Episode #1: Finding Your Purpose In Life

Welcome to Your Life Uplifted. On today’s show we are talking about finding your purpose in life and then living it. This is a big topic as many of us are feeling that urge for more. We’re starting to feel that there must be something more to our life. That we’re here for a bigger reason.

We sometimes even feel this pressure to make our contribution to the world. How can we leave it a better place? For some, that means volunteering to help those in need. Or staying in our jobs a little longer because we don’t feel like we’ve had quite the impact we wanted yet.

What I think we’re all really wanting to know when we talk about our purpose is…why are we here? What did we come here for? What did we come here to do? We also have a fear that we’re going to miss it. That we’re going to live a life where we didn’t get to have the impact we wanted. That’s why things like “bucket lists” and sayings like “living life with no regrets” “live life like you are dying” are so mainstream. We have a bit of a fear that we’re not only going to miss what we came here for, but that we might get it wrong. That in NOT knowing why we came, we might mess up and live this life down the wrong path or go in the wrong direction.

Have you ever had that feeling?

I call it The Pressure for Purpose.

And I certainly had it. For most of my life.

From the time I was a little girl. I remember thinking that I was here for something big. But as a little girl, I could only relate bigness to famous. It was always something outside of me.

So I went to school, got a job, and took the traditional path of life. Then after about 15 years, I was starting to get this feeling that there must be more to my life. So I ventured into entrepreneurship because I felt I could have greater impact there. I created the first business. It fueled a lot of my passion. It was an incredible part of the journey. For a small time, I thought from that business would be the “bigness” for my life that I felt when I was a little girl. I thought we would create something that has never been done and that would be my mark on the world. It would be my impact! But it wasn’t quite that. So I created another business. Each one fulfilling me a little more and all moving me along in my excitement and the journey to more. Until I ended up with 4 businesses and not feeling like I was making a difference at all in the world.

I was stuck!

I didn’t know where to go.
I had 4 businesses and none of them felt like my calling. I felt like there was more and I didn’t know what to do. So I started paying for people to try and help me “figure it out.” No one was able to. I was sad, I was frustrated, I had spent a lot of money, and felt so unfulfilled.

I was trying to force and effort my contribution to the world…to be the first to create a new product, to be the only one to do this, or be the first to bring a new social project to the community.

The more I did, the more unfulfilled I eventually felt. And I was exhausted. Something was missing and I wasn’t sure what it was. I just knew there had to be more to my life.

After feeling like I had tried everything, I surrendered. I started pulling away from all of my work.

I realized that there was only ONE that could give me the guidance that I needed. It was that part of me tied to ALL THAT IS. It was that part of me that knew the depths of my being and the real reason why I came here for this life experience. Some may call it their Higher Self, their Soul, God, the Universe. Whatever you want to call it, it’s that part of you, the spirit within, connected to All THAT IS.

That was the only voice I wanted to hear. That was the only conversation I wanted to have. And I had no idea how to access that. I remember thinking how crazy it was that there was a part of me that knew why I was here and how silly life is that we can’t access it. Why? I felt a bit rebellious over it all. I would literally go outside, look up at the sky and say “WHY?” If you can move mountains and create worlds, why can’t you just talk to me?

And then one night it all changed.

One night, in the midst of all of this, I had a dream. I couldn’t see myself naturally, but I was there and I could see a bit of my shadow. I was in a dark room. I remember screaming out “why am I here?” It was in a kid-like voice, very high pitched. Perhaps my inner child screaming out. And as I was laying in bed I was in that state where I was aware of my dream and I felt this wave of energy roll through my physical body and the words that came through were LOVE. I woke up immediately after because of this huge surge of energy that had physically come through my body. LOVE!

It was such a powerful time in my life that I filmed it. Take a look. {:53-1:50}

The next few weeks after were full of emotion. My first thought was love? Why? I’m a loving person. I really like people. There has to be more. That doesn’t feel very challenging. I want to be here for more than love. I want to create something. I want to feel the bigness of life. That doesn’t feel like a good contribution to the world.

You can feel the denial still here in this video. {5:10- or 5:52-8:50}

What I hadn’t stepped into yet was that I was here for the biggest expansion my soul has ever experienced. I was here to BE LOVE. And while we as a humanity share many differing beliefs on WHO or What God is. One thing that most agree on is that the Creator is LOVE! How could there be anything more? How could there be anything bigger than LOVE?

As the weeks passed I began to look for validation that this was real. Was it really love?

And then I began to see places where I wasn’t loving myself. Self love is the first love, right? I had heard that for many years. But I don’t think I ever actually applied it. I also began to see the places where I wasn’t loving others. I also saw places where I held judgment toward myself and others. Love and judgment are two opposite ends of the spectrum. We can’t be in love and still hold judgment in our heart at the same time.

It took me many months to integrate LOVE into my life. I found a lot of places where I didn’t love myself and had lack of self worth. Perhaps you can relate to that too.

But it was interesting. I didn’t just wake up and say “Ok, I’m going to start loving myself today and forever.” Maybe that will work for some, but for me it was a bit more gradual. When the shift began happening for me is when I first realized that purpose was an inside job. When I stopped looking to others or looking for validation from others about the direction of my life, the moment that I turned it inward, I slowly turned away from the opinions and judgments of others and began to see the beauty in my own journey. I began to see how divinely orchestrated my life had been- not by me, I was clueless- but by the Universe, my Higher Self, God- whatever you want to call this higher consciousness. That there was so much more going on behind the scenes that I had no idea about- guiding me all along on the path to my purpose. That I literally had an army, a universe, there for me. And the love I felt from that awareness, helped me to begin loving myself more. In just putting the journey inward the self-love started to happen. It’s when we are taking the journey outside of ourselves and looking to others or looking for that validation that we give away our power and forget about ourselves. So in coming back inside again, through that whole process, we begin to find the love for ourself.

