Acknowledge Your Purpose

Growing up I was a huge Kevin Garnett fan. I loved his style, his energy, really everything about the man. 

I followed him from the day he was drafted until he retired, and I can still vividly remember his epic post game interview after finally winning his first NBA championship in 2008. 

When he said “anything is possible!” I believed it. I felt it. At the time and still to this day, those three words resonated so deeply with me and millions of other people I’m sure. 

I didn’t believe him because he said it or because he just won the championship, I believed him because he embodied it for decades up to that point. 

From my vantage point, everything about Kevin Garnett pointed to this notion that anything was possible.

Winning a championship doesn’t give you “that”. “That” is a byproduct of living in a way that enables clarity of actions. A way that fosters habits necessary to support aligned living.

I don’t know this to be true, but I believe that at some point Kevin acknowledged that his purpose was to live in a way that showed the world “anything is possible”.

Mark Twain is quoted for saying, “The most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” 

This is a clever way of saying, purpose plays a significant role in our life. 

In my opinion; It gives relative meaning to everything, helps us better relate to our circumstances, provides us with a sense of direction, and gives clarity that often reveals the hidden potential inside of us. 

Simply put, purpose is mission critical to anyone intent on making a genuine impact. 

The problem is purpose can feel so daunting or ethereal that we never take the time to really consider it. 

Years ago when I started organizing my thoughts into a functional framework, the On Purpose Playbook, I felt it made sense to simplify the concept by breaking purpose down in two distinct ways. 

First we have our “Major'' Purpose and that is to become the best version of you! 

In doing so you’ll inevitably cultivate your gifts and more than likely leave the world better than you found it. This serves as our foundation and is true for everyone. 

Secondly we have our “Minor” Purpose and that is your reason for doing anything. This is specific to the person and their current situation. 

This requires us to know ourselves, understand our gifts, and to be intentional. 

Living into our Minor Purpose is how we manifest authentic success in our lives and finding ways to incorporate this into every aspect of our lives is how we flourish. 

That type of consistency doesn’t happen by chance. It happens On Purpose!

Take some time to acknowledge how you're living into both your Major Purpose and Minor Purpose. 

How would you articulate your Minor Purpose at this point in time?

What gives urgency to your efforts?

Are your days largely governed by external demands and stimuli, or by an embodied purpose?

I honestly don’t believe there is one correct strategy for life. But, I do believe you have to have one. 

That’s the beauty of being human. There is limitless opportunity. You can play any game you want. 

But there has to be a purpose.

Everyday we have the choice of which path we want to follow. Make sure you’re choosing that path On Purpose.