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LIFE PURPOSE TO VOCATIONAL ECSTASY

Guest post by: Patrick Harbula

Article Overview: This article offers a step-by-step process for clarifying and defining your life purpose and how to direct it to raise the quality of your life in all areas as well as create direction toward vocational ecstasy--being paid well to do what you love to do that makes the world a better place and enriches the lives of others. Live your passion here and now!

LIFE PURPOSE TO VOCATIONAL ECSTASY

LIFE PURPOSE TO VOCATIONAL ECSTASY

BY PATRICK J. HARBULA Over the years, I have experienced three types or groups of people in regarding life purpose. When I was a director for a large academic publishing house, Sage Publications, those of us in upper management were all earning a six-figure income. Most (but not all) of my peers, while being very financially successful, were not truly passionate about their work. Some enjoyed a lot of what they did for vocation, but most were not satisfied at a deep, soul level.

At the other extreme regarding types of people and fulfillment of purpose, there are those who are doing meaningful work that really speaks to there soul, but who are having a hard time making ends meet. They seem to struggle as they continually look for ways to make their meaningful work more profitable. Due to the recent change in economy there are many who are shifting from the first group to the second group. In fact the blessing in the economic climate is that it is inspiring (if not forcing) people to dig deep into their creative reservoirs to find new ways to create financial success and be of service.

This brings us to the third group: People who are doing what they love to do and making a great living at it. My assessment of this group of people is that they are living in complete ecstasy in relation to their careers. For me, there is no greater feeling in life than having the universe supply one's every need and more as a direct result of serving one's greatest purpose.

Why do so many either do work they don't like in order to succeed or survive and others struggle at what they love to do or those who simply struggle? One of the most powerful (and insidious) race beliefs in our culture is that life has to be hard. "Life is no bowl of cherries." "It's cold, hard world out there." In fact, "it's a dog eat dog world." "Only by the sweat of your brow, will you succeed." All of these are common phrases that depict an overriding mythology in our culture regarding work and service. Oh yes, and let's not forget "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Think about that. Isn't it ridiculous? What is the point of having cake if you can't eat it?

If you look at the most successful people in the world, most of them are doing work that they love. Our cultural mythology tells us one thing and our models for success tell us exactly the opposite.

The key to breaking through this belief system is to guide our life from the perspective of what brings us the most joy. The general definition I use for life purpose is what we love to do that makes the world a better place or somehow contributes to the lives of others. Whether you are working in a job that provides financial success but has little deeper meaning, one that has deep meaning but not enough money, or one that provides neither, there is one strategy that can propel you to creating your greatest success at what you love to do most and live in vocational ecstasy. Define your life purpose and apply it consistently in your daily life.

When referring to life purpose, what I mean is not a job or any kind of activity, but a basic intention that can be applied through any job, vocation, or activity and at any moment in time. When I ask people what their purpose is or what they love to do that makes the world a better place, I often get a response like, "I am a book keeper but what I really love to do is write." My next question would be, what is the most profound experience, feeling, or realization, you would like people to have as a result of experiencing your writing? The answer may come back as inspiration, healing, a sense of power, a deep feeling of love. All of these answers fit into this definition of purpose because they are general enough that they can be applied at any moment in time.

If you are in a job that does not fulfill a deeper sense of meaning, you can define your life purpose and then apply it to the situation you find yourself in right now. How often it is that people think that "if I could just get another job or if I only had enough money, then I could really fulfill my purpose." But if we project into the future, we may never realize it, because the future doesn't really exist. There is only the ever present now. So now is the only viable place to start. In fact, wherever you find yourself is absolutely the perfect training ground for developing the fulfillment of your purpose in more and more effective ways.

When I was a corporate director, it became clear to me that if I could "empower others" through management in a fast-paced, bottom-line-driven environment, then I could empower others anywhere. I knew that if I could succeed (and of course there were times I failed as well) at that intention where I was in the moment that it was the training ground that would lead me to more direct expressions of my intention to empower others. I know that becoming a successful author and life purpose coach was a direct result of my consistent intention in my previous career. By fulfilling your purpose exactly where you are right now, you will bring greater meaning into your work and be more successful at what you do now and in the future.

If the work you are doing now does offer a deep sense of fulfillment (or if you are in between jobs), and the money isn't flowing to your liking, the key to your financial success is also fulfilling your purpose consistently in the here and now. Your successful service in the moment becomes the directing force for how to expand your success in the future. I recommend using the life purpose definition as a mantra to access our highest passion consistently in the moment. By doing so, we invoke our soul power and become the best we can be in that moment. Every one of us is already fulfilling our life purpose whether or not we have defined it. It is what we do naturally. To expand the influence of purpose and enhance success, however, look at the areas in your life where you aren't applying it. What would happen if when you have a conflict with your spouse or someone with whom you work, you were able to stop and ask "How can I fulfill my life purpose in this moment for myself and this individual."

How would the quality of your life shift if you applied your life purpose in the mundane moments, when you are bored or irritable? Imagine that you are standing in line at the supermarket and there are nine people standing in front of you, and the first person in line pulls out about 70 coupons-and you are late for a meeting. Usually not the time you are most likely going to think about fulfilling your purpose. But if you do, think about how the situation might shift. Imagine that you notice the person in line next to you and start a conversation with the intention of fulfilling your purpose in that moment. Imagine that you touch that person's heart and empower their day and also receive the fulfillment of their purpose. When we serve others with our best, we naturally bring the best out of them.

Two important things happen when we fulfill our purpose in the moment. 1) We connect with our passion and our soul power. We step into the most powerful presence that we can possibly be in any moment in time. Our purpose mantra is not an affirmation that we have pulled out of the air, it is the most powerful statement about who we are and why we are here. As I state in The Magic of the Soul:

When we embrace and empower our purpose through our careers, through all of our activities in life, a wide channel opens from the heart of the soul allowing its magic to flow into our lives and all those we touch.

