Kevin W. McCarthy

Purpose Redeems the Past, Part 2

Thelma was working with a woman named Shirley about a purpose and plan for her life using On-Purpose^® tools and methods.  In the course of the coaching, Thelma asked her client to write down her career aspirations.  Shirley refused to allow herself that luxury because her dreams were gone based on some choices she had made in years passed.  This inner city single mom of two children under ten years of age worked two jobs to just barely make ends meet.  She worked a clerical job during the day, went home to fix dinner for her kids in the evening, and then went to work as an orderly at a mental hospital at night.  This exhausting routine was her life.  There was no emotional margin for dreaming.

Thelma is a strong woman who as a single mom herself raised a son and a daughter.  She refused to take no for an answer from Shirley.  Finally Shirley relented under Thelma’s unwavering insistence.  Turns out that this woman was musically gifted.  She could read music, play any instrument, and dreamed of creating an inner city symphony orchestra for at-risk kids.  She would teach them to play instruments and what it meant to be a part of a musical ensemble.  This would be a way to a better life for those kids.

Purpose Redeems the Past, Part 1

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

Do you feel like you’ve wasted away so much of your life that you’re now living with regrets?  Where have the days gone?  When did I detour from the dreams and designs of my life and get in a rut?  Have I become a person as Thoreau described – one who is living a life of “quiet desperation”?  Fear and doubt cloud judgment, belief, and confidence. 

Take heart!  Your purpose is an antidote that redeems the past, inspires the present, and directs your future.  What once appeared as a waste of days transforms into a season of preparation.   There’s a full harvest of past life and work lessons that are now readied for gathering.  In due season you plant seeds that bear fruit in the future born from the lessons of the past.

Purpose provides boldness and clarity.   Deliverance from past transgressions may be too hard for you to imagine.  Yet, time and again, miraculous turnarounds begin when the simple act of articulating your purpose takes place.

Gordie Allen, CEO of Leads Plus, Inc., of Killarney, Florida had three brothers scattered across the US.  Since their parents had died the sons drifted apart and seldom spoke to each other.  Gordie attended an On-Purpose^® Person workshop in 1994.  There he clarified his purpose and felt compelled to reconnect with his brothers. He devised a simple strategy.  Each Tuesday he would contact one of his brothers in order of birth.  So the first Tuesday he would contact his oldest brother, the second Tuesday his second oldest and so on.  Years would pass.  When Winston, his second oldest brother, died suddenly of a heart attack, Gordie was the only family member who could give a meaningful eulogy because through those years he had followed the routine.  Since the funeral the three remaining brothers have grown closer.

Purpose Causes You to Want to Make a Difference

There are a variety of opinions about life and purpose.  Let me assure you: You have a purpose!  You were born with it.  It is your undeniable spiritual DNA.  Even if you don’t think you have a purpose – you do. Designed into your life is your purpose.  Life is meaningful… your life is meaningful and is making a difference.

You have a reason for being here.  Your unique contribution is needed every day and in every way. You may never know the difference you make.  You fit into the Grand Design.  Purpose is indifferent to circumstances because in any situation your Purpose is at play and is needed.  That means that you are important in a significant way and you belong on this Planet.  You are making a difference with your life.

Our culture is one of immediate gratification; but that’s not the way real life typically works.  Not necessarily knowing the difference we make is a bit of a raw deal, isn’t it?  Here we are doing these good deeds on the job and in life, and we don't get noticed and recognized. But as mothers have reminded us for centuries, “A job well done is its own reward.”

Making A Difference?

“I wish I could believe that one person could make a difference.”
Tracey Ullman
Comedic Actress

“If you feel rooted in your home and family, if you're active in your community, there's nothing more empowering. The best way to make a difference in the world is to start by making a difference in your own life.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Comedic Actress

“One person can make a difference. In fact, it's not only possible for one person to make a difference, it's essential that one person makes a difference. And believe it or not, that person is you.”

Robert A. “Bob” Riley
66th Governor of Alabama

Two Simple Questions

Simply being On-Purpose^® begins by asking the two simple questions of Purpose: Who am I?  Why am I here?  These pivotal questions engage our move away from self-centeredness toward a life of purpose.  Seeking meaningful answers to these two questions will alter your life for the better forever. 

Through my first three plus decades I hacked away to find answers to these questions.  In the 1980s a series of life changing events cut a tiny pass into the wilds of my heart and I experienced a moment in Eden.  I knew Joy for the first time – and it wasn’t about me.  But being me by abandoning me didn’t make sense.  I couldn’t trust that concept so I kissed bliss goodbye and retreated to the “security” of my old neighborhood – life on the Avenue.

But my old way of life had been rocked.  Before I didn’t know what I didn’t know.  Now I knew there was a better place but it appeared risky.  Treading on the new path felt so foreign.  Once I realized I was living in the moment, the moment was gone.  I longed to live in this new place, but I slid back into habits.

It's (Not) About Me

Recently I was shopping at the local Publix grocery store.  Standing at the checkout line was a trim woman in her thirties wearing a hot pink T-shirt with the message, “IT’S ABOUT ME” in three-inch capital letters trimmed by pink sequins.  I believe she’s right.  Pastor Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, begins Day 1 with the statement. “It’s not about you.”  I believe he’s right.

Purpose Is an Amazing Word

Purpose is an amazing word that has captivated my life and work since the mid-1980s.  This idea of simply on-purpose, however, is not meant to amaze you with a word, its concepts, and meaning.  Instead, this is your invitation to an adventure filled with discovery toward revelation of your unique identity and significant fit on the planet.  Life is to be experienced.  And a life with a profound knowledge of purpose is life predictably experienced more resolutely, meaningfully, and joyfully.

Purpose is also one of the most misunderstood and frequently used words.  As a result, we’re left with counterfeit versions of purpose.  Authentic purpose is like nothing you’ve ever experienced.  A picture postcard of the Grand Canyon is a mere snapshot of its beauty, depth, and grandeur.  But, you haven’t experienced the Grand Canyon until you’ve stood at the Canyon edge in utter wonder and also stood deep within it and looked heavenward.  Purpose is likewise to be experienced with an inspiring gasp of joy and varied perspective.  It is big!  Resist settling for the postcard and believing you’re living in the real thing.

Simply On-Purpose Introduction

Think of these posts as a series of picture postcards.  Each is your personal invitation into the adventurous revelation of who you are, how you were created, and why you have your being – a step into new life territory.  Purpose is more than a word; it’s an amazing gift.  Take, open, embrace, and share your gift.  Before too long, it won’t be about you anymore and you’ll know whom it really is about.  I won’t be presumptuous about your purpose or how to live.  Drawing your own conclusions is the true joy of the transformation ahead.