 Coachability
The Seminar Source Newsletter
Speak Well and Get Clients Now!
August 3, 2008
Issue #9
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Greetings! For the first time I am using a guest writer. I came upon Larry De Rusha's article accidently this week and felt it fit perfectly with last week's article regarding discovering your passion. He graciously consented to my using his material for this issue.
During the 18 years I taught "Discover Your Passion" at our local adult school, I found that the one obvious, overwhelming objective of participants was to find their passion or purpose in life. Some students had been working for a decade or two; some were getting ready to retire, some were just starting out, but that persistent "niggling" continued--why am I here? What am I meant to do in life? And the question also surfaced, "Is everyone really meant to do something, e.g., have a passion or purpose?"
As I explain in my books, Discover Your Passion and Profit From Your Passion, we come upon our purpose/passion in different ways. Some are obvious--those with born with an extraordinary talent--singers, artists, dancers, gifted mathematicians, researchers, etc. They "know."
Some people just "feel" they have to make a difference in a certain area, after having been exposed to particular experiences. And, of course, who can say they were "accidental" exposures to certain areas?
Some people unfortunately have their passion thrust upon them--the founder of MADD (Mothers Against Drunken Driving), the narrator of America's Most Wanted, whose son was kidnapped in a Florida mall, Christopher Reeves, an advocate for stem cell research, Michael Fox, an advocate for Parkinson's Disease research, and so many more.
Being a fantastic mother and raising children to maximize their potential may be your passion or purpose in life. Working with others through teaching, volunteering, or helping in some way may be your passion or contribution to the world.
The bottom line is we all have a purpose for being here. The challenge is finding it. I hope this article helps.
Happy, Happy,
Gail
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Feature Article: The Roar From Within
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by Larry De Rusha
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Here is the first excerpt from The Roar From Within. It is from the part of the course that talks directly to discovering your purpose.
Best Regards,
Larry
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YOUR PURPOSE
A cactus stood all alone in the desert, wondering why it was stuck in the middle of nowhere.
"I do nothing but stand here all day," it sighed. "What use am I? I'm the ugliest plant in the desert. My spines are thin and prickly, my leaves are rubbery and tough, my skin is thick and bumpy. I can't offer shade or juicy fruit to any passing traveler. I don't see that I'm any use at all."
All it did was stand in the sun day after day, growing taller and fatter. Its spines grew longer and its leaves tougher, and it swelled here and there until it was lumpy and lopsided all over. It truly was strange looking.
"I wish I could do something useful," it sighed.
By day the hawks circled high overhead.
"What can I do with my life?" the cactus called. Whether they heard or not, the hawks sailed away.
At night the moon floated into the sky and cast its pale glow on the desert floor.
"What good can I do with my life?" the cactus called. The moon only stared coldly as it mounted its course.
A lizard crawled by, leaving a little trail in the sand with its tail.
"What worthy deed can I do?" the cactus called.
"You?" the lizard laughed, pausing a moment.
"Worthy deed? Why, you can't do anything! The hawks circle way overhead, tracing delicate patterns for us all to admire. The moon hangs high like a lantern at night, so we can see our way home to our loved ones. Even I, the lowly lizard, have something to do. I decorate the sands with these beautiful brushstrokes as I pull my
tail along. But you? You do nothing but get uglier every day."
And so it went on, year after year. At last the cactus grew old, and it knew its time was short. "Oh, Lord," it cried out, "I've wondered so long, and I've tried so hard. Forgive me if I've failed to find something worthy to do. I fear that now it's too late."
But just then the cactus felt a strange stirring and unfolding, and it knew a surge of joy that erased all despair. At its very tip, like a sudden crown, a glorious flower suddenly opened in bloom. Never had the desert known such a blossom. Its fragrance perfumed the air far and wide and brought happiness to all passing by. The butterflies paused to admire its beauty, and that night even the moon smiled when it rose to find such a treasure.
The cactus heard a voice.
"You have waited long," the Lord said. "The heart that seeks to do good reflects my glory, and will always bring something worthwhile to the world, something in which all can rejoice - even if for only a moment."
EVERYONE HAS A PURPOSE
When you have moved beyond just surviving you begin looking for meaning. You feel caught in routines and practices. What does it all mean? It may be that you have just started your search for your purpose or, the search for meaning. If you have been at it for a long time you may be wondering if you really have a purpose. Rest at ease: You do! Everyone has a life purpose. Like the cactus in the story, a very discomforting feeling comes from the perturbing sense that there must be more to life than what you have done so far.
Don't worry. If you haven't yet, you will blossom!
The decade of the sixties was a vocal time. Protests filled the news. You could hear the sounds of people searching for something deeper, something unexplained. It was an emotional period with high expectations, hopes of change, a time of discovery. A whole generation was looking for purpose.
The leaders of the time, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and others were killed before they completed the process of unifying a generational purpose. The result was people torn from within.
This generation's grief ultimately became its purpose. The emptiness created by this sense of purposelessness was soon being filled with outer "stuff." They smoked dope, took every type of mind-altering drug, challenged everything, and questioned all. But The Lost Generation in due course moved from activists to yuppies. From purposeful to the elixir of materialism!
Your purpose has two parts.
First is an inner purpose: to awaken. The second is part is your outer purpose or what you are here to express.
Awakening means to be capable of separating out your thinking from your awareness. For example, you have had the experience of how the mind can chatter, chatter, and chatter. Perhaps you also have had the experience of witnessing this chattering mind. When you can witness your mind, you have separated your mind and awareness. Although this is generally a gradual awakening, some people
experience it all at once as enlightenment. Their whole being changes to accept this new world.
Your outer purpose is what you are here to demonstrate to the world. Notice I said demonstrate, not do for the world. The best way to have any impact is to demonstrate. Gandhi demonstrated peace to the world. He lived his outer purpose of peace by demonstrating.
As a soul you take on your personality with certain strengths or gifts so you can evolve toward your inner purpose to awaken and return to God. Your personality evolves as you create experiences from your Ideal or your Trigger. Then your life unfolds as your personality interacts with the circumstances of the world, either
moving you toward conscious unity or the other way toward dissociation.
END OF EXCERPT
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Larry De Rusha is a minister and author. Finding your life purpose is one of the themes of his program, The Roar From Within - Your Destiny Calls released in December 2005. You can find out more details about the program at
http://www.roarfromwithin.com.
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Roarfromwithin, LLC, 1724 Clarkson Rd., Suite 271, Chesterfield, MO 63017, USA
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Gail Cassidy
Coachability.com
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