Yes, You DO Have a Purpose…
What the heck is purpose anyways?
To some, the word lights a fire in their belly because they truly understand what it means to live life with a purpose or calling. Others will cringe at the word… what a silly word, purpose. They doubt that everyone (including themselves) has a purpose or that things really do happen for a reason.
I believe that absolutely everything, including the awful, happens for a reason.
To enlighten us… or those we leave behind.
To force us to change our ways… a catalyst for growth.
To shape us into the people we’re meant to be… so that we can live our purpose.
You really do have a purpose, and it’s simply this:
Be you. Totally and completely. Fully expressed at ALL times.
When you’re just you, living that authentic self FULL OUT, it’s impossible to live a life off purpose. You do the things that you love and are skilled at. You spend time with the people you’re supposed to be with (because those who aren’t supposed to be in your life fall away). You travel to the places that you’re meant to be. And naturally, you begin to pursue your passions.
Ask yourself this:
If you didn’t have to please or worry about anyone else, what would you do? If money was no concern, how would you spend your time? Where would you be? With whom?
Don’t roll your eyes at these questions because you’ve heard them a million times… there’s a reason for that. It’s EYE-OPENING when you take the time to honestly look inside your heart to discover your truth.
Many times this questions is avoided out of FEAR. Fear that the life you have now isn’t the one you really want. Fear that the person you’re with, the friends or the tribe is actually steering you further from your truth. Fear that if you answer honestly, it will mean you have to DO SOMETHING about it.
Humor me… take some time with this question. Sit with it. Feel what bubbles up for you… what visions flash into your mind. Where your wildest fantasies take you. Discovering your truth requires honesty with yourself! And don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you have to throw everything away or start over.
Make an effort to simply know yourself and what you truly desire.
At a total loss?
Three simple ways to begin to discover your purpose:
1. Start following your tiny urges.
Do you really want to paint? Play guitar? Try some fancy new recipe? Have you been secretly dying to learn salsa or maybe even take a pole dancing class? Whatever your tiny little urge… indulge it. Take a class, buy the tools and try something that will begin to move you in the direction of what you REALLY want to do.
Nothing is too random, crazy or silly. If you have the urge, follow it! It will lead you into amazing new territory and allow you to get to know yourself on a deep level.
2. Be completely honest, ALL of the time.
Whether it’s with your friends, family or yourself, be totally honest about EVERYTHING. Don’t just agree with what everyone else is saying or doing. Don’t say you’ll do one thing when you really don’t want to or you’d rather do something else. Explore your truth.
Be honest with your words AND your actions… the purchases you make, clothes you chose to wear and things you decide to do. Your actions reflect your truth as strongly as your words. Begin to be honest and express that through everything you do.
Start small, but be confident in who you are and what you believe.
3. Realize you are the ONLY PERSON who knows what’s best.
Input can be phenomenal, but oftentimes we rely too heavily on our friends or family when making decisions. Before we know it, we don’t feel as if we can truly be ourselves because we’re so concerned about the approval of others. Don’t hand your power to someone else.
As much as they love you, these people’s assistance can sometimes hinder your ability to find and follow your purpose. They want only the best for you, and their actions can come from a place of protection… which is not always congruent with total support.
If you feel like something is right for you, then you need to trust your intuition!
Take action now!
Leave a comment below sharing some things you discovered about yourself when you honestly answered the questions above!
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
Pssst! If you’re ready to dig deep and take an honest look at your life, discover what you REALLY want and make an easy-to-implement action plan to make it happen FAST, then my new program Foundations for Unshakable Joy is for you!
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Personal Branding: Consistency is Key
Having a solid personal brand has a lot to do with knowing where you’re coming from in life.
Not what part of the country you’re from, how you were raised or where you went to college. The place “where you come from” has more to do with what you value and believe as well as your mission in life and what you wish to achieve. Really understanding those things will help you act from of a place of certainty and direction in all facets of your life.
Having a natural knack for noticing inconsistencies, I feel constantly aware of how often people contradict themselves. You’ll run a red arrow but not make an illegal U-Turn. You stress working out and eating clean, yet you smoke cigarettes every day. You attend church on a regular basis, yet you download illegally and burn copies of things you didn’t pay for. Do you see where I’m going with this? You pick and choose when to be consistent with what you claim to be your own values.
The personal brand that I am currently working to build for myself is one that follows the mantra of “be the best, healthiest and happiest you™.” As I’ve said before, to me this means that I am as green as I can possibly be, I am positively contributing to others and the world through everything that I do, I am healthy and fit both mentally and physically and I am working to live true to my mission statement.
When I made the decision that this would be my personal brand, I discovered a lot of projects and life practices that were inconsistent with the message I wished to send. This disheartened me a bit because they are things that I love… things that include a classic car that probably doesn’t get more than 15 mpg (though once it did get in the 20s on a road trip), an arts and craft project that was being made from non-recycled materials and really just creating more junk in the world, a business that simply focused on using design as a means to make money and a project dear to my heart (soon to be announced!) that I couldn’t really figure out how it fit within my mission.
I’m happy to report that I’ve since discovered ways that not only allow me to keep these things as a part of my life and my personal brand, but I am more excited about them than I was before! I want to share these in the near future as examples of what I intend to do as I grow my brand. My goal with this is to help others realize that you can keep doing what you’re doing in life while, with a few tweaks, making it consistent with being the best, healthiest and happiest person that you can possibly be.
Do you know where you’re coming from in life?
Can you admit to an area that you’re inconsistent in?
Be the Best, Healthiest and Happiest You™
Personal Branding and Mission Statements: Why Everyone Should Have One
Personal branding is essential for any individual
that wants to build a consistent and focused life.
Before this past year or so of serious soul searching and personal growth, I would have believed that things like mission statements and personal branding should be limited to companies and public figures. Now, I realize that it’s essential for building a consistent and focused life.
By creating a mission statement you learn how to hone in on your passions and purpose while setting a clear, overall goal for your life. A driving force for everything that you do. I believe it is the most important step in building your personal brand and building the life that you want to live. If you want to be the Best, Healthiest and Happiest You™, you have to understand what that means to you.
“My mission is to use my mind and creativity, through businesses, art, writing and leading by example, to teach and inspire personal responsibility and gratitude in others, along with the goal of becoming the best, healthiest and happiest person they can possibly be.” Stephenie Zamora
My mission statement defines the person that I want to be, what I want to accomplish and through what methods I plan to do that. By understanding these things, I am able to build my life accordingly. If being the best, happiest and healthiest me means I am as green as I can be, I am giving back to the world, I am fit, healthy, active and I am working to inspire others towards these same goals–that means that my companies and projects, my actions and my words reflect this.
I am currently working on building my personal brand and extending my core values into all facets of my life while working to live my mission statement. It is a concept that I wish to share further with you as I believe it’s essential. Please be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming posts around personal branding and creating your mission statement!
Please, share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section.
Do you have a mission statement? What does personal branding mean to you?
Be the Best, Healthiest and Happiest You™
Let’s connect! :)
