This Issue: Discover and Live Your Purpose

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

One thing I’ve learned about life is that it is a series of discoveries. It starts with discoveries and, hopefully, it continues that way. Remember how exciting it was to learn to ride a bike? Have you ever watched a child taking her first steps? It’s a momentous occasion. If we can capture that kind of excitement every day, I think we’re on our way to wisdom.

Albert Einstein said “The mind that opens to a new idea never comes back to its original size.” I agree. Once you’ve learned to walk, why would you want to go back to crawling around? It wouldn’t make sense. We all have a purpose in life, and that’s to do our best, to live up to our potential.

It’s really pretty simple. All we have to do is tune in to our talents and capabilities. Remember, I didn’t say it was easy, I said it was simple. Sometimes we get so distracted that it’s hard to tune out enough to be able to tune in at all. We are bombarded by outside information all day. The challenge here is to find the quiet time to be able to assimilate our own inside information in the midst of all the cacophony. You have to unplug before you can plug yourself back in.

I’m a busy guy but I set aside quiet time every morning and every evening to keep my equilibrium centered on my own path. I don’t like being swayed by anything that might be negative or damaging. When Emerson talks about leaving a trail, he’s right. You won't succeed by following someone else’s path. So, you’d better spend some time focusing on your own path and your own purpose.

This is a serious issue for worldly as well as personal reasons. The worst things in history have happened when people stop thinking for themselves, especially when they allow themselves to be influenced by negative people. That’s what gives rise to dictators. Avoid that at all costs. Stop it first on a personal level, and you will have contributed to world sanity as well as your own.

In business, I’ve discovered that my purpose is to do my best to my utmost ability every day. That’s my standard. I learned early in my life that I had high standards. Ever hear of intrinsic value? Intrinsic means basic, inborn, elemental. If you have an intrinsic value, it cannot be shaken or taken away. It’s a form of strength that can be indomitable.

Discovery means finding out something we didn’t previously know. Purpose is an intention or an end to be attained. We have the tangible and the intangible in life. Let them balance each other out to your best advantage. I may be in a reality-based business, but I have a sense of the mystery in life that keeps me feeling like an explorer. Don’t put blinders or borders on yourself.

I could have very easily dismissed Mark Burnett’s idea for The Apprentice simply based on the fact that I was already very busy. I didn’t need the publicity, the money, or another venture to keep me going. But it was a new challenge, and a new discovery for me. It served a part of my nature, which is that of an educator. Trump University has been a natural progression from there. I haven’t limited myself, although it may have been easier for me to do so.

Finding your purpose may be a lifelong pursuit or you may have discovered it when you were 5 years old. There’s no absolute timeline for anyone. That’s a good reason never to give up, to keep on discovering things every day. It’s also a terrific recipe for a successful life. Following your own path will bring you to the places you were meant to be. Expand your horizons! In other words, think big and live large!

This is a great time to reflect on the way things are, and the way you’d like things to be.

We are usually so focused on the day-to-day mania of just keeping pace that time for reflection, introspection, and discovery falls to the bottom (or off) the list of “things to do today.”

To survive in today’s competitive world, we all have to be multi-taskers and keep a lot of balls in the air, all the time. Yet, to be successful today, it’s also important to jump off the hamster's wheel and take some time to rediscover and explore our purpose.

Success today is measured in many ways, and though our checkbook balance serves as one way to keep score, this quantitative view is only one assessment. For many, finding, and pursuing their purpose, or their dream, is the full measure of success.

It’s the discovery of a purpose that is the important element, but also the most elusive.

Even though we lead "busy" lives, it may be that we’re busy pursuing things that do not give us a true sense of purpose. So how do we discover our purpose, our passion?

Sometimes others can show you the path to discovery when you are unable to find it yourself. It’s the old adage about “not seeing the forest for the trees.” Other people who know us well, and even those who do not, can help us identify the qualities and interests that can lead to a discovery of our special purpose--to help us see through the trees and discover the beauty of the forest.

Over a cup of coffee, a drink, or a meal, ask someone who knows you well to point out what he/she sees as your unique qualities, interests, and passions. They might surprise you, yet they may also show you what your real purpose in life may be.

After you have taken some time with others who might help you identify your purpose, it’s important to jump off the hamster's wheel and take some time to reflect on what you have learned, and how you can grow or possibly re-direct your life and work.

The second part of the process--living your purpose--does not mean you have to “start over.” It may simply be leveraging what you have discovered about yourself and putting it to use in your existing career path, or setting upon a plan for the future that reflects the passion and qualities you have discovered. When you have discovered and then set out to live your purpose, you will find success as something far more rewarding that what’s in your bank account or investment portfolio.

If you are seeking your purpose in life, one that honors your experience and fulfills your dreams, then you have a challenge ahead. You have already begun to ask the necessary questions and act on your answers, which will make the hard work before you that much easier.

Perhaps you are wondering if it’s really possible to discover and live your purpose in today’s world. Is it even practical to do so? What’s the point of finding your purpose in life, only to be sidetracked by the need to meet the day-to-day demands on your time? For some people, just the thought of purposeful living is daunting. It might be helpful to clarify just what “purpose” means in the context of one’s life.

Your purpose is a way of being, not a particular thing or list of things to do. When you are able to stay true to your values and cherish the things that keep you going, you start being and contributing more of who you are, and that becomes the unfolding and the fulfillment of your purpose.

You don’t have to set aside additional time to live your purpose; you live it while in motion! You can live your purpose while doing what you are doing right now, or you can look for new ways of expressing your purpose. Once you have discovered your purpose, you will start to change how you do what you do. Expressing your purpose through values-based living is like putting your life on an emotional and mental diet: you find yourself naturally moving towards activities that allow you to express who you really are, and therefore, you will live your purpose more fully. It will also become easier to say no to everything else that's not essential to living your purpose. You'll find that your life will become much less complicated.

The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose. What would your life be like if you knew and were fully expressing your purpose through values-based living? When you discover your purpose, you will discover why it is so important to strive to make your dreams come true. Your purpose is inextricably linked to your dreams; it is the method by which you fulfill your dreams. Your purpose is the force that propels you forward, enabling you to wake up every morning and engage in meaningful work. Let your purpose become the motivation behind everything that you do. Discover and live your purpose today.