Step 1: Choose your purpose
Step 2: Design how to get there
Step 3: Get to work
Step 4: Check progress
Step 1: Choose your purpose
"What one thing would you dare to dream if you know you could not fail?"
-- Brian Tracy.
What do you want most in life?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? Do you even believe that whatever you can dream, you'll achieve it?
I believe this is true. In fact, some can prove to you that this is a law, a scientific law that can never be broken. You have a lot of control over how your life turns out. Not all the control, but a lot of the control, else why would you be someone who can make choices of your free will? It's true that as a man thinketh so is he. The starting point in life should be to know what one wants above all else. You can call this your purpose. What were you born to accomplish? What would you give your life to? Which problem were you born to solve, a need to fulfill?
Whether you answer this question at 7 or at 70, life is waiting for you to answer this question. Without your answer, you will live a mediocre life at best. You may never achieve greatness. For one thing, without a purpose, you will not have a single thing at which to direct your everyday effort. Your energy will be scattered, but one thing you need in this short life is focus.
So what is purpose?
Your purpose in life is a single idea, philosophy, or action that you believe it's worth dedicating your life to. This is what informs and shapes all or most of the decisions you take on a day-to-day basis. It's a constant reminder of your big why in life. This is the destination that makes all the ups and downs of life worthwhile. It is the ladder upon which you are climbing. And this is why it's important to find your purpose early in life, else as Steve Covey said:
"If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster."
--Steve Covey
Our world is shaped by individuals who have followed their hearts single-mindedly to achieve something worthwhile in life. Entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, musicians, activists, leaders, sages, saints, moms, dads, speakers, and all those who think beyond themselves to set a vision or purpose for their lives have all achieved great things like freeing the world from certain diseases, taking decisions that would free certain races from certain ills, etc., etc.
How do I find my purpose?
When you were born, your hands were closed. You held your God-given gifts tight and no one knows what it is. It's your task to find your gifts and see how they can help you achieve your purpose. You have been tasked to write the story of your life the way you want it. Like a child, you can let your imagination wander and write whatever you want in it. You can also develop skills that could enhance your purpose, but first, you need to know what your purpose is. In finding your purpose, remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
--Martin Luther King Jr
Decide to dedicate your life to doing something great, today. Decide to dedicate your life to something that makes the world a better place. Maybe you want to be the best mom or dad in the world or the best wife or dad in the world. Maybe you want to solve even much bigger problems, or you just want to love and serve like Mother Theresa, we all can be great.