Purpose
Purpose = Passion = Freedom
For years, I’ve tried to get a grip on the meaning of these words: “purpose” and “vision.” I would often get the terms mixed up and used them interchangeably until I read, “Purpose Vision and Goals” by Bob Proctor.
Talk about total understanding! His explanation was so simple I can’t believe I didn’t get it long ago. Sometimes the answers to our questions are staring us right in the face and we don’t know it.
So what is purpose?
That which I love and am passionate about. What gets me juiced, what gets me going at the beginning of the day? I am passionate about helping people; bringing joy, happiness and inspiration into people’s lives. I love to inspire, to move people to action to live full, rich and meaningful lives. To heal land and people. To inspire, uplift and heal through nature and creativity. This is what I am passionate about and this is my purpose 
I know when I am on purpose and my purpose is speaking to me because my breath quickens to the point where I actually lose my breath! I get excited and I just want to take action now.
Right, so now I know what my purpose is, what is my vision?
In Bob’s words “Vision is the strategy behind the fulfillment of your purpose. Vision is the key connector between ones daily goals and ones life purpose.”
So if my purpose in life is to help people, then how do I do this? One of my visions is to document stories of indigenous people around the world, to give them a voice, to educate others on the histories of indigenous people and to find solutions to enable indigenous people to move forward, positively into the future. This is one of my visions. So what are my goals?
My goals are the steps I need to take in order to achieve my vision and live my life on purpose. So some of my goals to achieve my vision are: to make as many connections as possible with indigenous people around the world, to research the history of indigenous people and to actually travel to the different lands to document these stories. The ultimate vision is to stage an exhibition of these stories in many lands around the world. Of course there are many other goals that need to be achieved to realise this vision and to ultimately fulfill my life’s purpose.
When plotting your course from purpose to goals there are 3 really important things to remember:
- You can not rely on autopilot to get you to where you need to go. You have to be personally involved. Which means you need to take action – now!
- Don’t get so caught up in the actual planning of how you are going to get there that you don’t actually leave the driveway. This used to be one of my downfalls, I would plan and plan and plan and forever be planning!! (My fear of actually stepping out the door!) Just as long as you have the main details in place you can always be tweaking and changing along the way.
- And finally, enjoy the journey – sometimes we get so caught up on reaching that final goal that we miss the most amazing lessons and scenery along the way.
I hope that has been helpful. It has certainly been helpful for me!! I now feel like I have control of my life and I know where I am going
Arohanui,
Jo
Action
Find what it is that you are passionate about and define your life purpose today! From here create your visions and begin to plot your pathway to living your life on purpose
Inspirational Quote
Today’s quote comes from a woman who has been an inspiration to me since I was a little girl. Her name is Helen Keller and she was blind and deaf but this for her was not a weakness as she was able to see and hear in ways others were not able to.
“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” Helen Keller
See also:
find excuses to walk in the rain with a little old lady
What is a “real” photographer?
Hi Jo,
Thanks for your inspirational post. I have for many years been a fan of Joseph Campbell’s quote “follow your bliss.” It was with this very thought, which I believe summarizes your view, that I chose fifteen years ago to leave my engineering and MBA degrees behind in pursuit of a career as an oil painter. It has indeed been an extraordinary fifteen years since making the leap to follow my passion but I must confide it has not been exactly blissful.
Along the way I have come to the following conclusion. I believe life presents us with the option of three paths. The first and most commonly followed path is to work at something that makes money which thereby grants the power to seek pleasure. The second path is to go directly to pleasure or passion in our work while thinking only secondarily of money. The third path is to attempt to go beyond the need for pleasure, at least as it pertains to our five physical senses, and seek transcendence.
The first two options are driven by the ego’s desire to avoid suffering and seek pleasure. Only the third is driven by a real desire to understand that we are not our physical bodies and our egos but rather infinitely rich souls. It is on this journey where we attempt to transcend duality in search of real Bliss.
When I chose to become an oil painter, I did not understand this is what was really meant by all the myths which Joseph Campbell had digested and written about and had ultimately distilled down into “follow your bliss.” I had taken the self-righteous attitude that since my talents were gifts from the Divine, if I used them I would be divinely propped up. You know, a sort of “leap and the net will appear” approach. The problem is that if we neglect to see beyond our egos and still simply seek pleasure without enlightenment, we are arriving at the same place as the first path of seeking money as a means of acquiring pleasure.
We might think our motives and goals are righteous. This is certainly a great place to start when charting our life’s work. However, unless these stars of righteousness are hitched to a wagon of transcending the ego’s need for pleasure, we will either arrive at a place of monetary wealth and spiritual compromise or a place of financial indebtedness and spiritual false pride. I dare say, my path led to the latter.
So as a person who has aptly gone down both of the first to afore-mentioned paths, I find myself trying the third. I’ll let you know how it works out…
Thank-you Steve for adding an inspirational comment to my inspirational website! Your words and experiences have added richness to this page and much love and respect for becoming an oil painter! And a great one at that! (I had a sneaky look at your website
)
I have never been a 9-5 person and so when I pursued my art and creativity full time 4 years ago, it felt so right – it was the best thing ever and I have never looked back! I can understand though how much of a leap it is for some people to leave the security of getting a regular income every week behind.
And I totally get what you mean by the ego. I think I am at stage 2 looking to stage 3 although a lot of what I do is for a better world. I salute you in your journey at stage 3 – good on you!
Once again thank-you for your words and I look forward to hearing how you go in your journey…
Arohanui ki a koutou ko to whanau.
Love to you and your family.
Jo