A Purpose-Driven Life: How to Find Meaning, Set Goals & Live with Intention
I remember the exact moment when I discovered my purpose in life.
A few years ago, I published a blog post called Six reasons to start a business while you are in school. Along with the release of the blog post, I also gave an hour presentation to about a hundred students at Belmont University. The presentation felt amazing. As I stood in front of a crowded room, I spoke about my experiences and all of the reasons students should just go for it now and start a business. As I gave that presentation, I felt as if I was truly in my element.
Clark Buckner - CEO of Buck Branding, Host/Creator of ETPCast
A few months following the presentation, one of the students, Clark Buckner, reached out to catch up over lunch at his favorite restaurant Chago's Cantina. There he told me about some of the first clients he was landing and how he was planning making the jump into running his business full time after graduation. Clark attributed part of his inspiration to start the business to my presentation and blog post.
Seeing Clark's success and the fact that I had played a small part in inspiring his entrepreneurial journey gave me a sense of fulfillment unlike anything I had ever felt before. That feeling was more fulfilling than any client I ever landed or any dollar I ever made.
It was then and there that I realized that my passion and purpose in life is to inspire positive change in the lives of others.
I blogged a few times after that realization, although over time I stopped writing. I began focusing all of my time and efforts on the business at hand, landing bigger clients, making more money, starting new ventures. All of this success and all of this work left me with a feeling of emptiness.
The whole time I knew I was pushing my purpose aside. I kept talking about how someday I dreamt of having an audience of people that I could inspire. I kept talking about blogging on a regular basis. I kept talking about becoming a public speaker. Yet in all of the talking, I was not taking action.
Excuse after excuse, I kept putting it off. I told myself I needed one more rung of success. I told myself I was too young and no one would listen. I told myself lies to keep putting off pursuing my purpose in life.
The truth is that I just needed to get started.
There is no magical point in your career where suddenly everything aligns and it becomes right for you to pursue your passion or purpose in life. No one is going to give you permission. No one is going to tell you that it's ok. It just comes down to making the hard decision and committing to doing it.
This is not just a blog.
This is a turning point in my life.
This is a platform for me to inspire positive change in the lives of others.
Step one in living a purpose driven life is simply making the decision to do it.
What is your next step?