Thomas Carlyle wrote, “The person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.”

Considering Carlyle was a philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, translator, historian, mathematician, and teacher – I’d say he had lots of rudders!

What about you?

Do you love what you do for a living?

Do you look forward to going to work every day or do you grudgingly show up in order to pay the bills?

Do you work past quitting time because it’s expected or because you’re “into it” and lose track of time?

The luckiest people in the world are the ones who’ve 1) found a calling – or like Carlyle – maybe lots of different callings and 2) who have freedom.

In other words, people who live their life “on purpose.”

I spent seven years waking up at 5:30 am to make a 90-mile-a-day commute to my corporate job.

It was a great company and I worked with great people. I even liked my manager – a lot.

There were just a few things missing.

These missing elements would become the tagline for the Changing Course newsletter…

Live life on purpose
Work at what you love
Follow your own road

That was in 1995.

Just four years later the Lutheran Brotherhood commissioned a study consisting of a single question…

What would you ask a god or supreme being if you could get a direct and immediate answer?

The third most often thing people wanted to know was, “Why do bad things happen?”

Second was, “Will I have life after death?”

The most frequently asked question American’s (and I’d venture to guess most people) want the answer to is…

“What’s my purpose here?”

Perhaps you’ve wondered the same thing?

Take the Purpose Quiz

If so, this Purpose Quiz can help you determine the extent you’re living a purposeful life right now.

As you’ll soon discover, purpose goes beyond what you do for work.

True or False:

1. When I get up in the morning I look forward to the day ahead, whether it’s a work day or my day off.
2. I love the work I do — any external reward I receive I consider “the icing on the cake.”
3. My work makes me feel rewarded and motivated rather than drained and exhausted.
4. When I have spare time I participate in activities that I’m passionate about, and those activities reflect my purpose.
5. I know what my greatest talents and strengths are, and I apply those attributes to my work in some capacity every day.
6. I know I’m living my true purpose when others notice and compliment me on my abilities.
7. My life, personal and professional, reflects and is in alignment with my core values.
8. I consistently base my decisions on my beliefs, not on the expectations of others, and, overall, I’m happy with the outcomes.
9. If money were not an issue I wouldn’t change much of what I do and how I do it.
10. My work environment is supportive of my personality and talents and allows me to not only show up as my true self, but to perform at my optimal level.
11. When my work environment fails to provide me with opportunities to utilize my unique abilities, I look to make a positive change.
12. The good (and great days) at work far outweigh the occasional “bad” days.
13. The work I do is mostly enjoyable.
14. By fulfilling my own dreams and desires, I am making a positive contribution to the world as a whole.
15. Determining one’s life purpose can take a long time, but I’m confident that, even when I question what my purpose is, I know that I have one.

Sadly, most people answer false to many of these questions.

If you did too, then it may be time to look for ways to live a more purposeful life.

You don’t have to quit your job tomorrow.

After all, purpose can be as much about how you do things (with love, attention, passion and focus for example) as it is about what you’re doing.

That said — if the work you do is out of alignment with your core values… if you come home depleted by your job… or worse, you are utterly miserable… then a major work-life change is in order.

Thomas Edison saw purpose in highly practical terms, writing:

“The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.”

I’d add to that, “thinking” about changing course is not doing either.

Eleanor Roosevelt, said “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

Are You Ready to Make This the Year You Finally Change Course?

It’s been two years now since I’ve led my workshop on how to live and work on your own terms.

It’s called…

“Work @ What You Love”

A Powerful Virtual Workshop

• Discover your calling… so you can have the life you were meant to live
  
• Learn the powerful secrets for how to get paid to do what you love – even if you’re a “scanner”
  
• Step out of your routine and into your wildest dreams where you can get a new perspective on where you want to be this time next year
  
• Learn from someone who built two six-figure businesses working from home what it really takes to live life on your own terms
  
• Burst into Monday recharged, with the action plan you need to create the more balanced and rewarding lifestyle you’ve only dreamed of
• Get LIVE 1-1 coaching from me!

I’m still making some important change to the upcoming workshop. 

My #1 goal is to make it the most accessible, affordable, and powerful Work at What You Love workshop EVER!  

I should have all the details in a week or two.

Until then — do you want to save even more? 

Just add your name now to the Early Bird Notification List.

Life is short my friend. And the first step is for you to decide to live your life on purpose starting today!

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Author’s content used under license, © Claire Communications