I Did It on Purpose

by Dave Davlin

Isn’t it funny that when we’re young, we do everything we can to avoid blame. We break our mom’s favorite lamp because we’re playing ball in the house. The porch light stays on all night because we forgot to turn it off. We ruin a whole gallon of milk because we forgot to put it back in the fridge and we run out of gas because we forgot to look at that little dial on the dash.

And when confronted with the outcome of our irresponsible behavior, the patented answer that we and thousands of other kids across America have learned to use is, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Now, although that little tidbit of adolescent logic may work in escaping the consequences of youthful, negative behavior, it is quite contrary to the logic needed to promote and create the success we crave as adults. In fact, it seems that those who live life to the fullest and experience the greatest satisfaction these earthly years have to offer also adhere to a patented, universal declaration. Whether consciously or subconsciously they all declare, “I did it on purpose.”

Golf analyst David Feherty is best-known for his off-the-wall comments. He described Jim Furyk’s golf swing as looking “like an octopus falling out of a tree.” He also described Phil Mickelson’s dangerous style of playing golf as “like watching a drunk chase a balloon on the side of a cliff.” He said a number of humorous and crazy things but he also managed to say these words. “Almost all of us can remember when we were born, only a few of us are ever lucky enough to know why.”

So is it possible for all of us to know our purpose in life? Or, as Mr. Feherty stated, is that privilege reserved for only a “lucky few”? It could be luck … or it could be a carefully followed progression that anyone can learn … and then share with others.

In my early years as a speaker, I was convinced that the dreams and goals we set for ourselves determined our purpose. But through time and experience, I have come to believe just the opposite. I believe it all begins with finding your sense of purpose and that will lead you to your goals and dreams. And if we’re not careful, setting goals for ourselves without taking into account our talents and our abilities and our purpose can lead us down a road of frustration and failure.

If a young boy has the dream of becoming the next LeBron James, but he is 13 years old, barely five feet tall, weighs 200 pounds and has a vertical leap of two inches, I don’t care how hard he tries or how much he believes in his dream, he is not going to accomplish it. He was not created for that purpose.

And pursuing a dream or goal that is not part of your purpose can even be detrimental because it leads you to waste the time and energy that could be used to do what you were created to do. But once you understand your sense of purpose, what you were placed here to be and do, the goals and the dreams fall into place. It’s as though life chooses them for you. And then you live out your purpose and potential.

So how do you go about discovering just what it is you were placed here to be and do? I think it starts with these two questions. What are my unique talents and abilities and what am I passionate about? The honest answering of these two questions should be the first step we take on traveling our life’s journey and fulfilling our life’s purpose. This gives us the strong foundation we need as we build our life with the brick and mortar of dreams, goals and decisions.

When you narrow it down it’s really pretty simple … the real purpose of life is to create a life of real purpose.

One life … One shot … Make It Count!