Chapter 25
Purpose Gives Your Life Meaning
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Today's Empowering Quote
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"Purpose is what gives life a
meaning."
-Charles Henry Parkhurst, D.D.
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Today's Empowering Question
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"What do I want the meaning and
purpose of my life to be?"
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Today's Fast Session
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Look at any person, past or
present, who achieved truly great things. People you know.
Behind their accomplishments you will undoubtedly find a passion and
love for what they do. That deep emotion can only be aroused by a
compelling purpose... ...an idea about what their life is to stand
for. So few people ever take even a few minutes and think about
their purpose. Hardly anyone ever asks himself or herself, "What am
I here for?" I never asked myself that question until October 1996.
In building the largest business of its type in the world, I
became a slave to it. Building that business was not my purpose. So
I asked myself, "What would I really love to do if I didn't have to
work to make a living?" The answer
allowed me to be able to talk to tens of thousands of people every
day.
And I love doing it...
Here's a great story about being led by
a great purpose: Back in the late 70's three white Canadians, two
men and a woman, met and got to know a black teenage boy at a series
of conferences held in New York City. They saw that he was very
smart and enthusiastic, but were amazed that he
couldn't even read. The school systems passed him
through without regard to his future. His parents were both
alcoholics. They couldn't run their own lives, let alone raise
a family. These three warm and loving people were skilled at
buying and selling real estate, so they earned a very good living.
They also had a lot of free time.
Something in their hearts made them want to help this boy succeed
in life.
He had the mind and the desire, but no guidance. They were
heartbroken with the thought that he could wind up in prison, like
his brother. With the blessing of the boy's parents, they
brought him to live with them, where they home-schooled him so that
he might be able to go to college...
Soon after his arrival, at a
used book sale, he bought his
first book, "The Sixteenth Round," about a boxer named
Rubin Carter, a former number one boxing contender, who had
been unjustly accused and convicted of murder in 1966.
Being
exposed to this story, the Canadians and the boy let
a great mission guide them. They moved from Toronto to New
Jersey to help Rubin win another trial, and went about
trying to uncover new evidence that would prove his
innocence. They had tremendous opposition to the gathering
of their facts, but their determination and belief in
Rubin's innocence kept them on course.
In 1988, through their
persistence, and with the facts
finally on the table, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter became a
free man for the first time in twenty-two years.
Many had come before them in the fight to free Rubin. But
only they had stuck it out to the end.
These three wonderful
examples of love, passion and
purpose helped Lesra Martin, the Brooklyn teenager, to
ultimately gain a Masters Degree in Law. And together,
those four people helped give Rubin Carter his life back.
Now I
have some questions for you...
What could you achieve if you put
in one tenth of the
effort and energy they exercised to achieve your own
outcomes? What does your life mean now? What will it have
meant years from now? You don't have to free the world.
You don't have to stop world hunger.
But unless you have a larger purpose in life and a larger
purpose for today, you're open to all kinds of fears,
worries...about small stuff. It's too easy to get
depressed about stuff that doesn't mean anything in the big
picture.
As Richard Carlson says, "It's all small stuff."
So start out
small. Make it your purpose to stay away from the refrigerator
for the last 3 of your waking hours; to eat one raw
vegetable today; to smoke one less cigarette today than
yesterday; to send those e-mails; to make the call; to set
a goal that will stretch you just a little bit.
And celebrate when
you achieve it. Feel good about it.
Then tomorrow do it again... Make your days blocks of time
where you're achieving 5-10 mini goals. And make sure you
give yourself the credit you deserve. This will create
tremendous momentum. Soon, you'll look forward to each day
with an enthusiasm you thought couldn't possibly exist in
you. Lesra Martin couldn't read before he went to Canada...
Little by little he learned and built upon his knowledge.
He was encouraged to keep learning. The little he learned
each day built up and allowed him to read a single book.
He then changed the course of many people's lives.
You CAN do the
same. What's today going to mean for you?
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Today's Winning Beliefs
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-- I'm uncovering my larger purpose now
-- My purpose is bigger than myself
-- I'm giving incredible meaning to my life
-- Purpose and I are one
-- My purpose puts all things in perspective
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