Define Your Life's Purpose in 5 Simple Steps

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." ~Dalai Lama

What would you do today if you could start all over? If you could start a new life today...what would you do differently than before now?

We've all heard that story about the person who had a near death experience and they got a second chance in life and then...EVERYTHING changed! They got to start all over, and now they're living life with purpose. They're on TV talk shows, radio shows, telling their story to the world and everyone's so inspired by their story....right?

How would you like to live your life with that kind of excitement!?!...with the feeling that you have a purpose...you have a story to tell and you want everyone to know about it. What's your purpose? What's your story?...Well, guess what?

You don't have to go through a traumatic event or near death experience in order to live life with purpose. Your PURPOSE is just that...LIFE...for starters. You're here, aren't you? Put your hand on your heart. Feel that? That's called purpose.

Do you have a family? Wife, husband, kids, mom, dad, niece, nephew, grandma, grandpa...whoever you have in life that depends on you, that looks forward to seeing you, looks forward to hearing from you...dog...cat...pet snake...whoever!...I'm sure you have someone who depends on you...someone you inspire...someone you've encouraged at one point or another. Well, there goes another purpose. To help other people who depend on you. Who else can you help?

Have you ever defined your life's purpose? When you define your life's purpose, you now have a mission statement. You now have something to work towards each day and can actually begin to fulfill your purpose.

I could give you a list of steps to define your life's purpose, but honestly, I've never seen anyone put this process any simpler than Adam Leipzig in his TEDx talk in Malibu.

DEFINING YOUR PURPOSE:

Adam says, answer these 5 questions to know what your life's purpose is:

• Who am I?
• What do I do?
• Who do I do it for?
• What do they want and need?
• How do they change (or transform) as a result of what you give them?

There are a few things I would tweak about these questions, although they do make it easy for you to write a mission statement. However, some people are not happy with what they currently do for a living. Some people are not living their life's purpose, but are instead, living someone ELSE's purpose.

For these reasons, I'd change the 2nd question to "What do I love to do?". Whether or not you're doing it, write it in your mission statement as if you already are [doing it]. Even if you're sitting at a desk at a job you can't stand to be at, if you passionately believe in your mission statement and that it can happen for you, this process will bring you closer to living it out.

One of John F. Kennedy's mission statements was to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, which he achieved.

So, my name is Danise Jarrett. I'm a Business Growth Coach who helps small business owners and entrepreneurs increase profits and achieve their lifestyle goals so they can live the life they deserve, with purpose, and on purpose!

Ok, now it's your turn...what's your life's purpose?

Watch the video [start it around 3:10 mins] and then post your mission statement below. Post it somewhere so you can see it every day (desk, refrigerator, mirror) and begin to live up to it!

(Please note, there are a number of ways to define your life's purpose or write a mission statement. For the purpose of this article, I chose a quick and simple example. You can always feel free to write more than one mission statement. In fact, I highly suggest it.)

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