Chapter One: The Power of Positive Purpose

Have you figured it out yet? You know, your reason for being? Have you even thought about it? Have you talked to anyone about it since you were a teenager? Did you even talk about it then? Would you admit it if you did? I'm going to ask you to work on that now. There will be some suggestions to help you along the way. We will start small and then you can take it to whatever level you like.

We all reach a crossroads in our lives. Points in time where we are going to have to make choices. They are not always obvious, but we go through them nonetheless. A review of these points in our lives will give us clues to our purpose. We can also use this technique to assist us in making decisions at these crossroads. There are three steps to look at - a passion to do something, preparation and planning to achieve that something, and finally the performance.

HAVE A PASSION FOR SOMETHING

Many folks find themselves in situations at work, in their private lives and relationships that are less than satisfying. As they continue in these situations they become frustrated. It is easy for them to develop a passion to escape the situation. As you guessed, this is a crossroad. It is a time for clear thinking and planning to manage the change. Most of them will opt to do something else just to be out of the situation. They have a lot of energy wrapped up in the passion to escape. Consequently they do not always make the best choice for change. They are so focused on getting away that they don'?t spend much time on looking ahead.

Develop a positive attitude with a passion to move to something is much more agreeable and of greater use. Having a passion to do something will inherently bring about the positive attitude that will help you be successful.

How do you know you have a passion for something? Have you ever found yourself engaged in and activity and forgotten the time? Have you left that activity tired, but still "pumped up"‚ about it? Have you found yourself wishing you were doing something else while in the unsatisfactory situation? These are clues. It is these activities that bring us a lot of positive energy. We must use this energy to help guide our lives and choices. At first it might not seem practical to make such a change, but in the long run it will pay dividends. The change will require careful preparation and planning.

PREPARATION AND PLANNING

There we are, settled into our humdrum existence. We are thinking we want to be somewhere else doing a specific something else. A something else that is much more rewarding. Eureka! We have discovered the activity for which we have passion. What is keeping us from moving in that direction? If the change seems overwhelming that is the time to take stock on where we want to be. Our new endeavor may require specific education or training. Much of the time the training is rather expensive, so it is in our best interest to be sure that this is where we need to be.

Careful preparation gives us an opportunity to assess our strengths. Which strengths have brought us success? We should even consider improving those strengths.

Well, now you've done it. You've settled on that new place in your life, situation where you would rather be. You've discovered the preparation required. The goal might seem out of your reach. Here is where careful planning is essential. You will find that there are a number of steps to get to your new place in life. As you plan, look at those steps that are necessary to get from here to there. Once you have the plan worked out in smaller steps you are ready to implement it. This leads us to the last step

PERFORMANCE

Performance is nothing more than working your plan. As you reach each level of your plan reward yourself and then do a passion check. Are you still as excited about the plan as you were originally? You may have found that what you originally thought was an exciting situation now may not be. However, do not despair. You now have a way to do something about it. Just return to step one above. Who knows, but you, where it will lead you?

Jack's Nugget: A periodic passion check will keep you going in a positive direction.

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