All of the activities in your life should flow out of your purpose. Trying to start a business or ministry that is not closely related to your purpose will become another lackluster job to you. The problem is most of us do not know or understand our purpose. That’s why most of us spend a lifetime fulfilling other people’s purposes. It’s time to break that cycle!

The world makes room for people who understand their purpose. Their words and actions demonstrate that they know where they are going. You were created for a specific purpose to solve a specific problem and conquer circumstances. The first section of this manual is to help you do just that, find your purpose.

Purpose is who you really are. It fits you and your personality perfectly. It’s not based upon education or life experience. Purpose comes from God, the originator of all things, including your purpose. All true personal success begins with purpose. Bill Sunday says, “More men fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent.” If your method has been “hit or miss”, you’ll probably miss. If you are unsure about your purpose, most likely you are spending your time fulfilling someone else’s. That can be frustrating.

Regardless of how much money you make, you’ll find no real happiness or satisfaction in life without obstacles to conquer, goals to achieve or a purpose to accomplish. I like what John Mason writes in his book Let Go of Whatever Makes You Stop. He writes that people say they want riches; what they really need is a fulfillment of purpose. Life satisfaction comes when we focus on our individual purpose.

In your heart is a roaring lion waiting to leap out. Highly successful people are motivated by a dynamic purpose. Some people believe in fate. We are not people governed by fate. We are people of purpose and destiny. Once you find that purpose, you’ll begin to walk in your destiny.

False Assumptions About Your Purpose

Before addressing the issue of writing a purpose statement, let’s first examine five false assumptions that can be stumbling blocks to the process. After each point, meditate on the Questions to Ponder to help move you closer to your destiny.

False Assumption #1: “My job is my purpose.”
Jobs will come and jobs will go. According to statistics, the average person can now expect to have four different careers in his or her lifetime. To confine the entire sum of your gifts within the boundaries of your current job is to put yourself in the precarious position of losing your sense of identity when your job changes. The job you have is only the brick in your hand to build upon what God has placed in you.

Question to Ponder: How can you use your current position to help fulfill your purpose? What skills have you developed to help you personally?

False Assumption #2: “My role is my purpose.”
This assumption is especially true amongst women. While men tend to define themselves in terms of what they do professionally, many women define their purpose in terms of their relationships or roles. It is true that being a mother and wife can be completely engaging roles. However, having a role as a purpose puts you in a very precarious position, because through death or divorce, those roles can change. Your purpose is always bigger than your current role.

Question to Ponder: What are your most pressing roles? Are you using your roles to define who you really are?

False Assumption #3: “I am not important enough to have a purpose.”
Scientist and physicists agree that even an apparently insignificant event as a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa can affect the atmosphere in Alaska. Therefore, every word we speak, every action we take has an effect on humanity.

Question to Ponder: Do you feel unimportant? If so, make a list of the reasons why you believe God has kept you alive thus far in life.

False Assumption #4: “My purpose has to be big or help millions.”
Think about the blacksmith who kept the shoes in tact for Paul Revere’s horse. Indirectly, he kept an entire nation from being destroyed. Leaders who met for a State of the World Forum determined that the most important jobs are parenting, teaching and healing. If you could touch one human being in one of those areas, your life is considered a success.

Question to Ponder: Do you have opportunities to parent, teach or heal someone today? Look for opportunities to share yourself with people.

False Assumption #5: “My purpose must be something I don’t like.”
God says, “He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalms 37:4). The things that we desire are most likely closer to your purpose than you think. Beware of taking on other people’s purposes that don’t fit your particular interests. Sacrificial service may be noble, but it should not an eternal one.

Question to Ponder: What do you spend your time thinking about the most?

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