Every day, too many folks go to bed and climb out of it—without knowing why they are still breathing. In fact, those who know why they are on earth can be counted on finger tips. And when it comes to life, purpose is everything. It is the difference between the rich and poor, the powerless and powerful ones. Without purpose, life loses meaning and—the ones who are supposed to be leading become the led. It is my desire and prayer that you will find out why you are still breathing before you die, so you do not join a generation that is fast wasting away.
The day a man finds his purpose, his quality of life changes and all of a sudden he begins to detest a life of mediocrity. The day a man finds his purpose, some of his relationships will die for new and relevant ones to come alive. One of the evidences of living a life that is void of purpose is when a man is sharing his walk with everyone. Men of purpose do not walk with everyone. You only find a few people in the core-circle of the relationship of men of purpose.
I remember reading through the life of Joseph in the Bible. I counted the number of relevant people in his life and I was surprised that they could be counted on finger tips. Over the years, I have found out that all a man needs is just one relevant relationship and his life would change forever. In fact, Yoruba people have an adage that says that when one’s friends become too many, what one is looking for is sudden death. It is dangerous to have too many friends, especially irrelevant friends.
When you find your purpose, some people would stop following almost suddenly, because purpose will stop you from going to where they go to and stop you from listening to what they listen to, and drink what they drink. Also, it will stop you from thinking like they think. Purpose will change both your value and values. Also, purpose will change what you spend your money on. Purpose makes you to develop an insatiable passion for knowledge.
Without purpose, you may become successful, but you would never be fulfilled. Over the years, I have met with too many successful folks who are not happy and fulfilled. There is a kind of joy that those who are on purpose have—that those who are not on purpose are dying to get. Money cannot buy this kind of joy. The only thing that gives birth to it is purpose. If you are not living on purpose, you cannot understand what I am briefly touching on this moment. Men of purpose are always bubbling, either they have money or not, because what is motivating them is not money.
When a man is not living on purpose, he is going to marry the wrong wife, study the wrong course and travel to the wrong place in search of what is not lost. Men of purpose do not travel to everywhere. It is their purpose that dictates where they go per time. Also, men of purpose do not marry just anyone. It is their purpose that dictates who they get married to.
It is purpose that will determine what you study on campus. If you choose a course of study without knowing why you are on earth, you will waste your time studying it, because you will end up not using it. I have met with folks who studied medicine before knowing why they are here. Today, they are not practicing!
If you do not know your purpose, the path you have chosen is not the right one. Maybe your purpose has nothing to do with what you are currently doing for a living. And maybe your purpose does not have anything to do with what you are studying right now on campus. You may be studying engineering while your purpose is intertwined with music. There is a young man I know who is studying what has nothing to do with his purpose. Many Africans are struggling in this area, because those who can educate them on this issue can be counted on finger tips.
I studied mechanical engineering in Nigeria, but today, I am speaking and writing to put food on my table and to influence the nations of the earth. There are too many people like me today. If you will understand what I am teaching you today, you would not need to waste your time like I did waste mine. Also, you would struggle on campus when you are studying something that is far away from your purpose. What you are studying becomes as walk in the park when you are studying what is intertwined with your purpose.
Now that you know that purpose is unavoidable, how then can you discover the reason why you are breathing? The reason is because without purpose, one will lead a wasted life. Life is wasted when one is living outside the circle of one’s purpose. Back to the question of how to discover one’s purpose. To start with, your heart is your best tool to access your true purpose and passion. Sincerely ask yourself what you love doing. You can do it for hours and days without being tired, even if no one will pay you a dime for doing it. After discovering this, then start taking steps to do what you love and make sure you do it reflecting a very high degree of excellence. Remember, when you lead from your heart, you are naturally more joyful and motivated to explore. By doing what you love, you will be inspired and gain insights into what brings you the most joy. If you can consistently walk these truths out in shoe leather, in the next 10 years, I’d see you at places of influence and affluence. Till I come your way again next week Monday, see you where both—the children of the poor and affluence are sitting at same table, because the greatest leveler I know is Purpose!
and then