“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose” –John F. Kennedy
What is the why behind what you do? Purpose, as a term, gets thrown around quite a bit. I think the simplest way to look at purpose is to ask: OK, you’re doing that……why? There are many significant areas of our lives where we make choices. Career? Spouse? Education? Children? Residence? Charitable causes? Religion? Diet? Relationships? Time management? These decisions have major ramifications. If the goal is to find daily happiness and contentment, shouldn’t we be intentional about our purpose, asking ourselves the why behind our actions and choices?
Gone are the days where you have to work a job you hate, pursue a degree or learn about subjects you don’t enjoy. Technology has changed that. It’s absolutely incredible how, once you have clarity of purpose, almost everything falls into place. It dictates the plan for your life. By knowing yourself (mind/body/spirit) you discover your purpose, and you share that purpose with the world through daily actions. This leads to incredible internal satisfaction, and society rewards people doing this with all sorts of things (and not just with money). Establish your purpose and deliver it to your personal audience (however large or small that is). Your life will change forever. I can’t tell you how to find your passion, but I can tell you how I found my career purpose.
First, I used all the wrong reasons for “becoming an engineer.” I pursued engineering for over 10 years, between getting a Civil Engineering degree and working in a non-purpose J.O.B. (for me, thank God for good engineers, as we need them for everything). It wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. I believed many things incorrectly at the time: I test high in math & science, so I need to be an engineer. I have to make “good money,” so I’ll be an engineer. You have to pick a career path with lots of jobs, so I’ll be an engineer. My dad is a good engineer with his own company, so I should do that “easier” path.
All of these were wrong, wrong, wrong (at least for me). My heart and mind were never into it. I found myself competing in college with other students that also coasted through high school and they had that passion for engineering. That was a most humbling experience.
In the years working as an engineer, I found myself fascinated with learning about finance. I read books on my lunch break. A good chunk of my non-work hours, I was consumed with reading and learning about this field. It dawned on me, can’t I pursue work in the finance profession and help people there? I reasoned if I liked it, I’d probably be good at it. The long winding journey began; night school for MBA, wife’s brain injury accident, school on hold, school back on, meet my teacher/mentor/future-business-partner Jack, death of wife, meeting and marrying Lesley, officially quitting engineering, first financial planning job, joining Jack at his firm, becoming business owner, committing to working with clients based on my experiences with adversity, purpose, and financial planning (with four kids mixed in for good measure).
I want you to know that it’s not easy to find or deliver your purpose and life’s plan, but it can always be done. You are the designer of your path. You can do it.
“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we’re born and the day we discover why” –William Barclay
