Everything you need in life is in your calling and purpose

‘Focusing your life solely on making money shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled — Barack Obama

What sets you apart from the rest is the discovery of your purpose. The late Chadwick Boseman once said, “When you are deciding on next steps, next jobs, next careers, further education, you should rather find purpose than a job or a career. Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history”. People that will ultimately make maximum impact in life and eternity discover their purpose very early in life with ardent commitment to stick with it.

There is a specific reason you were born, a specific thing only you can accomplish while you are here on earth. You’ve got to discover the one thing that you were created to be and be willing to pay the price to be it. The true worth of a man is not measured with money; it is measured by the object of his pursuit.

John C. Maxwell said, “Most people are capable of making a living. The significant thing is making a difference”. Life is about making an impact, not making an income. The journey of life becomes adventurous and impactful only if we carefully discern and follow our purpose. You are specifically designed for a purpose; you are not mass-produced.

George Washington Carver once said, “No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.” The issue of young people running after money without any definite and concrete plans to add value to the world is appalling. We seriously need to re-orientate our youths on the need to have a sense of value. We need a renewed thinking approach to wealth. Wealth is not all about money; it is about adding value, solving problems and leaving the world better than we met it. Money is not everything! Myles Munroe said, “Wealth is given to fulfil the purpose and divine assignment. The rich think about giving back to society but the poor think always about what they need to take from society. You were not born to make a living but to make a difference.”

When a poor person gets to a place, he/she looks for what to consume but a rich person will always look out for what to contribute. Poor people focus more on their income, the rich focus more on the outcome. Every one of us is here for a purpose. We are each endowed with a unique combination of gifts and talents, strengths and skills, personality and experiences that we can draw on, not just to elevate our own lives but also to lift the lives of others. Many graduates are poor because they run after money to increase their consumption rate instead of running after finding meaning in order to increase their contribution rate. Life is not all about consumption but about contribution. Wealth is not all about money; it is about adding value, solving problems and leaving the world better than we met it. Money is not everything.

In his best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?, Rick Warren summarily emphasised that the purpose of life is simply to live a life of purpose. You need a ‘purpose mindset’ to navigate productively through life. You were not placed on this earth to be a wandering generality, but rather a meaningful specific. The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and world’s deep hunger meet.

Choose the discovery of your purpose and calling over your job. This is the core secret of the rich. There is nothing as rewarding, assuring and fulfilling like the discovery of your purpose. We must not allow the fear of failure to hinder us from pursuing our purpose. List out the problems you have been designed to solve through your gifts, talents, special abilities and unique potentials. What legacy do you want to leave behind and what steps are you taking towards ensuring that?

Maya Angelou said, “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes of you”. Have you discovered your purpose? Are you sure you aren’t walking in another man’s shadow? Those that never discover their purpose and path in life always fall apart. Things fall apart in life when we take the wrong path. That journey that you have started might send you into oblivion if it is not the path that God has assigned for you. It doesn’t matter how far you have gone. As Steve Jobs said, “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life”.

Discovering the reason you were created is your sole responsibility. What is that one thing you know you were created for and what are the prices to pay to achieve it? You are designed by God not to blend in, but to stand out. Pursue meaning, value and purpose. What matters that you leave behind in life is not money, it is meaning – a legacy. Pursue meaning, not money, and money will chase you, hands down!