RESETTING YOUR DRIVING FORCE IN LIFE
With all the distractions around us all the time, it can sometimes seem impossible to reach the true potential that we may have imagined for ourselves. Most motivational books tell us we must have a goal. Successful people will talk about staying focused on the goal, yet there are so many things that we have to handle in life. It can be a little demoralizing in our attempt to achieve great goals. However, if strong enough, there is something that would carry each of us through any hard times: family distractions, down-turns in the economy, huge shifts in the industry we are in, etc., and that is PURPOSE.
I struggled with purpose and goals and have used them as if they were the same. This was based on books that I read and my education level probably to some degree. It all became conceptually clear when I added focus to the equation. The key question was how do you stay focused in the face of national catastrophes as well as all the distractions that have to be dealt with in building a business or the everyday business of living?
I’ve always been a good reader, and over twenty years ago, I read a series of books called The Lensman series by E. E. Smith. There are six books in the series, and in the last book, the good guys take out the bad guys with intention alone. It was a pretty incredible concept. My take-away from that book was that INTENTION is your ultimate weapon. It is also the reason people accomplish things when they do. It was their level of intention. So when you look at the definition of purpose, we see that intention is part of its definition.
Purpose definition: the reason why something is done or used; the aim or intention of something; the feeling of being determined to do or achieve something. (Merriam-Webster)
Purpose definition: When you do something with purpose, you do it with determination. When your activities have a purpose, you have an aim or intention in mind. (Vocabulary.com)
This is worthy of note when setting goals that you have to, at the same time, clarify why you want to achieve this goal—what is the purpose?
Some people have a purpose and work away at it each day and may not seem to expand but are relatively happy doing what they are doing because they are following their purpose. Others say they have goals but, one is having difficulty achieving them. “One of these days, I will achieve my goal.” The reason they are not achieving their goals is that their purpose is either weak or non-existent. For this reason, it is important to nurture any pro-survival purpose that your children may have, no matter how faint it may be. You will notice a huge change in their level of action when you help them discover a purpose or help and encourage them to expand an existing purpose. Any purpose is better than no purpose.
CHALLENGING TIMES
It would seem to me then that to achieve any goal of magnitude, you would have to have a solid purpose that would motivate you and push through any bad or challenging situation that came along.
Developing a strong purpose for life would be the key to a driving force that would propel and motivate all of us through our lives.
Richard Branson’s Purpose: “An entrepreneur is someone who makes a positive difference in someone's life.” Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire may span dozens of companies and hundreds of initiatives, yet the need to improve lives is central to every decision he makes.”
Look at his motivation to rebuild the Caribbean after hurricane Irma, a category five hurricane that hit the islands. “We have a responsibility to come up with positive ideas for how the Caribbean can rebuild. We have an opportunity to put clean energy and good infrastructure in place. In terms of the economy, most of the income from these Islands is from tourism. As entrepreneurs, we need to ask ourselves how can we bring tourists back to the country,” Branson told the audience at the Nordic Business Forum in Helsinki on Monday. www.nbforum.com Oct 2, 2017
SUMMARY
Know what your purpose is, and don’t let anything or anyone take you off your purpose. If you keep this in mind, you will always know who your true friends are, and setting goals that allow you to accomplish your purpose will pull you through anything in life that may beset you.
I believe that having a strong purpose and setting bigger and bigger goals is what keeps our emotional tone high despite anything that is going on in life. This is definitely true for me, and it is also true for the successful people that I have known and worked with and continue to work with.
HOMEWORK
Write down your purpose, no matter how faint it may have become.
Revitalize that purpose and gain more knowledge related to greater success in strengthening it.
Set new goals and directions based on your purpose.
Layout a plan of accomplishment of these goals.
Get into action on the plan.
Don’t listen to anyone that is going to disagree with your plan and goals.
Find people that will listen and encourage.
Make your life more extraordinary and rise above the noise and mediocrity.
Make a difference and help a lot of people do better in life.
You come up with number 10.
Let me know if this was helpful, and feel free to forward this to anyone you feel may need some motivation and a reset of their purpose.
Email or call me at 727-243-1336 to help reset your purpose or outlaying plans or if you know of someone that I could help.
Sincerely,
Graham Payne