The 10-star life – meaning

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”  John 18:36-37

 

Very often, almost like a recurrent decimal, people ask me what exactly they can do to live a life of meaning and purpose. It is as if people actually expect me as a Life Coach to give them a definite agenda for their lives. Even when they don’t show it, I feel the sense of disappointment in them when I tell them that it is not within my purview to tell them what they were created to do. My job as a Coach is not to replace the agenda of the Creator who makes the product – them – according to a specific goal in His mind. My job is to help you navigate the journey towards the desired outcome by helping to chart a roadmap that takes you to your predetermined destination faster and in an easier manner. To fully understand yourself and your purpose, press into your Maker.

Until 1999, the highest rating accorded any hotel worldwide was a 5-star rating. In December of that year, the first 7-star hotel, the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai opened its doors to the public, thus raising the bar in the global hospitality industry. Over the next few weeks, I will be examining what I call the 10-star life by highlighting 10 things you need to interrogate and understand if you want to live a purposeful, significant, fulfilling and fulfilled life. In line with the popular line of the presenter of the TV show “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire”, this will be my “final answer” to anyone who asks me about how to live a meaningful life or a life of purpose.

Success is a journey and true success leaves footprints. Those who stumble into success will fumble out of it. God is not the author of confusion. Success is predictable if one follows the principles that make it possible. The more you know and do the needful, the more successful you get!

The first ‘star’ to consider in our treatise is the word ‘MEANING’. Your MEANING is the encoding of your reason for living and a vision to live by. You can also call it the MOTIVE or the WHY of your life. Your meaning signposts and paints the picture of your future. In the Okinawa region of Japan, the inhabitants are reputed to live very long. It has even been said that it is normal for them to continue to go to their farms well into their nineties. Research into their lifestyle did not reveal any special diets or strange, esoteric tree of life. It is in what they call “ikigai” which means ‘the essence of life’. The inhabitants of the island learn from a very early age, that there is a greater reason for living that goes beyond self and consumption. This consciousness gives meaning to everything that they do and keeps them motivated even when it appears that things may not be looking too well. The meaning we attach to anything we do determines why we do it! Our meaning is our interpretation of our life mission.

The character of every fruit or seed is known by the tree that produces it. If you want to know what the essence of life is to anyone, find out what brings him joy and makes him feel fulfilled even when he is not materially wealthy.

You don’t choose your meaning. It chose you! An elephant does not choose to be big. Bigness chose the elephant. The lion didn’t choose roaring but roaring chose it. The lion did not pray to be a predator. Hunting came with its very essence. Fish didn’t choose swimming. Swimming chose the fish. You are wired the way you are because of what you are wired to do!

Until you find your meaning, life makes no sense, irrespective of what you acquire. A quest for meaning is the starting point of the journey of self-discovery. Your meaning or your essence of life is the summary of your biography expressed in ONE sentence. Mankind is constantly chasing what we believe will make us happy. We make this pursuit in various ways. Some do it by aspiring to get to the pinnacle of a career while others do it by aspiring to be rich and or famous. Some seek it through travel to different parts of the world and others pursue it in mundane pleasures. In fact, the popular mantra in contemporary language is, “Do whatever makes you feel good!” Truth be told, many people get to the end of their pursuit only to discover that they are still not happy, their achievements notwithstanding. In a moment of sudden epiphany and forlorn hopelessness, they conclude, like Solomon, the richest (materially) man who ever lived, that all such pursuits are vanity and a chasing after the wind. For a man who had all that money could buy and more and who sought happiness in women, wine, wealth and wisdom without finding the illusory happiness, he should know!

Your meaning (ikigai) must be found in the context of the Creator’s purpose and plan for you and the assignment that He has given you as platform to serve mankind. Your life is an endowment, an investment code to the universe from your Maker. It encompasses three things. The first is an assignment or TASK that you were created to accomplish. This is your code of service or value provision to the rest of creation. You were never created for yourself. Everything in creation only activates its full potential when it combines with other things in creation. The second is that you must see your life as a TEST. This is about how effectively you can recognize and deploy the potentials placed in you. Finally, your life is to be seen as a TRUST. This has to do with stewardship and ultimate accountability as regards functioning according to the expectations of the Maker.

Your meaning is found in your IDENTITY and your POTENTIALS. It is WHO I am or who I am becoming that enables what I do! When you find your meaning, you can walk with a swagger, wake up with a spring, and constantly wear a smile no matter what. Your meaning determines your value system, routine, life outcomes as well as your satisfaction index.

A man on a mission does not waste his emotions on the mundane – malice, protracted quarrels, offences, bickering, bitterness etc. His focus makes him recognize distractions for what they are even when they appear very attractive.

Destiny is not a destination to attain. It is a LIFE to live.

 

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!