What is Your Purpose?

Purpose is an understanding of what your life is all about. Purpose provides the foundation of our values, vision and goals. Purpose gives meaning to everything we do in our personal and professional lives. In essence, purpose is the why.

Yet not all of us recognize our purpose or can articulate it. As in any life journey, it is difficult to arrive at a specific destination if we do not have an end in sight. The journey also must be joyful and heartfelt. It is purpose that makes life worthwhile and rewarding.

So to concentrate on your purpose or direction, begin to think "On Purpose." Ask yourself the reason(s) why you do the things you do, and answer honestly. Once you review the answers, determine if you like what you see. Are you living your life "On Purpose?" Are you fulfilling the intention of your values and ideals?

One key to discovering your personal purpose is in understanding the way you make a difference for others. Once revealed, understanding the way(s) you make a difference is the knowledge you need for building successful relationships. Your personal and professional success is built through creating value for others -- one relationship at a time. The importance of creating value for others as the theme of your purpose cannot be overemphasized. A self-centered or ego-driven purpose is doomed and will have a limited audience of admirers while an "other"-focused purpose creates synergy and provides shared meaning with others.

Discovering your purpose will give you insight into the value that you create for others. As you focus on how you can serve or create value for others, you build a platform for success. From this platform, your success and personal motivation grows and flourishes. We can see examples of this in all walks of life: from parenting to teaching, to coaching and mentoring, and beyond. The "pay it forward" rule multiplies the number of meaningful relationships we develop and nurture and thereby expands the richness of our personal, community and business lives.

Your purpose will also become your motivation to change, to take on new challenges and to improve all aspects of your life. Your purpose will become the catalyst for reinventing your self, your personal life and your business. Purpose becomes the passion, commitment and the desire to reach new peaks. The renewal of your purpose will only require an investment of your time. In the end, your purpose will provide you with a satisfying understanding of "this is why I do what I do everyday."