, visit mydreamcircle.com

48 Things to Remember About Living Your Dream
You have one, dont you? A dream? Of course you do. We all do. Whether your dream is big or small heres some advice on Living Your Dream.1. You can be sure its a dream and not a fantasy if your dream involves serving others in some way.2. Youre never too old to start living your dream.3. Living your dream will allow you to be the best you can be and use your natural gifts, passions and talents to the fullest.4. Living your dream will give you ener...

True Calling
Our real purpose for living is to find our true calling; this sometimes appears to be a difficult task. When we are really honest with ourselves, we will feel an inside pull towards our true calling. You will feel an inner peace when you are in the zone of your true calling. Let face it, nine times out of ten you will know when you are doing what you were meant to do. We should try our best to honor the true calling that Yahweh has for our li...

Yoga for Self-Confidence
How can Yoga help you to start living your own life, enable you to pursue your passions, and stop living for the approval of someone elses standards? How can Yoga help us discard feelings of guilt and self-doubt? How can Yoga help you to be pro-active about life, instead of waiting to solve problems when they surface? Lets look at these questions, and see how Yoga can help anyone establish self-confidence.How could Yoga really help you to star...

The Secrets To Creating An Extraordinary Life
If you are the kind of person who knows you deserve a much better life but don't know how to make it happen, then read on.The fact is, millions of Americans are making their dreams come true and are living an extraordinary life in the process. If they can do it and I can do it, so can you.I'll give you the amazing secrets that people use to create the life of their dreams. I will share something that might be the missing link for you. I urge you ...

How Do We Recognize The Start Of Our Journey?
Often in life, it takes a crisis to make us re-evaluate what we're doing with our lives and where we're headed. Faced by doubt and uncertainty, we're reminded of our fragile mortality and we wonder what it is we're really searching for and what makes life worth living.Suddenly life can seem shallow and pointless without some purpose to it. You'll wonder why you're not allowing yourself to live the dreams you dreamt as a child. Where did all those...