How I Discovered My Purpose

Many people don’t have the opportunity or foresight to choose a major field of study that aligns with their purpose and passion. The good news is that any path you take can eventually lead you to your true life’s purpose when you open your heart, soul and mind to the many possibilities.

My own story is a great example…

Although I was born organized, I was also gifted with a very creative side. I had the great fortune of spending my senior year of high school at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, which is located in a small town in northwestern Michigan. If you’ve never heard of it, think of the TV show “Fame”. It’s that kind of a place – where a small, select group of students study music, dance, visual arts and creative writing.

I studied vocal performance and loved every minute of my time at Interlochen. From there, I went on to Eastman School of Music to further my studies in vocal performance. For most of my life, I knew that I wanted to pursue a singing career. However, as much as I loved expressing myself through music, for various reasons I chose a different path.

Here’s what happened instead…

Three months after graduating, I married my college sweetheart. He began medical school at the University of Michigan just two weeks after our wedding day. I knew it would be nearly impossible for the two of us to live on a musician’s income, so I scrambled to find a job that could sustain the two of us over the next four years.

I landed a job at the University of Michigan School of Music in their development office. The job found me, and while I originally felt that I was lucky to find work, the reality was that it was not work that I had a passion for. Although I excelled at it with my strong organizational skills, the more time I spent doing this work–and the more skills and credentials I collected along the way–the harder it was to consider doing anything else.

Was this really what I was meant to do with my life?

At times, I found fulfillment in what I was doing, but I eventually realized that the ladder I was climbing was leaning against the wrong wall. This was not the career that made my heart sing.

After 13 years of grinding it out in a profession that wasn’t “me,” I received the gift of unemployment. When the non-profit I was working for had a budget crisis, my job was eliminated. Although this was a painful way to exit my 13-year career as a Development Director, it was one of the best gifts I ever received!

I felt like a baby bird being kicked out of the nest, and I had to fly! For the first time in my adult life, I took some time to think about what I really wanted to do–what I loved doing and was most gifted at–which is what led me down the path I’ve been on since. Over time, I became very grateful that I was kicked out of that comfortable nest!

Keep in mind, I was 40 years old when I received my coaching certification and felt like I was finally living my life’s purpose.

It’s never too late to start doing what makes you happy!

 “You have two choices: You can make a living, 
or you can design a life.”
–Jim Rohn

Today, my life is full of blessings. I’m still with the man I married in 1981, we have an amazing daughter who lives nearby, and our home is filled with three happy dogs. I still find time for music … singing in a choir at my church, performing with a local musical theater group, or singing the National Anthem for the Seattle Mariners or other sports teams.

Lyrics to a song I wrote years ago guide my life today. Listen to Your Heart is very much my message to friends, family and clients — and is the core principle around which my work as a Life Architect is aligned.

My greatest joy is to empower and equip others to live the life of freedom and fulfillment they desire–to give them the internal and external tools to organize their entire life–so their environment and lifestyle reflect their values and passions.

The lesson you can learn from my story is that your passion can evolve over time, as you discover your life’s purpose. What once may have seemed like the right career path for you, may lead you toward a completely different path later on in your life.

I challenge you to spend some time thinking about your life’s purpose.

Are you living an “on-purpose” life?

To live an “on purpose” life means that you’re doing three things:

1. Spending time doing what you love to do
2. Keeping your focus on doing the things you’re best at doing
3. Accomplishing what’s most important to you.

If you’ve already discovered what you’re meant to do, make a list of activities that move you toward honoring your purpose. Then make another list of activities that move you away from honoring your purpose. Next, brainstorm ways to increase the activities on your first list and eliminate or minimize the activities on your second list.

To accomplish what’s most important to you, incorporate the Rule of 5: do 5 things a day – every day — toward achieving a meaningful goal.

Three Tips to Help You Be Productive & Mindful:

1. 1. Clean up your messes.
      What is a mess? It can show up in many forms. Here are just a few examples of messes you may have in your life:
      • • Physical clutter – piles of postponed decisions
        • Mental and emotional clutter – thoughts and beliefs that do not serve you
        • Relationship clutter – a relationship that needs to be nurtured or cut off
        • Unfinished business, broken promises
        • Incomplete projects that drain your energy

      Complete any unfinished business or tasks that have been holding you back from being most productive. One form of completion is to let go of or renegotiate a commitment that does not honor your priorities.

To help you move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling at peace and in control, here’s a tool to assist in sorting out all the “incompletions” and clean up all the messes in your life. It’s called a RAM Dump. RAM is the memory in a computer—in this case, your brain. I invite you to do a RAM Dump to help you sort through all the sticky notes on your brain and determine what you will say no to.

2. Focus on what’s most important.The most successful people dedicate entire days to focus at least 80% of their time operating in their primary area of expertise. Schedule more Focus Days and hold yourself accountable for honoring this focus time and not allowing other things to distract you.If you’d like assistance with this, I invite you to register for my free webinar, Managing Priorities.

3. Just Say NO!
   If you want to be more productive, you’ll need to eliminate those activities and requests for your time that do not match up with your priorities. Check out my blog, The NOT To-Do List, for some helpful tips.

After completing the RAM Dump exercise mentioned above, create an action plan to help you focus your time, energy, and resources only on projects, opportunities, and people that give you a huge reward for your efforts. You’ll need to create strong boundaries about what you say yes to and what you say no to.

For additional support, here are some resources:

• Blog: Get the WINning Edge
• Blog: The Power of Passion in Your Work
• Guide: Find Your Strengths & Choose Your Success
• Guide: Cultivating Happiness: Living Life on Your Terms
• Self-Paced Course: Guide to Getting Motivated & Achieving Your Goals
• Business Coaching or Life Blueprint Coaching with Kathy.

What’s one idea you gained from reading this blog post? What’s the next action you’ll take and by when will you do it? Build in some accountability for yourself by sharing your intentions publicly in the comments below.