A Statement of Purpose

It is normal to slip through life just sliding from one thing to the next, not quite sure why we studied this, not quite sure why we took that job, no big reason for living where we do and so on.

This is normal.

Apart from normal there are those whose talents happen to coincide with something popular, perhaps in sports or entertainment.

There are also those who are passionate about an area, and are allowed to be, and end up pursuing it as a career.

Then there are those who are angry. We see something wrong and determine to make a career out of making it better.

Imagine if you were to combine all three, to take your talent and your passion to do something about whatever it is that makes you angry.

This is your life purpose.

If you can focus your work and your life in the space where you are both highly motivated, by anger and by passion and highly talented, then you are also likely to be successful and fulfilled

Life purpose has been the foundation of my work for six years now. I have developed an extremely powerful exercise in which people can articulate not just their life purpose, but their vision for how they will achieve it, their mission of required resources and their values; the ethical boundaries around their behaviour, in under an hour.

Not only that, but we can usually also start work on the plan for how to make it happen, all in an hour.

This exercise makes a huge difference to people. Articulating your purpose for the first time is, for many, like having a veil lifted. A view which has been blurry and indistinct their whole life comes into focus. It is like finding something you always knew existed, but could not quite see.

Our purpose is powerful for us, even before we articulate it, it is already attracting us. Because of this most people I work with only need to make minor adjustments to feel the benefit of being fully aligned with their purpose.

Most people I work with get on with their lives with a renewed sense of purpose, greater focus and greater clarity. This additional energy helps them to make positive changes, to adjust relationships, refocus their work and find greater success and fulfillment.

Some of the people I work with find that they had something amazing inside them, something they need to let out. One example is Line Hadsbjerg.

Line is a mixture of Danish and South African and lives in Mallorca. When I met Line she was already doing something pretty amazing as one of the founders of Betterplace. When we did the Life Purpose exercise Line experienced one of those breakthrough moments of clarity that so often come out of the process.

She realised that through her talent as a writer and communicator and her passion for people she could do something about her anger at the perception of South Africa.

And she did...

Line has written and produced a remarkable book. The title: Remarkable South Africans. It is a work of extraordinary power and beauty, I had chills and goose bumps just holding it. You can buy it here and join the project here.

With my great friend Dawn I have written an e-book called "Living on Purpose" which takes you through a simple process to articulate your life purpose, vision, values and mission - give it a try - http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/neilcrofts