I would now add: When we are living our purpose, we are in a state of grace. We move into the realm of the extraordinary where synchronicity is the norm and miracles are commonplace. When we are connected to our passion and purpose, we are emitting the most powerful and positive magnetic field of energy of which we are capable. There is also no greater force for clarifying direction. This is why I start with defining purpose with anyone I am coaching to reach a great vision. The more consistently we apply our purpose in our lives, the clearer we become about how to apply it in increasingly effective and successful ways.

For example: A woman who took my workshop, Live Your Passion: Life Purpose in Career, later signed up for my Life Purpose Certification Coaching Program. At the first session of the coaching program she said, "I have been applying my life purpose as I defined it in the workshop to my job (she is a career guidance counselor for under privileged children going into the workplace), which is to connect people with their spirit. I found that I have become so much better at my job, and I now feel that I have no choice about moving forward and expanding my ability to help people touch their spirit in more direct ways." In other words, she was compelled to create a career where people came to her directly to be connected with spirit. Now in addition to career counseling for teenagers, she is coaching adults to realize their dreams and taking people on nature excursions to connect with their inner spirit.

2) The other important dynamic that occurs when we are living the passion of our purpose is that we create opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be realized. You never know who is going to be standing in line next to you at the supermarket. It may be exactly the perfect person to give you an opportunity to fulfill your purpose in a more direct way, and as a result of experiencing your purpose in that moment; they become compelled to support you in fulfilling it in greater ways. There are countless times when I have walked into a room and asked the question, "How can I empower others in this moment?" and an opportunity to serve in some meaningful (and often very lucrative) way in the future presented itself that wouldn't have come up if I had not had that clear intention.

Another question that I find to be the greatest revealer of life purpose is "What quality or guidance did you not receive enough of as a child that you wish you had more of?" And the follow up to that is "How does it feel when you inspire that experience in someone else." If you don't already have a life purpose definition or if you want to clarify it even more, take a moment to answer these two questions. . . .

The way I answer that question for myself is that I didn't receive enough acceptance, so my life purpose is "I empower people to accept themselves exactly the way they are." If I didn't get enough love, it could be "I help others to feel loved" or "I open people to love". If I didn't get enough encouragement, "I encourage others to recognize their power." Since many of us didn't receive some of the same important qualities as children, I find there are a lot of similarities between various life purpose definitions, but the particular phrasing is what makes them unique. Come up with the wording that is the most powerful phrasing of what you love to do that makes the world a better place. One other helpful hint . . . keep it short. Generally, the shorter your statement, the more powerful it is as a mantra.

The truly transformational gestalt of the above self-accepting realization is that if the quality or guidance that we didn't receive enough of is what inspires us to create it in the world-to fulfill our purpose-then it is not a liability. It is our greatest asset. As Robert Bly, the great poet said, "My wound is my gift to the world." Isn't it true that we tend to think that what I didn't get as a child, what I am healing, or what I have struggled with all my life is what is holding me back from achieving my greatest goals? This re-framing inspires the deepest form of self-acceptance. If what I feel is my greatest block is really my greatest strength, then nothing can hold me back from realizing my full magnificence. It means that I don't have to get over anything to succeed except for the belief that I have to get over something. Isn't that a freeing realization?

Once an individual has created the life purpose definition and begins to fulfill it on a consistent basis in the here and now, the next step is to clarify the most direct way of fulfilling that purpose in the future. The goal is to formulate a dream vocation and create a practical plan for how to arrive at that dream. In fact, these are the three strategies that guarantee success at vocational ecstasy:

1. Identify and apply life purpose in consistently in the here and now.

2. Formulate a clear and complete vision of the dream or ideal vocation (two, five, or even 10 years down the line).

3. Create a practical plan for how to arrive at that vision, and take the practical steps. One need not know all the steps or exactly how to realize complete success. As long as the first few steps are outlined and taken, the rest will become clear along the road to fulfilling one's highest passion.

Strategy number 3 above is the most challenging for most people. I can help someone define life purpose within about five minutes and one can come up with a vision in even less time. The part that requires persistence and a willingness to move through the challenges is taking the practical steps. Taking the steps is what brings up the doubts and fears. Every person who I coach to success comes up against the same question each time they are taking steps to reach a larger expression of their dream. This is the question that lies beneath every fear and doubt-Am I worthy of such magnificence. Of course the answer is yes, but the only way we fully realize that answer is to take the steps. The main difference between those who are living their dream and those who are not, is that those who have manifested their vision took the steps to get there whether or not they thought they could succeed, whether or not they were afraid, whether or not they felt worthy of such magnificence.

When we think about whether we can succeed at our greatest dream and live in ecstasy, we tend to assess the likelihood of success based on our past history-on our self-identification of who we have been in the past. What we fail to realize is that by taking the steps toward our greatest dream, we will be challenged to become a completely different person. If you move toward your greatest dream, even if you don't succeed at that exact vision, and it will never be exactly as you see it now (it might even be grander than you can imagine), you will become a person who can succeed at whatever you choose. You will be drawn (or forced) to face your greatest demons and develop your greatest deficiencies-and become the best you that you can possible become. Every time we take another great step toward realizing our greatest dreams our vocational ecstasy, our self-identification must expand. The capacity of our worthiness must and will be increased to accommodate the manifestation of that great step.

Know that you are worthy of the magnificence of your greatest vision (otherwise you wouldn't have it). Live your purpose in the now. Move toward your dream, and live your passion all along the journey toward its realization!

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Article Tags: job opportunities, life purpose, live with passion, manifest my dreams, reach my goals, right livelihood, vocation, vocational direction



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