Lesson 8: Living your purpose (bonus)
In his book, The One Thing, Gary Keller explains that people often fail because they want to do everything in life all at once. But the top-performers know the power of focusing all their energy on ONE THING at a time. Other things can wait, you don’t have to do everything you want to do in life right now. If you get the urge to follow shiny objects or ideas, capture them for future consideration. But for now, keep other things on the side and make time for your ONE THING every day.
Once you’ve picked your ONE THING, you must change your environment to support your goals. For that, you can eliminate distractions from your environment (online and offline) and change your social circle one person at a time.
Changing your environment could be as big as mean moving to a new place or as small as changing what all is in your room. Online, you can eliminate the distracting websites and news feed and add in inspiring and useful ones.
If you have negative people you can’t avoid, use them as motivators to prove them wrong. Then, add in positive people who are ahead of you (for guidance), walking beside you (for help/support), and walking behind you (to help and grow) one day at a time. You have no excuse to not meet these people because today, it’s easier than ever before to find like-minded people whether you choose to travel, join meetup groups or meet them online (send 1 email per day).
If you ever get confused on your path, you can always look for mentors, take courses or read/listen to books to stay inspired and find clarity. Most importantly, you need to have dedicated time to take action or develop your skills every day. When you do that on a consistent basis, the dots will connect and the patterns will emerge.
Another thing I hear from people is that they feel discouraged when they have great plans for their future but they need to stay patient to reach their goals. For that, I have a simple recommendation. You don’t need to wait to achieve your goals to experience greatness. Greatness doesn’t only come from achieving status or anything that you desire. It comes from your daily actions. The way you live. The choices you make. The way you shape your character to be who you want to become. When you go to bed each day, your aim is to feel great because of how you lived. Did you love (yourself and others)? Did you learn and get better? Did you move forward in the direction of your dreams? When you take care of the days, the years take care of themselves.
If you derive pleasure from the actions themselves, then you won’t need to wait to feel fulfilled. Yes, the achievements will feel great when they come, but you’ll also find meaning every day. I know the future may be scary, but I ask you to trust the future. The world will take care of itself if you do your part.
Lastly, I hear that some people still get confused when it comes to picking a path when they have multiple interests. The thing is, your “path” doesn’t have to be based on one passion. In today’s world it’s better to follow your curiosity and then combine your passions to become your unique great self. If you’re someone who would like to explore two or more passions, then go ahead and make that your ONE thing – to explore your different passions one day at a time. Over time, you can gravitate towards whatever you feel is best for you. Or you may combine your passions to bring unique value to the world or find fulfilment in my work.
Now as we part away, make a list of items that you’ll start doing and a list of items that you’ll stop doing. Set clear and specific goals but be open to the possibilities as you move forward. Then, ready, fire, aim (not ready, aim, fire). That means, do your way to clarity. Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat. If you keep repeating that, all the self-doubt and fear will subside.
Finally, trust yourself. There’s limitless potential within you. You can achieve anything you set your mind onto. So have the courage to follow your bliss and keep taking consistent actions. Everything else will fall into place.
Now it’s time for you to express the best version of yourself and give back to the world using the gifts you have i.e. your uniqueness.
You have this one life. Make it count.
Wish you the best,
Prakhar
PS: At this point, some people may need mentorship, some may want accountability, some may want to improve their productivity or change their habits, and so on. No matter what you want, feel free to reach me at prakhar@designepiclife.com to ask for any suggestions of a resource I can point you towards. Or you can work with me directly through my digital or call coaching service that you can find at this link.[/text_block]
