What is purpose?

“‘I have done my best.’ That is about all the philosophy of living one needs.”
— Yutang, Lin

To put it simply, your purpose is to live authentically — be who you really are at your core, and you are living your purpose.

So it is not about getting that star job. It is not about getting that dream home. It is not based on circumstance.

It is everything and anything that you do, and doing it with joy and authenticity.

What about loving our children?

“Loving our children isn’t always enough. Learning to speak their love language communicates your love in ways they’ll understand right from the start.”
— Gary Chapman

How do we express our love for our children? Often we confuse our communication styles and the “love” message can get misunderstood by our ever-independence-seeking children (and they might not know how to show they love us either).

Learning to show your love in the ways that each unique and individual child understands love will give you that ever-illusive peace in the family.

One friend of mine started understanding how to finally explain to his children that helping around the house was THE way to show him they loved him (acts of service). Now the boys do their chores with ease because they know it is a quick and easy way to say “Hey dad, I love you.” And after talking it over with his boys, dad now knows that for one boy, it’s plenty of hugging and for the other it’s verbal praise.

Making change stay

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.”
— Robert Frost

Improvement and change occur when you do things repeatedly and consistently. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any of the momentum you need to succeed. Find ways to keep yourself on track and motivated. It is easy to create reasons not to stick to your goals. We get sick, we get tired, we have to travel, we get discouraged, we are stressed.

Here are some tricks to staying motivated and keeping change consistent in your life:
• Be reasonable with your goals by not taking on too much too quickly.
• Write your goals down in your calendar and make them as big a priority as every other appointment you have.
• Find support near by — a friend, a spouse, even a virtual computer buddy to keep you on track.
• Keep things fun — when it’s fun, it’s that much easier to do.
• Keep a journal so you can see your progress.

Create Yourselfl Daily

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”
— George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

We start early in life saying certain things about ourselves, such as? I’m a shy person, or I’m intelligent, or I’m stupid, or I’m clumsy, or I’m slow, etc. At this point in our life, we can begin to understand the power of words and of the mind. We can come to the realization that all of these statements were creating self-fulfilling prophecies.

We have the power to be whoever we choose to be and however we choose to be. If you have instilled in your life that you are patient, then you have affirmed yourself into being that way. Conversely, if you’ve been saying repeatedly for decades, “I’m impatient”, that’s where you will find yourself now. But you can change all that on a daily basis starting today.

Each morning when we wake up, we have a new day ahead of us to be whatever we choose and act however we want. We can create ourselves daily. Consciously choose to let go of old resentments, grudges, habits, and fear, and fill the void with all positive and loving ways of being and growing. The power is in your words and in your mind.

Make the first move

“Feeling grateful to or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.”
— Christiane Northrup, M.D.

We say we want love, yet we are afraid to give love for fear of getting hurt. We say we want friendship, but we forget to be kind to those around us. Personal relationships are as important to us as the air we breathe. We all need friends, lovers, companions, people with whom we can share our joys, sorrows, fears, and successes.

These relationships help us grow at our deepest levels and yet often we remain distant and detached from one another, unable or unwilling to reach out and make meaningful contact. We need to take the risk and explore the possibilities that exist in human interaction. Make the first move. Treat others the way you want to be treated and you will find that like will attract like.

This is success

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you were to ask someone what would make them happiest in life, a large majority would most likely give answers like: “Spending more time with my kids”, “Having more free time to go out with friends”, “Getting the garden looking like I’ve always dreamed it would”, “Going out to camp, or fish, or travel”. These are the things that make our body, mind, and soul feel complete.

Strangely enough, the same people who gave these answers are the same ones that are working 24-7 to get the bigger house, more expensive car, and the bigger title. Which means they don’t have the time for their kids, friends, garden, camping, fishing, or traveling.

If you find that you too are stuck in this self-deceiving cycle, write down the things that would truly make you happy and post them someplace that you will see them constantly as a daily reminder to what really counts in your life. Start living true to your inner guidance for happiness.

Take control of your life

“The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.”
— John F. Kennedy, (1917 - 1963)

Take control of your life by finding exactly what you are passionate about and living it in excellence right this very moment. When we allow ourselves to live each day to its fullest, our appreciation and gratitude for life increases.

Find the joy in the moments of life and have passion for what you do every day. This is our only opportunity to live today and express ourselves to our fullest potential.

Don’t keep waiting, wondering, and wishing. Your life is in your hands. What do you want to do with it?

Doing your best

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lives a great street sweeper who did his job well.” — Martin Luther King

This is all about attitude. You probably also know the old saying, “There are no small parts, only small actors” (Milan Kundera, Czech novelist). Well, it really applies to any job out there. It means that no matter how small the role, a really good actor can make something of it. So that means, there are no “bad” or “unimportant” jobs out there, it is what you do with it, how you do it that counts.

So with everything you do today, put in 100% of you. That is what makes you a master of everything. It will also make you feel better at the end of the day knowing that you can make anything into something.

Keeping on track

“Is this the most productive use of your time?” — Unknown

This seems to be a common question for myself these days. With all the distractions that can happen around you, to keep yourself on track to your goals ask yourself, “Is this the most production use of your time?”. Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not.

If you find yourself in a distractor activity that does not truly serve a purpose for your goals or well-being simply stop doing it and get on track again. This zig-zag pattern of being on and off your path is normal and you will find with “training” and time the line becomes straighter and straighter.

It just keeps on changing

“In times of change, the learners will inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
— Eric Hoffer

This Super Law tells us that energy is always moving, transmuting and changing. It takes one form, then another, but it never stands still. Everything we see, hear, taste, touch or smell is in a constant state of change. In fact, this Super Law tells us that change is all there is.

People sometimes say, “Let’s wait until the dust settles after all this change before we do anything” or, “I just want this change to hurry up and be over so I can get back to normal!” They don’t understand that change itself is what’s normal!

Every cell in your body is replaced in less than a year. You aren’t even the same physical person you were a year ago. You can go back to your old house or your old town, but it won’t be the same, you won’t be the same and your relationship with it won’t be the same as it was. In fact, the whole world as we know it is gone the moment we know it!

What must you do to learn to embrace and leverage change? What are you hanging on to in your life and/or your business that no longer serves you?

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