Kim Davey: Finding purpose is key to good life

Kim Davey

We are so busy living our day-to-day lives many fail to think about what they want most in life. Yet life without purpose is really no life at all.
ONE of the world's most famous personal development teachers, Zig Ziglar, proclaimed "Outstanding people have one thing in common; an absolute sense of mission." I agree, and believe it is clarity of purpose, above everything else, which sets people apart.
So what is purpose?
Everyone is here for a reason therefore everyone has a purpose. The tricky part can be finding out what that purpose is. It is a unique journey for everyone. It all comes down to your desire to seek it out. Most people never do.
We are so busy living our day-to-day lives many fail to think about what they want most in life. Yet life without purpose is really no life at all. Running around being busy or living each day to just survive is not the way life was designed to be.
Author William Barclay wrote - "There are two great days in a person's life: the day we are born and the day we discover why." Why we are here is one of the biggest questions we will ever ask ourselves but it is the most important. Rather than being overwhelming, simply answer it by deciding what inspires you right now ...
Your purpose needs to inspire you to work hard to become the best 'you' can be. Your purpose or mission statement can be super simple. For example - Walt Disney's was - To make people happy. Hence he created fabulous movies, magical theme parks and wonderful characters.
My purpose is to inspire and empower young people to follow their dreams and create the life they want. What is yours?
Aristotle said, "Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, your calling can be found." That man knew his stuff! When you clarify what your skills are (and you enjoy doing these things) search for a place in society where these skills are needed and create your own career/life path.
So what do you want your life to be about? Do you want to dedicate it to sport? Do you want to entertain others in the performing arts? Do you want to make the world a better place for animals? Do you want to be an inventor? Which direction do you want to take?
When you take time to think about your purpose, and write it down, you will notice that each time you have a decision to make regarding the next step in your life you will be able to come back to it and ask - 'Will this opportunity take me closer to or further away from what I really want?' Those with a clear purpose can decide right away if a new opportunity is right for them or not, while those without purpose go off on a million different tangents and never really get anywhere.
So how do you work out your purpose?
Simply ask yourself - 'What brings me the most joy?' Write down all the times you were the happiest and most inspired. Work out what these have in common and how you could make a living doing them. As author and motivational speaker Brian Tracey says - "Decide upon your major definite purpose in life and then organise all your activities around it." This is lifestyle design at its finest. Instead of letting life 'happen' to you, purposefully create with clarity and focus the life of your dreams.
If you ever find yourself 'off course' - going down a track you realise is not right for you, it is never too late to turn it around. I remember I spent five years gaining my law and arts degree, only to discover in seven weeks of practice that I was totally miserable and it was not for me. Many people would have stuck with it, thinking they had invested too much time already, but it was the best decision I ever made! I then worked on my life purpose (something that parents and teachers should encourage teens to do) and combined my three passions - travel, performing arts and personal development into my business World Class Dance Tours, where I can live my purpose of helping others live their dreams.
Once you have your purpose, there is a great book called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen. The main gist of the book is that success in life does not occur instantly, instead it is the result of a series of specific actions taken over an extended period of time that compound to produce the desired result.
When you have purpose you know what you want and can take simple, continuous, daily actions in the direction of your dreams so that one day you will achieve your desired result. Take for example two promising high school cricket players - both have potential to be a Black Cap. One has decided his life's purpose is to play cricket and goes into every game with the intention of making the most out of it - learning as much as possible, listening to the coach, improving and practicing at home. The other merely turns up, plays, goes home and repeats. Soon the player with purpose whose actions compound over time becomes the next 'overnight sensation'. He travels the world as a Black Cap playing for New Zealand, while the equally promising other player remains at home continuing to turn up, play cricket and go home wondering why he is not where his friend is.
As Robert Byrne, author and columnist said; "The purpose of life is a life of purpose." So go find yours!
Be Real. Be True. Be You!
¦Kim Davey is an international speaker, author and entrepreneur who lives between Hawke's Bay and LA and runs www.nzdancenetwork.co.nz and www.kimdaveylive.com