I guess like the majority of people when I was younger, I undervalued the promise of purpose. Thomas Carlyle said, “A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” I think this was me. I was adrift, not truly understanding that life is short. In fact, I did not think about life at all. I failed to realize not only the brevity of life, but I missed the entire concept of no mulligans or ‘do-overs’. I was driven, motivated and wanted to be successful but not because I realized the one handful of life I had was precious. I wanted success in life for far more egocentric reasons.

Discovering your Purpose cures those lazy thoughts about life. The promise of purpose is that it brings with it perspective and perspective allows us to not only see clearly, but wisely. Because of purpose, we don’t see things as ‘they’ are, we see things as ‘we’ are. Purpose gives us perspective on life, people and situations. We see and evaluate ‘life’ through the lens or prism of whatever our ‘purpose’ is and not only is it clarifying but I have found it to be liberating.

As a licensed professional counselor I have observed a host of people (including myself) who are fueled by unhealthy motivators. Unfortunately, these do not satisfy or bring peace. Here are some ‘unhealthy’ but common concepts that ‘drive’ us:

• Materialism
• Guilt
• Resentment/Anger
• Fear
• Approval

These drivers fail to take us very far and their ability to help us become fulfilled is lacking. I’m convinced it was the pursuit of fulfillment and the brevity of life that caused Sri Kumar Rao to pen these words, “I believe if you don’t derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don’t come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don’t feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed upon you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste!” That’s the power of purpose!

How alive are you and I, if this is the standard? Are we held down by unhealthy motivators that are stealing the opportunity to live ‘life’ away from us? The discovery of purpose for our lives brings with it a powerful liberating force that frees us from these debilitating drivers and allows us to move past our past.

I drive an hour to work and often observe drivers on the road who are engaged in activities other than driving. They weave across the lanes, they run off the road and I am convinced the best way to deal with a driver of this nature is to get in front of them. I believe this is the way to deal with our internal ‘bad’ drivers as well. Put them in your rearview mirror and don’t look back.

The phenomenal power and promise of purpose will:

• Simplify your life for your present
• Focus your energy for your future
• Assure you of peace for your forever

According to author Gary Hamel, “A noble purpose inspires sacrifice, stimulates innovation and encourages perseverance.” Look out when the primary driver of your life is a purpose that is fuelled with perspective! That’s powerful!

I am not sure who shared this thought but I picked it up somewhere, I wish I had said it myself. “Choose your friends with caution plan your future with purpose and frame your life with faith.” This works for me.

At the very least we can follow the Dalai Lama’s counsel, when he said, “Our prime purpose in life is to help others, and if we can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” Sadly it is people who lack purpose, therefore perspective, that are driven by unhealthy motivations that cause difficulty for others. The old axiom, ‘hurting people hurt people’ is still very true.

However, the converse is equally true. Positive purpose filled people hold a remarkable capacity to do great things in life and business. Howard Schultz, the Starbucks magnate once remarked, “When you are surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything can happen.” Wow! I guess Howard should know!

I wish I had thought more about the promise of purpose earlier in my life. Because when I began to discover my purpose, I began to see life through the lenses of promise, power and perspective. Through those lenses’ I finally grasped that a life driven by purpose allows me to live a life where ‘Success Saturated with Significance Simply Satisfies’.