Life: Find Your Path and Stick to It

First, as I've stated before, you need to spend the time reflecting on your strengths: innate talents, abilities, gifts, and desires. After a long period of reflecting, writing and trial and error, you will find what you came here to this life to do. We all have it in us, but for numerous reasons, have forgotten or misunderstood this very important, life-saving point.

Second, once you find your strength-that thing you were put here to do-you must overcoming major debilitating weaknesses and shortcomings to maintain that strength, enabling you to provide the desired income and to work toward self-actualization.

These are two key points covered previously. Now you must do the most difficult thing: stick to you path by nurturing your goal(s) and vision.

You may not know exactly what you will do with your strength(s), but you must begin, and as you move along your chosen path, insight into how you will use your strength(s) will appear.

Let me explain more by giving an example.

Personally, about twelve years ago, I woke from a state of depression, boredom and financial loss to an understanding of what I must do to better not only my lot in life, but that of my family and all those I'd come in contact with who would benefit from my strength. At this point in time, I had worked numerous jobs and been in several occupations that were certainly instructive but not where I found the greatest satisfaction. But there is great satisfaction to be had in all of our lives. The only difference from individual to individual is the path, its length, and one's learning experiences, but with proper effort and patience we can all get there. But back to the story.

After a period of weeks and months of meditation, writing, and contemplating, the message came through loud and clear, not just to my mind, but my entire being, that I should go back to school and write. I also knew sometime during this period of discovery that I'd teach at the college level, acquire a greater speaking / teaching presence, as well as greater knowledge and experience that would aid me in starting a coaching business. However, the particulars did not come until I moved along my path. The old adage shoot then aim comes into play here. Don't wait too long or acquire paralysis of analysis before you get going.

I also knew that I would have to teach about six / seven years before beginning my coaching business. How did I know this? By focusing in on my goal and working it out in my mind on a regular basis as I sat in quiet contemplation writing, meditating, and even while taking walks focusing on it. For me, walking was key. While walking I have come up with ideas for not only my business but ideas for articles and entire books related to my coaching.

And an interesting thing happened as I move along this path. First and foremost, I knew by gut instinct that this was the right path. And as I followed it, at every turn-not some of the time or most of the time, but every single time-I was aided in accomplishing my goal. For example, while in college, if I didn't have the assignment to hand in on time, inevitably the assignment would be cancelled, moved, or the teacher let me hand it in at a later date without penalty.

And while acquiring the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude changes while teaching / lecturing needed to build my business, I was fortuitously moved by an invisible hand in exposing me to material (books, DVDs, people, documentaries, etc.) that specifically added to my education and experience that applied directly to my coaching business.

Even as I failed in my attempts to find income opportunities outside of teaching that would provide greater aid in building my business as I got close to that time (six years into teaching), the failures taught me great lessons, lessons that aided me in my ability to be a better, more insightful coach for my clients.

And as I look back now, almost every job I've had, every experience-if I took the time to recall and think them all through-would show themselves as instructive and of great worth in doing that which I now love to do. As I moved toward this, my ultimate destiny, I was learning. It has all culminated in doing that which I love most: teaching, speaking, inspiring, learning, researching, reading, and writing. Every single aspect of my being is used to optimum effect. Each thing that I love most I am using. My path has been long, difficult, and trying, but most importantly, instructive and useful for all that I am and all that I now do.

In order to get started along your path, you have to do a lot of thinking and contemplating, but as you do so, your idea will come. And don't worry if it's not too specific (actually less specific is better), for it is in the walking of the path that we find our answers. Just like writing is not about writing as it is about re-writing, it is in the doing that we find our answers as we move along the path.

And even if you aren't in the perfect job it can instruct. There is great education in every success and failure. Your job is to keep your eyes open and learn. As you work, you will gain insight that will aid you later in life. Whether you are filing, answering phones, pushing paper, or making coffee, there are insights that you can learn along the way to your perfect job or career. But what you don't want to do is look to that which doesn't fulfill you but to that which instructs along the way to fulfillment. And as you work to the best of your ability, maintaining faith in your ultimate achievement, you will be guided. Your only job is to keep your mind and heart open for all lessons of import that will get you to where you want to be.

There is great work to be done, but only if you accept the challenge. But if you do, the rewards, power, excitement, and thrills of maximizing your potential-thus truly being able to see who you really are through the challenges you'll face and overcome-are staggering in their brilliance.

There is no reason to do anything other than the great. We all have it in us. That greatness will vary from person to person in quality, depth, and size, but you owe it to yourself, loved ones, and all you will touch to discover what your path is. And to walk it with great courage, overcoming the fear of the body and mind with the strength of a nurtured and well-informed spirit that which you have built through your extensive time alone writing, contemplating, and meditating on the big things in life that are merely waiting your arrival with baited breath.

Here's to your prosperity.