A New Adventure

I'm fifty-three years old and will gain another year in April 2024. And I feel like I'm on a new adventure. I'm continuously learning new things about myself and the world around me. I have an excitement and anticipation about life. I feel empowered to step out and take risks that are aligned with my inner values and principles. I have this earnest yearning to show and help people, to step into their own power and create their own adventures. If I can do it, so can you.

Exploring Purpose

One of the first concepts I will explore with you is purpose. Most people equate purpose with drive and motivation. But what is life like without purpose, without protection from distraction and mediocracy? What are the signs that you don't have the right purpose at this stage of your journey? How do you seek out explore and establish your purpose for this season of your life?

Yes, I have experienced having a purpose that helps me drive and navigate through one season of life, and then have to revisit, refine, and reset my purpose to move to the next stage, the next level. There are some practical, systematic practices to adopt in one's walk through life that are crazy powerful to help one do this.

The Origin of Purpose

But where does purpose come from? Research and studies of life experience show that purpose can be derived from one's circumstances. It 'can' be, but it is not always done. It seems to me that it is up to the individual. Viktor Frankl, a prominent psychologist and Holocaust survivor, made the following observations:

Viktor Frankl on Purpose

• On having a purpose: "Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.".

• On the search for meaning: "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

In this challenge to save oneself, those who find, and I'll add, choose and embrace the right purpose for their situation will be extremely successful.

My Personal Journey to Purpose

For my own story, in the first decade of my adult life, out on my own, I tried and failed to change my own miserable situation. I did not have the right purpose. I had a void in my heart. An aching loneliness, an emptiness, and my purpose in life was to fill that void. That included all the typical unhealthy, unsafe, some maybe illegal, things an 18 - 25-year-old young man would try. You can use your imagination. Until one day, at rock bottom, I looked up, and for the first time in my life, I spoke to the Creator and challenged Him to show me, to prove that He was all the things I had heard about. This began a series of conversations I would have with Him as my life changed. I would see God and His beautiful creations in various aspects of my life. Over time, through these conversations and observations, I began to trust God, and my void was filled with the love of Jesus Christ.

From that time onward, I have learned more and more about myself and my own purpose in the different seasons of my life. The journey has been amazing. Each season, I can look in awe at where I've been and where I'm going.

Going Beyond Purpose

And through it all, God keeps showing and teaching me amazing things. This is my Why for stepping out, yet again, out of my comfort zone. I aim to share my knowledge and experience on my journey and explore with you, different ideas, concepts, and principles of going 'Beyond Purpose.'

1Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man's Search for Meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.