How to Discover Your Life Purpose

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Do you know why you are on the planet?

I remember my college buddy Dave who at 13 knew he wanted to be a doctor. Most guys are not like my friend Dave. And many guys don't even know what kind of life they want to live after college.

For example, I had no clue what I wanted to do post college except travel the world. I knew corporate America was not for me, so I wanted to do some soul searching. I wanted to "find out" what I was supposed to do with my life.

Recent studies on men between the ages of 16-26 suggest that this age group has no clue what to do with their life and end up staying stuck in what Michael Kimmel calls " Guyland " where men never really grow up.

What about you? Do you know what your life purpose is? Is it the same as your job? Is your purpose aligned with who you are? What can you do to help yourself find your life purpose?

There are many web sites and businesses built upon helping you discover your life purpose. But it all boils down to two things:

• Know yourself deeply


• Know what you want

The more you know yourself, the more you are able to articulate what you want in life and out of that comes discovering your purpose.

So, if it's true that you just need more self-knowledge to discover your purpose, then save yourself a lot of time and money and go inward. Be willing to make the deep dive and your purpose will emerge, but not in the way you think.

Let me explain...

The River Of Your Life

Men often think of discovering their purpose as if it is a mountain to climb. Men often think that one day, they will find their purpose, as if it's a summit, and then everything will be okay.

My own experience suggests otherwise. The satisfaction having reached the summit just doesn't last.

Instead let's use a metaphor of a giant, wide, river.

If you stay in the river of your life, you are likely to be on purpose and you may not even know it. The more you stay in the big wide river, which represents you following your heart or following your truth, then you are on target.

For example, if all you know is that you want to help others, then that is your river. The finer details will come in terms of with whom, where, what and how.

Now, if you don't stay in the river of helping others, and you listen instead to your parents, culture or friends, the more you will get diverted along the path of their river and you will get lost taking side tributaries. You might get distracted by the allure of money, fame, power, or even a woman.

But, how do I find my river? It's simple, get to know yourself deeply and ask the question "What do I want?".

Some men find their river, but because it is unknown or shakey, they veer off the main channel for a while. This is normal. However, you must come back to the main current of what you want. Otherwise, years go by and you remain lost or stuck.

If you commit to staying on your river, not someone else's, the narrower the river will become until it's like a surging mountain torren...

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