The Purpose of Purpose

You have heard me say many times that we all have a purpose in life. Something that we were created to do and is unique to us. There are two facts that the success-minded person needs to be aware of. They will help us to understand why we are here and what we must do.

First is the plan of God. I believe that God has a plan for this world and all in it. Each of us plays a part in His master plan. Your role is essential, and you are the only one who can fulfill it. It is what you were created for, and God has always intended you to perform it. He had no quota to fill, and you are not just a biological happening. God created you for His reasons.

“The man who sinks his pick axe into the ground wants that stroke to mean something. The convict’s stroke is not the same as the prospector’s, for the obvious reason that the prospector’s stroke has meaning and the convict’s stroke has none. Prison is not a mere physical horror.

It is using the pickaxe to no purpose.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

1900-1944

Writer

Second is that we need a purpose. Each of us was made to do something greater than ourselves. Business leader Charles Handy said, “In business, as in life, we all need a purpose beyond ourselves to feel useful, worthwhile, and good about ourselves.” It is the lack of purpose that has been the cause of much depression and discouragement in people’s lives. When we feel we do not matter, we stop feeling we have a reason to live. The success-minded person is someone who has come to understand and embrace their purpose.

God shows us our purpose by giving us a dream. I do not mean the dreams we have when sleeping, but the dream in your heart – that desire you have to accomplish something special,  something that we feel created to do. The success-minded person knows the pursuit of their purpose will being fulfillment and completion to their life. There is no more excellent feeling than to know you are doing something that has meaning, that your life counts, and the world is better because you have lived. Adding value to people and service to others is the pathway to all meaningful work.

Let me end with the words of the great Og Mandino, who stated: “I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.” Write this out and put it where you can read it every day. Let it be the motto you live by, and you will find success in all you do.

“The Lord had made everything for its own purpose.”

Proverbs 16:4

You can learn more about Personal Development from author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey. To get his books, training material, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   

© 2020 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without the permission of the author.