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As I talk with individuals about purpose a lot of questions come up. Many of which are questions that I also had.

People often ask, how can relationships support me living my purpose and how do they support my expansion?

Relationships are one of the playgrounds where we experience our soul’s expansion. Think about your work relationships. Relationships with your children. Relationships with your Parents. This is where we get to play with power, with love, with sadness, with grief. What makes relationships such a valuable part of your soul’s expansion is that not a single one of us have the same qualities, the same skills, the same beliefs, as another. We each are so unique in what we bring and that is so empowering! That is so empowering that not a single one of us is alike. We didn’t come here to be alike. How boring would that be? There’s no expansion in that. Relationships teach us about love, despite our differences. They are a blessing. The people that come into our life, even those that you might not think so, they are a blessing in so many ways. And they are our greatest teachers. They teach us so much about US.

People ask about how their jobs can support their purpose? Most of us are looking for meaning in our jobs and want to feel fulfilled in the work they do.

And again here, it’s important to remember that our purpose is in inside job. But our jobs can play a big role in that. Our jobs give us a chance to be a part of something sometimes greater than ourselves. Think about the impact we can have on the people we serve. They give us a chance to be around people. All of the relationships we get to experience. And all of the skills we get to learn and grow. Think about the ways that all of that helps and contributes to your expansion. That’s what our jobs do. They aid in our expansion. And it’s ok if you feel like you want to experience something else, or a different job. Yes! That is what we are here to do. You are here to experience it all. It all! And if you don’t find it in one job you can find it in another. Jobs are the stepping stone, the lily pad, in our journey. They can also fuel your creativity and make you feel like you’re making a difference. But it’s not so much about what you DO.

It is not by your doing. It is in your presence. That is what is felt. Maya Angelou was quoted as saying “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

That is what your presence does. You have such an impact. You have such an impact in every day. Every person. The people you might not even know. But it is in your presence. It is in your presence that you impact.

And when you direct the journey inward, and open up to the awareness that you are your purpose, and you begin to open up to this new journey inward, the love you feel for yourself and others will be felt in every conversation, every text, every email. The people around you will be happier.

Your jobs are an opportunity to shine your light very bright.

Many quickly want to know how we can help our children find their purpose?

And that is so fun because children are the easiest. They live their day in joy. They bounce around from one thing to another effortlessly, always chasing those things that make them happy. We have a lot to learn from them and the more we can support them in being creative, and being in their joy, and doing things they love, that’s how they step into the path of living their purpose too. It’s clearing the space for them to do it their way, not with our rules, not with our structure, not with discipline. Just giving them the freedom. They are the closest connection to source at that young age and we try to morph them into our adult processes and discipline. The best thing we can do for them is to give them the space to be in their joy. Their higher self, Soul, God will always be guiding them on their path. They know the best path for our children far better than we do, and that path will always be found when kids are in their joy and doing what they love, even if that differs from we think they should be doing.

And I’m often asked how our religions support our purpose?

I really love this question. Most religions are built on the foundation of love and looking for something bigger than ourselves. Feeling like there must be more. Most religions are built on a way to live that captures that more. But it’s not about living a perfect life so that you can go to heaven and then experience the kingdom and live a blissful life in heaven. It’s here! It’s now! We come here to live, to experience the bliss and the kingdom within us, now! Religions also give us hope that there is a higher consciousness that knows us, loves us, and guides us. That hope has guided our lives for thousands of years. And it’s that hope of something greater outside of us that keeps us curious and moving on the path to discovering the spirit within us. It all points back to us! It’s really beautiful.

You are your purpose!

If you felt that for even one day of your life. Some have said that they’re too old to do anything BIG in the world. They feel like they’ve missed their chance. It’s never too late. If even for one day of your life, you opened up to the awareness that you are your purpose, that there’s nothing outside of you that needs to be done. That there was so much more happening behind the scenes, whether you realized it or not. That nothing was ever ever wasted. One moment of that in your awareness could fulfill your soul. One moment. So we’re never too late. There is no such thing as too late. We never get it wrong. That’s impossible! It all serves! We are here for the expansion and THIS ONE is a grand one. There has never been a better time than right now.

If you can open up to the knowing that you chose to come here at the greatest time, the greatest expansion that your soul has ever seen. You came here for that! You wouldn’t have come if you thought it was all going to be lack, fear, and limitation. You wouldn’t come for that. If you were meant experience lack, limitation, and fear, then it would feel good…and it doesn’t. You came here for something so much grander. You get to leave your heart, leave your presence, leave your vibration, on this earth and the impact is far beyond what you can even imagine. It goes far beyond those that you see. Your presence helps the entire planet and beyond. It’s remarkable isn’t it? To think of the impact that we each have. We do! And that is why we came. We came for all of this!

So for this week ahead, what if you stepped into the awareness that you are your purpose? That the journey is actually inward, not outward. And that you have a team, that you might not be able to see, supporting your journey, and ready to WOW you in the most incredible way! What if you asked your Higher Self or your Soul or God to share more about your life’s purpose with you? Could you lessen your reigns on life? Could you lessen the control over your life over how you think it should be, and let the highest wisdom in? I never dreamed I was here for LOVE. But once I let that in, I felt the bigness that I’ve wanted to experience from that dream as a little kid. Your purpose is YOU! It’s an INSIDE job and the most fulfilling job you’ll adventure through in this lifetime.

As we prepare to wrap up this show, I leave you with the knowing that there’s even more. What’s next after you begin to remember why you came here? There’s still a little something missing. We’ll talk about that next week. Stay tuned!

Thank you for joining me for Your Life Uplifted. I can’t wait to see you again soon.