Your Purpose in This World

Many want to find and live their purpose.
The first step is an honest self-assessment which very few honestly ever do.

sky with pink, purlple and yellow colorsThis fundamental principle is so vitally important to reaching your own Ultimate Performance, as well as your Ultimate Life, that it absolutely cannot be overstated or repeated too often.

Repetition is the second law of learning and transformation.

people having coffee in a meeting

If you’re familiar with my work, you realize at some level that my purpose is to help you find your own unique genius, develop it to a level of mastery and greatness, and then build your livelihood around that genius, allowing you to live the life you absolutely love.

Physical life is way too brief to not be doing what you love.

To accomplish this you must truly, as the Oracle of Delphi admonished, “Know Thyself.”

Unfortunately very few follow this instruction.

You and I live in a society that tells us certain things are sexy, attractive and exciting; and others… not so much.

In an age of social media we all think we’re born to be public figures and media stars. We all want to be the next bestselling author. We all want to be rich and famous.



Travie McCoy, and more recently Bruno Mars, sing “I want to be a billionaire so freaking bad.”

That about sums it up.

Obviously all of these wishes, fame, celebrity, and billions, require skill, discipline perseverance and commitment.

For this conversation, let’s put particular emphasis on skill. While you may have discipline and commitment in spades, there must at least some degree of innate ability to accomplish what you’re going after.

When you’re on purpose a 12-14 hour day is magical.
You’re doing what you love. When you’re not on purpose it’s miserable.

fallingleaves

Please don’t misinterpret that I’m saying skill and talent are enough. They’re not. While skill and talent must be present, in-and-of-themselves they’re vastly insufficient. Mounds of research prove this to be true. But skills and abilities must be there to some degree nonetheless.

I realize this is not popular in a fast fame and quick success world. But it’s true regardless. A few hundred or even a thousand “likes” on Facebook does not a career make.

There are countless individuals touting how they can teach you to do what they did in record time.

Maybe.

Truth told, most of them can’t point to one solid success story of anyone duplicating their level of success while using their system.

Your physical purpose is how you go about actualizing your own development,
advancement and growth in daily life.

man on a treadmill

If you’ll recall our last installment regarding your Spiritual Purpose  you’ll remember that yours is the same as mine, it’s the same as everyone’s. Simply put, your Spiritual Purpose is: development, advancement and growth.

How do you use the Spiritual Power to Create Practical Results.Read it here.

Spirit is always for fuller expansion, experience and expression; and your Physical Purpose is how you go about actualizing your spiritual drive. Do you follow?

Form without spirit has no vitality or life.
Spirit without form has no expression. Man needs God and God needs man.

mind with clouds on the background

If your Spiritual Purpose answers the question “what,” as in, “What is true Universal Will?” Your Physical Purpose answers the question “how.” “How am I going to carry out and actualize Universal Will in my life?”

The answer for you to live a meaningful life is to find your unique genius and give yourself fully and completely to it. Mastery is a lifetime pursuit; and yet in your own mastery, and your own mastery alone, do you find true meaning and fulfillment.

If you don’t fulfill your purpose in this lifetime there’s a void in the universal plan.
I can’t fulfill yours and you can’t fulfill mine.

person at the end of tunnel

To do this efficiently and effectively you must practice what I call, “Beginning at the beginning.” While this may initially seem sophomoric, I can assure you that this understanding is so rare it’s almost non-existent.

Unless highly unusual, you’ve never been encouraged to do an honest self-assessment on:

  1. Your unique gifts and genius.
  2. What you’re naturally good at doing.
  3. And you’ve most certainly not been asked what you love; and what you would do for free.

Most likely you’ve been encouraged to go where the jobs are, consider where you can make a good living, and pay attention to the strongest job markets.

I can assure you this is a sure-fire strategy to end you up as a card carrying member of the 71% Club  Recent Gallup Survey

The fact, is that you are hard-wired for greatness, whether you’re consciously aware of this fact or not. Furthermore you always operate at some level of greatness when you’re doing what you love; and when you’re doing what you’re naturally good at doing.

You were born into greatness,
but you’ve been conditioned into mediocrity.Original-Picture-of-Einstein

What has to happen for you to break the chains of your conditioning and literally set your spirit and life on fire with inspiration and enthusiasm?

What has to happen for you to get so fully aligned with your unique gifts and purpose that you bound out of bed each and every day thrilled to conquer the challenges that life throws your way?

For this is when life is truly lived.

It’s in the crucible of challenge
that inspiration, commitment and resolve are forged.

climber climbing on a stone

A reporter once asked me upon my return to the personal performance market, “James with all the challenges you’ve faced, and the hits you’ve taken, why didn’t you go do something different? Why did you come back to the same market?”

I looked him straight in the eyes and stated quickly and clearly, “Matt, three words. Clarity. Of. Purpose.”

When you clearly know your purpose you don’t quit.
Even when it would often seem much easier to do so.
For you know, it would not really be easier.

James Arthur Ray

I was recently coaching a young man who told me he was making over $100,000 per year and yet he was unhappy and unfulfilled. He was a member of the 71% Club by his own admission.

After exploring his unique gifts and genius, he told me what he would absolutely bound out of bed and love to do, I told him to consider deeply the question I was about to ask.

I paused for emphasis:

If you could spend every single minute of every single day doing what you love yet make much less money doing it… would you do it?

He paused and thought long and hard as I had instructed, and then answered, “No James, I don’t think I’m willing to do that.”

I replied, “Then you’re telling me that money is more important to you than your own happiness.”

Yes, sadly, I guess you’re right.

He was 21 years old, and with very little life experience under his belt he has much to learn. Life is a tough teacher; a hard task master; and teach you it will.

What about you?

What do you answer?

What’s it worth to fulfill your unique purpose and live a fully meaningful and fulfilled life?

It’s your move…

Stay Awake, Love Life, and Be Epic,

james-arthur-ray-signature

James