When we were kids, people asked us “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
As adults we are often asked ” What do you do?”
While these are interesting questions, they really don’t get to the heart of who we really are.
We are after all more than our businesses and our careers.
Maybe like many of us, you too worked in a career that did not come close to allowing you to express the true you.
Often , who we are and what we do for a living are not related.
Being able to truthfully answer the question “Who do you want to be?” takes courage and a real willingness to go deep inside.
Even though each of us is put on earth to express our unique selves, it can take many of us a lifetime to discover who we want to be.
One way to start this journey is by uncovering your life purpose, your vision, and your mission.
When we know our purpose for why we are here, it will help support us in understanding about who we really are, and why we do what we do.
When we truly understand our vision for our lives, then we are able to see the bigger picture of what we as individuals have to contribute to the world.
Your life mission is in many ways the equivalent of google maps, it outlines the steps you need to achieve your purpose and vision.
The first step in finding and discovering your purpose is to begin by asking yourself, ” Why am i here?”
Sure, this may seem like a simple question, but trust me, it can take time to discover the answer.
It took years for me to understand what my purpose was and then to articulate it.
For me, my purpose is pretty simple.
I am here to have a powerful and positive impact on everyone i come in contact with.
Sure this may not look as earth shattering as some other people;s goals but when I finally was able to put my purpose into words it changed how I look at and respond to everything in my life.
All of my actions in business and in life are guided by this purpose.
From the way i run my companies, to the way i talk to strangers on the street.
Knowing my purpose supports me in being alert at all times on how I am responding to others and how I am treating them.
Sure i slip from time to time – i am human after all.
But knowing this purpose, helps me stay on course most of the time and gets me back quicker to being the person i want to be, when i do slide.
Knowing my purpose has helped me answer the question, “Who do I want to be?”
Once i understood my purpose, it became so much easier to not understand both my vision and my mission, but also to create them.
And it became really
The challenge with becoming who we want to be, does not happen overnight.
It is a process.
I find that i am constantly challenged to go more and more deeper with my understanding of my purpose, and to really understand how that shapes who i want to be.
In a business sense, you can translate it into Peter Drucker’s famous question.
“What business are we really in? Whats the purpose of our business?”
The question that drucker insisted we ask about our business constantly.
So my question to you is this?
Who do you want to be?
In your journal (if you have one), begin to explore what your purpose in life is.
This will take time; so don’t worry if at first nothing comes to you.
Keep asking yourself the question, “What is my purpose for being here?” and be open to the answers that come.