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How I Express My Personal Purpose

Guest post by: Jim Clemmer

Article Overview: Thinking about death can produce a passion for life. Early in my career Charlie Jones, a personal effectiveness and leadership development author and speaker introduced me to the idea of clarifying my life's purpose through contemplating my death. In his book, Life is Tremendous he wrote, "you're not ready to live your life until you know what you want written on your tombstone".

How I Express My Personal Purpose

"To give life meaning one must have a purpose larger than one's self." - Will Durant, early 20th century author of historical and philosophical epics. His fascinating and sweeping book, The Story of Philosophy, sold millions. Thinking about death can produce a passion for life. Early in my career Charlie Jones, a personal effectiveness and leadership development author and speaker introduced me to the idea of clarifying my life's purpose through contemplating my death. In his book, Life is Tremendous he wrote, "you're not ready to live your life until you know what you want written on your tombstone". That's a powerful thought. It forces us to boil away all our goals, plans, and activities to get at the core reason we exist.

What kind of account would I like to be able to give for my life? What would I want my family, friends, community or church members to say about me at my death? How about the team members, business associates, people in the organizations I have led, customers I have served, or other external partners I have worked with? In the end, was I a contributor to, or a taker, from society?

Stephen Covey calls this "beginning with the end in mind". It's the second of the habits he outlines in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Around the time Charlie Jones got me thinking about what I would like to look back on in my life, I heard someone repeat Oliver Wendall Holmes' comment that "most of us die with our music still in us."

What a tragedy. How many people go to their graves with the songs or poems they were going to compose still in them? How many people die with the book they were always going to write buried in their head? Or the love they always meant to express still in their hearts? How many innovations and businesses that might have made a real difference went to a grave and perished? Just how many unrealized dreams have died with their dreamers?

The determination to live out my purpose and dreams has been a strong personal motivator. When I need a push to counteract my lazy, sloppy, or "that's good enough" tendencies, the picture of my preferred future and my purpose have been a powerful energy source.

My biggest struggle has been how to articulate my purpose. Reducing deeply felt inner convictions and thoughts to mere words has been a difficult and somewhat frustrating experience. But the struggle of 'wordsmithing' is well worth the effort. It has clarified and intensified the emotions and convictions of my purpose.

I now express it in two parts. First is what I call my "life theme." That's "loving, laughing, learning, and leading." You've probably guessed by now that I like alliterations - and living life "just for the L of it! "

The second part of my purpose is my "reason for being". This basic thought and focus has remained the same for over fifteen years. But the way I've tried to express it has evolved from a full page of points and statements to this phrase - "building a better world by helping others grow and develop." It's doesn't do justice to what I feel, but it's getting close.

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Article Tags: leadership
Referred by: http://www.searchengineworkshops.com



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