What is the Purpose and Meaning of Your Life?
The Journey to Discover the Answer…
Finding Meaning, Fulfillment and Joy!

We all come to a point in our lives when we realize that something is missing, that there are unanswered questions, or that things just aren’t working. Faced with a roadblock or perhaps brought to a standstill, we’re uncertain about the future.

When we come to this realization, most of us stop and ask ourselves: “What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of my life? Where is the fulfillment that I had been looking for? What should I be doing? What should I quit doing? Is happiness really possible? What am I going to do now? What am I going to do with the rest of my life?”

For over a decade I’ve been worked closely with both individuals and organizations to answer these questions. In doing so, I’ve found that there are 12 Passages to the journey of self-discover that must be taken to move from frustration to realizing full potential, from confusion to purpose, from emptiness to fullness, from want to meaning. These 12 Passages will bring you closer to finding true fulfillment and meaning.

The first Passage is “becoming.” It is about becoming who we’re meant to be; it is central to finding meaning in life, work, and relationships. To become your true self, you must first accept the following truths: We’re all created with an innate, Gift and that Gift leads us to our Talents. In the application of our Talents, we discover true purpose, in purpose we discover our calling, and in living our call we find meaning and fulfillment; the progressive realization of full potential.

Once we’ve discovered our Gift and laid the foundation for becoming our true selves, we can move on to the second Passage to the journey, “preparing for transformation.” Different people have different levels of readiness when it comes time to change their lives. Some people say to themselves, “I’m unhappy, but I’m not yet ready to engage in any kind of change.” Others are so unhappy and frustrated that they refuse to accept the fact that there is a solution. It’s important to make sure you’re ready to embrace the coming journey.

The third Passage is about “continuity.” We must learn to be consistent, never stopping the progressive pattern of self realization that leads us to our true path in life. Fortunately, continuity is fueled by the energy we get from the pattern itself. Discovering who you are is an exciting journey. The excitement and energy that is generated makes it easier to continue doing what needs to be done. That is not to say that there will be no challenges but the pattern will help you be more resilient.

As continuity is achieved, you’ll start to gain momentum. The fourth Passage of the journey, “self-discovery,” entails continuously applying your Gift to the environments you encounter, the opportunities that come to you. By repeatedly applying your gift, the reality of your purpose will clarify itself, and you’ll come closer to being becoming what who you are meant to be.

But applying your Gift is only one part of self-discovery. The fifth Passage of the journey is to focus on the actions insights that result when you apply your Gift and its supporting Talents. Here, you’ll be awakened to the outcomes you receive from certain convergent experiences. For example, is the response positive when applying your Gift in multiple situations? By doing this, you’ll discover how to anticipate and manage your actions to generate more energy and meaning.

It’s also important to observe the reactions of other people. That’s why the sixth Passage is “confirmation,” you’ll observe how people react to your Gift which confirms its effectiveness. This pattern will help you establish whether you’re headed in the right direction, and direct you how to deliver your Gift in the way it was intended.

When you have begun to consistently apply and confirm your Gift, it’s time to start transforming your day-to-day life. The seventh Passage is “simplification”: We’re going to unpack your life and/or work priorities, simplifying them until your Gift is the foundation of everything you do, keeping it simple because truth is not complicated.

The eighth Passage is “ask the right questions” to facilitate more self discover and transformation. You will learn to stop asking “why” questions such as: Why did this happen to me? Why doesn’t anything seem to work out? Why am I this way? Instead, you will learn to ask questions that start with what, how, and where: What do I need to learn from this? Where am I going from here? How can I apply this to my life? These are the big questions that act as springboards to transform your life in a meaningful way.

After learning to ask the right questions, it’s critical to learn how to discover insights in the answers. The ninth Passage is “reflecting and contemplating” in an introspective, non-secular way so that you understand your life purpose and grow closer to the divine intent for your life and work. Through reflection and contemplation, you’ll see the truth of who you really are, and what you are meant to do with your life. You will discover how your life is transforming.

The tenth Passage focuses on “sustainability”, fostering momentum to keep you on the path of discovery even when things don’t go your way. The key to true transformation is making sure it is a progressing realization and that means finding sustainable ways to continue the pattern every day.

In the eleventh Passage you learn to measure the outcomes of your journey focusing on subjective, qualitative ways to gauge your new levels of meaning, fulfillment, and joy.

This leads directly to the twelfth and final Passage: “commitment”. Here, you learn to maintain your commitment to becoming who you are meant to be and what you are meant to do.

The journey to meaning, and fulfillment is a closed-loop pattern. These 12 Passages of the journey repeat in order that you continue to progressively realize your full potential fueled by the energy of self-discovery. Each time you go through these 12 Passages, you’ll get increasingly closer to the reality of who you are meant to be, and your sense of meaning and satisfaction will expand.

Don’t be overwhelmed simply embrace the journey, and I’ll guide you along the PATH.