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⸙ FRAMING YOUR LIFE

Chapter Four

A wise man once told me that life on earth is meant to be lived to leave a positive mark, that’s the whole purpose of life. I believe one of the reasons people hit midlife crisis or deathbed regrets is because they live life without discovering their purpose; they fail to find out where they are meant to leave their mark.

Coming this far, I want to submit to you that the purpose for your life should be the focus or centre of your life. He who created you created you with a purpose and for a purpose. You may be successful in business and the corporate world yet find yourself empty. We often think that our careers are our purpose (and perhaps so). Yet having something to keep you insatiably does not always equate to you living a purposeful and fulfilled life. People can have all that but still hit a wall.

Purpose is something that you can’t knock off or retire from. It’s the essence of your being. You are miserable without it. If you were to be given $1 billion today, would you still be going to work and be doing what you do? If you wouldn’t that tells you your work isn’t your purpose but just a means to earn a living. If it was then money wouldn't have to change anything. It shows you that your purpose lies somewhere else where you will probably spend that money on to make an impact.

Careers were introduced to fill the need in our world system – make it a better place. Many people have jobs solely for money generation purposes.

People are often mistakenly making their careers their purpose. In the long run, no matter how much good they have done in their career, for their institutions, they still feel empty and unsatisfied. He that created us placed a unique vacuum that can only be filled by our God-given purpose. You don’t define your purpose. You discover it. It’s already there.

Everything in your life should revolve around your ultimate purpose. Every decision you make should be in line with it. If I were to pay or reward you, I would do so if and only if first and foremost you have fulfilled what I hired you for. If I ask you to wash my car and you decide to wash my clothes, no matter how clean they can get, I wouldn’t commend nor pay you for what you have done.

Your workplace pays you for the purpose or job description they defined for you at work. That job description is a measure of your effectiveness at a workplace, whether you are paid or fired it all depends on

it. Your spouse commends you depending on whether you are fulfilling your roles and responsibility or not as a husband or wife. The same way God rewards our conscience with fulfilment, joy and peace when we fulfil that purpose we were created to accomplish.

Your purpose should determine decisions in every area of your life. What you do in every area should be a means or a tool to advance your purpose. Before you apply for a job or school, get into a relationship, a tool to advance your purpose. Before you apply for a job or school, get into a relationship, business, church, etc. you must first define why. Why that job, why that school, why that lady, why that man and how do they fit in long term, in your purpose? How do they add value to your life? Do they make you better for your purpose or how exactly do they advance your purpose?

Look for a lady who is going in the same direction or would love to and if you are a lady ask the man where he is headed before you say yes. It’s never about how rich or poor they are. It’s about the direction they are taking and hence the value they will add to your life. Look for friends that are going in the same direction or may add value one way or another. Look for a church and job that will push you in the direction of your purpose. Look for school or a career path that will equip you with knowledge and skills that will advance your purpose. Life is not just about money making and survival. Yes, it’s an important bit but not all there is.

So, before you continue, if you don’t know what you are here for, sit down and search through your life what you think you can do to add value to those around you which defines you. The rest of the book will be building on that. It will be more meaningful and helpful if you take your time, search and write it down. Most of the time, it gets crystal clear with time, so you will refine it along the way; for now, just have somewhere to start from.

There are two topics in this book that will help you with ideas on how you can figure out what your purpose is and why it is vital for your discovery.