Before I left Zimbabwe last week, I did a book review for the Victory Business Forum. The book was Jack Canfield's The Success Principles. How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, which I read and enjoyed last year. The book outlines 65 principles that, according to Canfield, will bring you success if you apply them in your life. I didn't know success was that complicated until I read the book. In some ways, the 65 principles made me tired just reading about them, let alone applying them. (You can order your own copy by clicking on the title above. I am only kidding; I really did enjoy the book.)
One principle in particular caught my eye, however, and that was the principle that was related to purpose. Principle two is "Be Clear Why You're Here" and included "The Life Purpose Exercise" that I thought I would share with you this week. I am always looking for things that can help you define your purpose, so I pass this on hoping it will do just that. Take a few minutes this week and see what you come up with from this exercise.
1. List two of your unique personal qualities, such as enthusiasm and creativity.
2. List one or two ways you enjoy expressing those qualities when interacting with others, such as to support and to inspire.
3. Assume the world is perfect right now. What does this world look like? How is everyone interacting with everyone else? What does it feel like? Write your answer as a statement, in the present tense, describing the ultimate condition, the perfect world as you see it and feel it. Remember, a perfect world is a fun place to be.
EXAMPLE: Everyone is freely expressing their own unique talents. Everyone is working in harmony. Everyone is expressing love.
4. Combine the three prior subdivisions of this paragraph into a single statement.
EXAMPLE: My purpose is to use my creativity and enthusiasm to support and inspire others to freely express their talents in a harmonious and loving way.
Canfield urges his readers to read their purpose statement from this exercise every day. He even suggests that artistic or visual people draw or paint a symbol or picture that represents their life purpose. I would think that this could lead to you developing a personal logo or coat of arms that would describe and embody your purpose statement.
If this exercise helps you, please go to the Monday Memo blog (just click on the word "blog") where you can enter your statement for others to learn from in the comments section at the end of this posted Memo. If this exercise doesn't help you, don't give up. Purpose is a quest and you never know when your breakthrough will come. Keep reading, keep seeking and keep asking quality questions. In time, you will clarify your purpose and the seeking will only serve to enhance your appreciation of what you have. In the meantime, I hope you have a great week!
********************************************************************************************************************
1. You may want to check out Canfield's site for further information on his success principles.
2. Happy Fourth of July to my American readers. Happy World Cup watching to the rest of the world!
3. Below is the July update from my book, A Daily Dose of Proverbs.
4. Here is my schedule for the next three months. Let me know if you would like to meet for a purpose session when I am in your area.
July 6-10 -- Virginia Beach, Virginia
July 12-13 -- Denver, Colorado
July 17-19 -- Dallas, Texas
July 27-30 -- Maywood, New Jersey
August 7-11 -- Seattle, Washington
August 25-28 -- Johannesburg, South Africa
August 28-September 3 -- Harare, Zimbabwe
September 4-13 -- Israel
September 13-25 -- Harare, Zimbabwe
September 26 and 27 -- The Netherlands
Also, I am still leading a cruise retracing the steps of the apostle Paul from October 26-November 3. If you are interested in being part of that cruise, email me and let me know.
5. If you need to change your address to which this Memo is sent, hit the unsubscribe link below this automatic Feedblitz mail out. Then go to this link and enter your new email address in the box in the right hand column. You can add a gift subscription by going to the link and adding the new email address of the person you think would benefit from The Monday Memo.
And the archives of past Monday Memos through number 240 can still be located on my website. All others after that are located at my new Monday Memo blog.
6 If you would like to unsubscribe, just click the link below (if you receive this as an automatic message).
7. You can subscribe to automatically receive my regular blog posts by going to the site and entering your email below where it says "your email address." Once you do, you will receive a confirmation email and can also easily unsubscribe at any time.
8. We are almost finished with our study of First Corinthians (three weeks to go), which I send out every week. When we finish, we will automatically move into Second Corinthians. These studies focus on four verses every day. When I send them out, I send out a week's worth of verses. I never make my studies technical; they are always practical and include questions to help you apply what you read every day. If you would like to subscribe, go to the site and enter your email address. I have all my previous studies available for free on my website.
July Proverbs: Download July.doc
Technorati Tags: purpose, Jack Canfield, The Success Principles
Comments