5 Things I Did to Discover My Purpose in Life

We all have a unique purpose in life – whether we believe or not or know it or not. Each and every one of us is born to deliver greatness to the world. While I have written extensively on finding purpose, I have never shared my personal journey in discovering My Purpose.

I know that it can seem daunting to many to undertake the task of discovering what you were truly meant to do and be; however, once you do – you will want to do nothing else.

Before I discovered my true purpose in life, I had no idea how to go about such a thing. I wish I had had a blueprint to help me. Sure, I had read plenty of books, been to a lot of incredible seminars and rubbed shoulders with who's who in the zoo of personal growth gurus – BUT – I hadn't garnered any results as far as my purpose.

The fact is that even though I was growing and changing for the better for a number of years already, my focus and direction were still very blurry because I had no clue what it all meant or what I was going to do with it all.

Through the whole enjoyable and continuing journey though, there were definitely some things that I can pinpoint as crucial in helping me to discover my purpose.

In hindsight, if I knew then what I know now – I would have been pursuing my purpose a lot longer than I have been. Nothing before it's time though I guess…

So without further adieu – following are 5 Things That I Did to Discover My Purpose in Life.

1. Looked for the common thread

Each of us has a natural affinity towards certain things. So often we don't pay enough attention to these things because we're too busy fulfilling other people's dreams. We get caught up in doing the things we have been conditioned to believe we're supposed to do.

In discovering my purpose, one of the things I did was examined my past and present to see if there were any common threads in the things I did. Additionally, I was looking for clues to the things that I did over and over again in one way or another that not only made me feel great but added value to other people's lives as well.

It took a bit of time; however, I eventually began to see exactly what the most common and fulfilling thread was in all my experiences. I started to see that regardless of where I was and what I was doing in my life, I always found myself in the role of counsel, advisor, trainer and motivator.

It didn't matter what type of job I had; even as far back as my days in Junior high school, I could remember how for whatever reason I gravitated toward helping other people see themselves the way I saw them – BETTER.

I've always been an optimist – Thanks Mom and Dad!

I credit my parents with this because growing up, I was never told that I can't; I was always told that I could do whatever I wanted as long as I put my mind to it. This is to say that the recurring theme of my past and present had been that I loved being involved in developing others and helping them to find their voice.

Here are a few life experiences from my past that illustrated this.

1988 Junior High School I was a brand new Jamaican immigrant in a school where being different was like having the plague. The most ridiculed immigrants at the time were Haitians. Well it just so happens that even after finding out my best friend's secret – THAT HE WAS HALF HAITIAN – I just didn't care no matter what other people said. In fact, I always loved and embraced our differences and learned a lot from my friend. Hanging out with his family I learned how to speak a little Creole and eat delicious Haitian food. I always told him that it didn't matter where he was from or where he was born or lived – it only matters who he is and that we're friends. Of course I don't deserve a medal for that; however, even back then I just saw something better in him that even he saw in himself at the time and since I wasn't raised to be intolerable of others in any way, the fact that he was half Haitian didn't even register on my radar – Who Cares? Ki sa ki nan patnè yo. Kouman ou ye? (Too easy if I tell you; look it up )

 

1998 Iron Horse Productions At one point in my life I was deep into the music game. I was a rapper/producer. Although I didn't realize it at the time, this was when I first started to really train and develop other people. Our team was stocked with young artist all looking to become stars. Now while we didn't break any superstars, we did put out some really great music. Although I was a lead artist on the label, one of the main things I did was help other rappers learn to understand the heart of music and how to interpret it in a way that helps them express themselves more effectively through it. Essentially, I was teaching these young artists the importance of feeling the music and letting it speak to their souls. I also taught them how you express their brand more vividly through their dress, speech and swagger. All of these elements were and still are very important to crystallize as an artist. Most importantly, we had a very talented Trinidadian rapper on the label who had a very hard time properly saying words that started or ended with "th." It really threw off his incredible rhymes. Through a series of exercises and with practice I was able to help him overcome his rapping impediment to the point where unless he really wanted you to know, you couldn't tell he had an accent at all. Basically, I trained and developed our team of artists on skills, personal branding and expression as well as speech. All of which were integral to our success. By the way, my moniker in the music business was Sage and here's a link to the last piece of work my partner and I produced… http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wizwurkz ENJOY!

