Where Do I Go From Here?

One of the best decisions a man can ever make in his life is to intentionally decide to commit himself to pursuing his God-given purpose in life. You know what I mean by “purpose” - that thing you want to do that makes your heart sing, your blood boil, and your spirit soar; that thing in life that gets you up in the morning without the assistance of an alarm clock. Now if you haven’t discovered what that “thing” is, you might want to visit my website – www.RWuniversity.com - and click on the “Find Your Purpose” exercise (it’s free). In less than an hour, you’ll have a better idea what that “thing” is.

But it’s one thing to NOT know your purpose, but it’s another thing to KNOW it, but NOT know what to do once you know it. See, there are four questions in life we ALL want answers to: 1.) Who am I? 2.) Why am I here? 3.) Where am I going? And 4.) How do I get there from here? Men (and women) spend their entire lives searching for the answers to these four challenging questions. But for now, I’m going to assume you already have a clue of what you were put on this Earth to do; so I want to focus on the four things I believe you must do (after you’ve found it) in order to pursue your purpose properly and productively.

First, spend time exploring your MOTIVES for what you want and desire to pursue in life. If your motives aren’t pure, then you probably shouldn’t pursue it (whatever IT is). The test for pure motives is to always ask, (at least in my opinion) “Does it bring me joy, and at the same time, bring joy to other people?” In other words, does my pursuits produce mutual blessings, for me AND others? If the joy of your pursuit is one-sided (on either end), then it either makes you selfish or a martyr; we shouldn’t be either.

Second, spend time around other PASSIONATE, purposeful people. They say enthusiasm is contagious, and I agree. I don’t know about you, but I love spending time around passionate people (those who have conviction in something greater than themselves). Being around passionate people inspires us, supports us, and nurtures our spirit; because in the end, we’re either “influencing” others or they’re “infecting” us. So if you find, for some reason, you can’t positively influence others, at least find someone who will positively (and passionately) “infect” you. Passionate people will always keep you encouraged as you pursue your purpose in life.

Third, spend time doing your RESEARCH. Act like you're a detective, by finding people who are either doing exactly what you want to do or pursuing what you want to do (or who's doing at least one aspect of what you'd ultimately like to do). For example, I haven't found anyone who's doing exactly what I want to do (professionally). But I've been blessed to find many people who are either teaching, writing, speaking, coaching, or running web sites to help students and educators. Each one of these people has helped me to create and find my unique niche in the world, by sharing their professional experiences and the necessary steps they’ve taken along their journey.

And finally, spend time PRAYING for guidance, direction, and strength. I believe knowing WHAT we want is only a third of the battle. The other parts of the battle include knowing HOW to do it and knowing WHICH road to take to get there. People can teach you how to do something (that’s why you do research), but I believe only God can show you how to get there from here (by creating the opportunities, circumstances, and safeguards to get you there in one piece). So remember to always lean and depend on Him to show you which way to go. And don’t worry, even if you get lost (like I often do), He allows U-turns.