Ahh, finding your purpose.  That huge life mission you’re meant to accomplish.  What exactly is it, and why is it so damn hard for you to figure out?  The thing about a “life purpose” is that it’s dressed up to be something much more than it really is.  Your life purpose can be anything from helping people live healthier lives to teaching women how to put on make up.  The end result of your purpose doesn’t have to be a cease to world hunger, but the one consistent thing about purpose that you will find to be true is:

[Tweet “When you’re living your purpose, you’re serving and impacting someone.”]

How do you turn your passion into a purpose?

Your passion is something that’s meant for you.  It’s what you wake up for everyday, and something that feeds your soul. Your purpose is something that’s meant for the universe.  It’s what you do everyday that impacts at least one person in the world. My passion is designing “pretty things” online.  I love web and graphic design.  My purpose is building women up to run profitable businesses.  I can combine the two by helping my clients implement strategic visual branding to make their company recognizable to their target audience.

[Tweet “Your passion is meant for you. Your purpose is meant for the universe.”]

I have another thing to tell you about finding your purpose.

[Tweet “You will feel diminished right before your purpose is delivered.”]

If you ask anyone in the world who is successfully living their purpose, you will learn that they were all faced with some form of adversity before living their dream.

Stephen King’s first novel was rejected over 30 times by publishing houses. After giving up and throwing his book in the trash, his wife, Tabitha, retrieved the manuscript and urged King to finish it. Now, King’s books have sold over 350 million copies and have been made into countless major motion pictures.

Oprah Winfrey grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and where she was repeatedly molested by her cousin, uncle and a family friend. She eventually ran away from home, and at age 14 gave birth to a baby boy who shortly died after. It goes without saying that Winfrey’s tragic past didn’t stop her from becoming the force she is today.

Feeling at your lowest will cause you to do at least one of two things:

1. Realize you never want to feel that way every again and get off your ass to do what you’ve been too scared to do.

2. Rely heavily on your faith in God.

Finding your purpose isn’t meant to be some life long voyage, but you have to be able to read the signs and avoid the enemies that stand in your way.  Here are 3 enemies that are keeping you from finding and fulfilling your life purpose:

1. The Enemy of Self-doubt

You have to change your mindset from timid to assertive.  When we doubt ourselves, we don’t act. Like Mark Mason said, passion is the result of action. If you’re not making constant efforts everyday to improve your world, you’ll never be able to improve the world.

2. The Enemy of Negative People/Opinions

Your purpose is meant for you and only you to understand.  Not everyone is going to understand it, therefore not everyone is going to support it. Don’t allow negative thoughts and opinions deter you from following your dreams.  You don’t need permission to live your purpose.

[Tweet “I don’t need permission to live my purpose.”]

Spend time around people that stretch you and encourage you.

3. The Enemy of Unintentional

Being intentional means having a plan. It means actually writing down what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. People don’t write their dreams down because when they write it down, they’re accountable for it.

Have you been feeling lost about what you’re meant to do in the world?  What is something you wake up for everyday?  What do you get excited about? More importantly, what small injustice makes you cringe?  What solution would you like to make better? You’re meant to do something in this world. You’re stronger than the enemies that are meant to defeat you.

“When you live to give, you think about money and other blessings differently. You don’t think about how much you can accumulate, you think about how much you can give away.” – Pastor Troy, Freedom House in Charlotte, NC