What’s your Purpose

Purpose: “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”

     Purpose is the intentional direction of our thoughts and energy to create our desires into existence. With purpose, we have aim, focus and motivation. We have a reason for doing what we do and we know why. Purpose is a road map, a plan, that directs our thoughts and actions in a specific direction. Without purpose, there is indecision, inaction, lack of forward movement, and thwarted energy that has no definite place in which to move.

     When the economy crashed in 2009, I had been in the event/floral design industry for years and had brainwashed myself into thinking I couldn’t do anything else. I had wanted to get out yet had no idea what was next. Thanks to the help of an amazing mastermind group and a wise coach, I was able to find a new direction and new purpose that led me to creating this business and getting it up and running.

     I bumped along the first 2 years not really knowing where I was going or what to do next. I felt like I was on a lake in a boat, aimlessly drifting. Lucky for me another wise guide from the SBDC provided me with the necessary structure and guidance to get me into action and things started flowing. I had a sense of purpose that moved me to successively bigger levels where I acted with greater focus, clarity and intent.

     The first two years of my business I like to say I had one foot in the boat and one foot on shore. That’s where I felt safe and comfortable–partly in the old life of which I knew, and one in the new world, of which I wasn’t fully convinced. By year three, something profound shifted for me and I was able to put both feet in the boat and leave the shore altogether. That’s when my business took off. With purpose, with intention, with aim and a plan, I was able to leave behind what I knew and move towards a greater good. And without having put my full self in, nothing greater could have happened.

     As we continue growing ourselves and our skill set, we push on outer boundaries, expanding who we are, thereby freeing ourselves to offer more to others. We have the opportunity to step up to new challenges and expand beyond what we knew possible. We have the chance to recognize where we are, where we want to go and how best to get there. The spiral is never ending in its outward movement. It doesn’t stop unfolding and continues to meet us as we walk forward. By paying attention to where our intention is focused, we keep our guiding arrow pinpointed on what we want to create as we continue to risk moving to new levels.

     With the year just about to end and a new one rapidly approaching, having a clear purpose provides the framework and aim to move us where we want to go and how we want to go there. Purpose is preceded by choice–the choice to stay where we are or go elsewhere; the choice to commit to another person or stay single; the choice to put our ideas and plans in front of others and risk whatever comes next. Once we choose, once we commit, once we have that undergirding purpose, we have a huge component to creating the change we desire and manifesting a new level of creative expression.