Too often, you live your life on auto pilot — you go to work, take care of your basic needs, your family, social obligations, and take this things for granted.
What we don’t recognize is that we are reinforcing mediocrity in our lives by repeating it over and over.
What if you changed your mindset, and decided to live your life on purpose (a phrase I love, and learned from my friend Joe Burns)? What if you shifted your perspective and began to think about designing your life instead of just moving through it?
If your life started over today, what would it look like? What if you could re-make your life from scratch and live the life you want? Not what you THINK it should look like based on your Facebook, InstaGram or TikTok accounts, but the real you, the true you, the inner core you, the deepest part of you. Think about this. Let me say it again. What would it really look like?
I can tell you from personal experience it is not money or power or social status. In fact, I have been studying successful people for years and many of them are wealthy, yes, but they all will tell you money and power is NOT what is most important.
Live On Purpose
Want to know what is the most common characteristic that successful people have?
Generosity. Giving back. Helping another.
All of these things represent basically same concept. If you can’t share something, what is the purpose of even having it? You can have all the money and power in the world but it means nothing if you don’t share it with someone.
What can you do to live a more generous life?
Think about what your ideal life looks like again. Ask yourself why it matters? I think about this in my daily routine. I do it purposely. I ask myself many questions, but most importantly I ask how I can make a difference.
Some of things I ask myself:
How can I help others using what I have to give? Can I help them in overcoming fear? Can I help them by sharing my experience with meditation? Business success? Music? Can I help someone to live a more meaningful life?
How can I be a good person and friend to others? Am I being honest in my relationships? Am I walking the walk, being an example to those that I care about? (Family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers)
Am I keeping my body healthy? Am I eating properly? Am I exercising regularly?
Am I keeping my spiritual connection to my life in balance?
Am I learning something new? Am I teaching myself new skills? Am I pursuing things that I am passionate about?
Am I thinking long term and visualizing where I want to be in 5, 10, 15 years?
By asking myself these questions regularly, I am actually customizing my life. This is a basic concept in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), habit formation, and manifestation. The thoughts you think will mold who you become.
Then the next steps follow as you answer your own questions. Right? If you fall short somewhere, as everyone does and that’s OK, you see where to apply a bit more effort.
In our world of instant gratification and hyper speed, realize that the big picture of helping others and being grateful for what you have in life has been discovered and shared over and over again. Pick any successful person, guru, religious scholar or religious text in any language and they will pretty much line up.
It is simply up to you to apply to your own life. So live life by design. Don’t waste a moment - there is no expiration date on living your life with purpose.
