The Purpose Driven Life

I watch Oprah almost every day – without fail! – its like a daily vitamin for me to watch her because she represents someone who has exactly what I want. A purpose-driven life. She has very clear direction (not to mention the money, man!) and powerful conviction that illustrates she knows her life purpose and she lives her life purpose.

Being around someone who seems so plugged into the purpose of life is inspiring and electrifying. I remember my high school English teacher who taught us like we were precious cargo about to go out and change the world. He put everything he had into his classes and spend his summers biking around the world to bring us more stories, larger perspectives, and grander adventures. His high-energy teaching opened up the juicyness of living a purpose driven life.

I wanted that for myself. And, when I was 18, I think I had it – at that age we spend a lot of time thinking about “What we’re going to do when we grow up”. I wanted to be an Art History major – until my family doctor told me there weren’t any jobs in Art History.

So, I changed my ideas of what was practical and slowly traded in a purposeful life for a “reasonable life” where I could get a job. But over the years, a purpose driven life called to me. I wanted more – and started looking for more. What I found seemed to work for some – but not for me. I wasn’t ready to go back to school, join the PeaceCorps, have kids, or toss my career for a backpack. So where to start?