 

2009 L'Oreal USA – Redken 5th Avenue By this point in my life I was pretty certain what I wanted to do. I was working for a great company and enjoyed the opportunity to explore many options. 2009 though is the year of the defining moment for me to go full throttle with my purpose. I was selected to lead a group of about 90 people at the largest hair and beauty show in the US – the Redken Symposium in Las Vegas. Never before had I been in charge of such a huge and significant event and with so many people looking to me for leadership. With all that I had learned over the past decade from my mentors, from teachers, from seminars and the gazillion books on personal growth and development I had read – this was the moment that crystallized it all for me. Without going into the nitty gritty of the event – I'll just say that it was a huge success and the team I was charged to lead did an outstanding job. We were so successful that I was invited to rewrite the process for the next Symposium and given a vote on the person that would lead this team in 2011 at the next Symposium. It was after this event in 2009 that I decided to launch my blog so that I could reach more people and positive affect many more lives. It was this event that triggered a passion so deep inside that I instantly knew what my purpose was and what I needed to do to make a difference. Ever since that time in 2009, I have done nothing but find more ways to create and deliver value for others through my gifts and talents and I am absolutely loving it!

These are just a few examples that really stuck out to me. There have been countless other examples with the same common thread and I don't expect that portion to change because I am doing exactly what I am meant to do.

Whether or not my stories mean anything to you is irrelevant – the point I want to really get across is that to discover your true purpose it helps if you can look into your past and present and find some common threads that not only made you feel great but served others as well.

2. Made it a part of my everyday life

Once I found the common thread, I began to make a conscious effort to integrate it in my everyday life as much as possible. I began to consistently look for ways that I could be of service to others.

The best part is that I was doing these things without any expectations of compensation or accolade at all. I just wanted to serve and help others in any way I could through my gifts and talents.

Whenever I was in a situation where I knew I could add value by helping others see themselves better than they did, I jumped at it. Of course I did my best not be an obnoxious know-it-all – (didn't always work ); however, my intentions were always good.

In any case, eventually it got to the point where I didn't have to think about it anymore – it became a habit. Not only was I on autopilot; my reputation preceded me and suddenly, others actually sought me out for help which I was only too happy to provide.

The more I sought to help others find their voice, the more others sought me out to help them find their voice. It was crazy but that's how it happened and still does.

3. Gave the gift of my purpose to others

Once my purpose picked up momentum, I kept feeling like I needed another outlet. As more and more people sought me out for help it became clear that I could even help more people find their voice.

This contemplation is what led to the launch of DeanLForbes.com. I figured that while I was helping people face to face, I could also help others that may be far away or just not available to meet. Also, as my influence grew, I knew I would have the physical capacity to serve everyone in a one-on-one setting.

This blog gave me new voice – a more expansive and far-reaching voice which was just what my purpose needed to take things to the next level. DeanLForbes.com has led to numerous speaking engagements as well as syndication on a top Internet radio show – The Big Corey fresh Show. I did a segment called "Insightful Minutes" with Dean L. Forbes. The show is now off the air since The Big Corey Fresh Show took the UK by storm; however, it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

Since the launch of my blog in 2009, I have received nothing but love and support which I am so grateful for; and the opportunities keep on coming and flowing like a river gone wild. It continues to be an incredible journey.

4. Gave thanks for having it to give

I cannot stop giving thanks for this blessing so I gave it back then and I still keep giving thanks now. The more grateful I am for discovering my purpose, it seems the more opportunities come my way that I get to be grateful for. Everything I do must be in alignment with my purpose.

I will never stop giving thanks for this great gift.

5. Accepted whatever consequences came

As you know, you can't please everyone no matter how much you want to. I realized early on that not everything I did or will do will be accepted by everyone or for that matter even appreciated by everyone.

That's ok with me though because we are all different and furthermore I only care that I truly believe that I am serving others and that in the course of doing so I harm no one. Once those criteria are met, I'm good.

As one of my great teachers always said, "Do what's true for you and learn to live with the consequences." In everything we do and every choice we make there are consequences. All you have to do is make sure that you make choices that are in alignment with correct principles and the consequences you reap will be positive.

Quite frankly, if you aren't happy, sad, laughing, crying or pissed off after you read one of my articles then I am not doing my job. My articles are meant to provoke emotion… to wake you up… make you painfully aware of where you are so that you can see clearer where you want to go.

Sometimes what I write will hurt and other times it will make you feel butterflies but always, my goal is that what I write helps you grow in the most positive and profound ways. If I truly love you then I am ok if acting in your best interest hurts a little or even a lot. I'm good with that.

These are the 5 main things that I did to discover my purpose in life. You may categorize them differently; however, I truly hope that sharing my personal journey to discovering my purpose helps you either find yours or become further convicted in what you've already discovered.

 

From Dean's Library

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