We all need a purpose in life. It’s what gives our life meaning and helps us feel fulfilled. Some of us spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the purpose of our life is. We Google it. We ask others. We write in our journals about it (well, I do). But, the reality is, we all have different values, interests, beliefs, and opinions, so there is never going to be a one-size-fits-all answer. So, how do you find your purpose?
What is the difference between purpose and passion? Well, in my humble opinion, here is the difference:
Purpose: Your purpose is knowing who you want to help, what problem you can solve for them, how you will make a difference, and knowing why you want to. Your purpose gives what you do meaning. It is the reason (or reasons) you are here.
Passion: Passion is the emotion you feel when you use your skills, experience, knowledge, and uniqueness to add value to the world. It’s the feeling you get from living your purpose and makes you want to become great at what you do.
3 Things You Should Know About Finding Your Purpose
1. Your purpose does not have to be a career. It could be a hobby, the way you interact with people, or how you want to help others.
2. Your purpose can change. It’s not set in stone. We change, we grow, we learn, we meet people who change our lives. Just as we evolve, our purpose can evolve too.
3. You can have more than one purpose at a time. I’ve read many books and articles suggesting you can only have one purpose, but I think that’s rubbish. We can have many skills, interests, and experiences that can serve more than just one reason to exist. In fact, understanding this is how I have gone from not knowing what I wanted to do with my life to working on building my mini media empire as a blogger and course creator (from my kitchen table!)
How to find your purpose
Here are four questions to help you open your mind to finding your purpose, and building a business around it. Remember, everyone’s purpose is different, so it’s important to answer these questions honestly, not how you think they should be answered according to parents/friends/society.
1. Who or what is important to you, and why? What are your values? What do you stand for? Who do you want to help? If you do work to please others instead of yourself, you will never reach your fullest potential because what you do must be meaningful to YOU.
2. What are you good at? What skills, experience, or uniqueness can you offer? What do you enjoy doing? What would you like to become really good at?
3. Using these skills, your experience, and/or uniqueness, what problem can you help solve? How can you make a difference? Maybe you are hilarious so your purpose may be to make others laugh. Maybe you are a good teacher so your purpose may be to educate through online courses. Bossy? Your purpose could be managing a team of people to work towards a common goal. Maybe you’ve been through a trauma, so your purpose is to give direction and hope to others. Love learning a language? Share what you learn with others.
Get creative, and you’ll come up with something that gets you excited.
4. What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered? What do you want to create that will live on after you’ve gone? How do you want to change the world?
Can you make money from living your purpose?
Have you ever felt lost and unmotivated, and then you hang out with someone who is excited about their life or their job and you just feed off their energy? That’s because inspiration is contagious. When I saw people I knew building businesses, and becoming passionate about their work, I wanted to feel how they were feeling.
I started watching videos and reading blogs about people who had built businesses around their interests, and I thought, “I can do that too”. Some of them were building businesses exactly how I would have done it, so there was no reason why I couldn’t do it too.
Initially, I felt guilty about getting paid for doing work I loved, which was silly. I had gone back to school to get a degree, I completed the Perfecting Blogging course, and was working hard at self-educating myself to become great at what I loved to do. And I thought, if the work I am doing is helping others, then why shouldn’t I be paid for it?
Times have changed, and you are no longer expected to stay in a job you hate for 40 years. Sure, you might have to initially take a job you don’t like to get by, but there is no reason why you can’t be working towards a career that fulfils you and makes you happy.
If you want to build a business you love, based on your life’s purpose, but don’t have your big idea yet, then The ESKI Playbook will help you. It is a 30-page, printable playbook I designed containing brainstorming prompts to help you find a business idea you love.
Why you need to find your purpose
I must admit, it took some time for me to build up the courage to live my purpose because I kept worrying about what others would say. Not because I am a short, fat chick, but because I’ve chosen to be brave and chase my dreams.
I kept imagining people I know saying, “Who does she think she is?” Then I thought, well, I’d rather be remembered as a dream chaser, instead of someone who settled for a life that did not fulfil her. While I’m working hard at living my purpose, they are in jobs they hate, spending hours scrolling on social media watching other people who are reaching their potential by creating change and impact.
The fact is, the world needs people like you and me. People who feel passionate about their purpose are the people who have the biggest impact on the world. Why? Because doing something that is important to us makes us feel happy and fulfilled, and gives our life and work meaning.
I am a strong believer that the key to getting started is through self-awareness and self-education, and that’s why I’ve created a free tool to help you. It is the Learning To Be Me printable questionnaire and you can get it sent straight to your inbox when you sign up to my mailing list.
Knowing how to find your purpose will help you navigate life and give you a clear focus on the direction you need to take. Imagine a world where we all felt fulfilled and we were making an impact. The world needs you to be excited about your life, and finding your purpose will help you achieve that.