“Nothing can take the place of knowing your purpose.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2016-02-02) from his book, 3 Things Successful People Do: The Road Map That Will Change Your Life (Kindle Location 203). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Why do you get up every morning? Is it because you were kicked out of bed and were told, let’s go? If you read the book of Proverbs in the Bible, it says a lot about being lazy. Basically it is not a good thing. But getting up because you have a reason, a purpose is a very good thing. So why do you get up every morning?

John says, “Millionaire industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, the founder of Kaiser Aluminum as well as the Kaiser-Permanente health-care system, said, ‘The evidence is overwhelming that you cannot begin to achieve your best unless you set some aim in life.’ Or put another way, if you don’t try actively to discover your purpose, you’re likely to spend your life doing the wrong things.”

John then says, “I believe that God created every person for a purpose. According to psychologist Viktor Frankl, ‘Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. Everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus everyone’s task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.’ Each of us has a purpose for which we were created. Our responsibility— and our greatest joy— is to identify it.”

John gives three question to help start you on this quest…

“For what am I searching? All of us have a strong desire buried in our hearts, something that speaks to our deepest thoughts and feelings, something that sets our souls on fire.”

“Why was I created? Each of us is different. No one else in the world has exactly the same gifts, talents, background, or future.”

“Do I believe in my potential? You cannot consistently act in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself. If you don’t believe that you have potential, you will never try to reach it.”

That is a very good place to start.

So do you know your purpose?

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