The journey of the last two decades has been a wild, roller coaster of a ride, filled with slow climbs up and exciting, even scary descents. It's what I affectionately term my purposeful path. Before my near-suicide, I traveled the path mostly asleep, unaware that I was even on a journey. Then came ten years of awakening, with a few long naps mixed in. And for the last decade as I've continued my awakening process, I've also done my best to assist others along their own purposeful path. What follows are some key insights I've discerned along the way. It is my intention and desire that within these points you will find a few nuggets of gold that will assist you along your own journey.

As I reflect on that time in Greensboro, trying to distinguish some of the significant changes that needed to take place, I realize that one of the most important was changing the way I think about life purpose. Over the past decade, I've asked thousands of people the question, "In your view, what is a life purpose?" Not what \their\ life purpose is but what \a\ life purpose is. In the vast number of responses, the common thread goes like this: "A life purpose is what I'm meant to do while I'm alive." Or, "It's what I'm meant to accomplish that only I can accomplish. " Or "It's what I'm here to do that will give me joy and satisfaction." The answers generally focus around doing.

I've come to take a different view. What if a life purpose isn't what you do? What if, instead, it's the context or vessel into which you pour your life, which then shapes your life and all you do in each moment?

Your life purpose is like a cup into which you pour the water known as your life, and that water is composed of three basic components: you, a conscious, living person; time, since all of our lives exist in moments of time; and what you're doing in those moments in time.

There's a close relationship between what we do and our life purpose, just like there's a close relationship between a cup and the water within it. Yet they are both distinct. This subtle difference can make all the difference in how satisfying and fulfilling our lives can be. It also makes a huge difference in helping us bring clarity to our life purpose. You've probably heard the old joke about the man who loses his keys in a dark alley but searches for them under a streetlight because the light is better there. Are you like that man, looking for your life purpose under the street lamp of "doing" simply because it's easier? If so, you may want to start looking in a different arena of life--the arena of "being," because that's one of the components of someone's life purpose. Let's go back to our analogy of the cup and the water. The real question isn't about the composition of the water but about the composition of the cup. What are the basic components of a life purpose that creates a powerful, shaping force for your life; one that's long-lasting and enduring, and which allows you plenty of room to play and express yourself?

2003 Brad Swift of Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.