What is your life purpose? Have you figured it out yet? Have you found your passion? That thing that makes you tick. What is your secret weapon – your awesome sauce?!?
If you can’t answer that, do you worry that you never will? Or maybe you have figured it out but you don’t yet know what to do about it.
It’s a tough spot to be in. I’ve been there. I’m still working my way through it and each day I get closer.
At some point, I think we all go through this struggle of trying to figure out what we’re here to do. We know there’s something, but figuring it out isn’t very easy.
The Path to My Awesome Sauce
I’m 40 years old. Each day I get closer and closer to what I think I’m supposed to be doing. Am I there yet? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Every time I think I have it figured out and I start moving toward it, I have another epiphany. Some mind-blowing thought that sends me down a new path or at least a slight side-step.
The path that lead me to create this website and my podcast, for instance, is a step toward my purpose. But is it the end-all? No, I don’t think so. Just today I was talking with a long-time friend and colleague of mine when it dawned on me that my audience with Simply Yes! Marketing was going to be too narrow for me soon. The topic, the industry, and where I’m headed is ultimately not going to be about marketing.
When I created my podcast, I called it Simply Yes! Marketing because I wanted to reach entrepreneurs that are going through the same struggles that I’ve gone through and some that I’m still going through. We’re all out there to figure out how to make this thing tick. How to make money doing something that we’re passionate about or that we think the world needs or desires. We’re looking for some kind of return so that we can make a living. Shelter and food are some of the basic human needs. There’s nothing wrong with trying to fulfill that need.
Change Requires Action
I created my podcast as part of a push to just take action! Regardless of whether it was the perfect action or not, I took action. We can’t get anywhere if we don’t take the first step.
But after just one episode – just one – and some time to reflect on where I thought the podcast could go and how I might be able to tie my other brick and mortar business into it – to kill two birds with one stone, so-to-speak – something needed to shift. It wasn’t quite right. Simply Yes! Marketing needed to be more. So how could I talk to entrepreneurs about business challenges and yet still have some of those topics apply to individuals in my other business? That’s when Simply Authentic was born.
Authentic or Not, Here I Come
Authenticity is part of my soul’s journey and despite my strong desire to be authentic, I’ve subconsciously created walls to protect myself. Being authentic has come back to bite me over and over and over again – in this lifetime and in many, many, many of my previous lives. Right now, it doesn’t matter if you believe in past lives or not. I’m not asking you to believe in them. But I do. My experiences in this lifetime have provided the proof I need to believe in them. I share that with you because that IS a part of who I am. I don’t want to be ashamed of my beliefs and core values anymore.
I’m no longer content to sit in the shadows or in a corner when I have value to offer and ideas to share and insights that can help open doors for others. I know I’m not alone in this desire to be fully authentic. To put myself out there for everyone to see whether they like it or not. I’m not saying I want to force my beliefs on anyone. No. That’s not the point. I don’t want to preach to the masses like some crazy person we see in movies. But I DO want to share my story, my experiences and my journey with others who WANT to hear it.
You Can Leave If You Wan’oo
I’m not making anyone listen to my podcast or forcing anyone to read my blog articles. You’re doing it by choice. If we don’t like something, we can walk away from it or we can look deeper and try to understand WHY we don’t like something. We can challenge thoughts that are outside our comfort zone and by doing so we grow, learn, and expand.
One of my own challenges and limiting beliefs is around my cough. I’ve had a chronic cough for 10 years and it has held me back from being my authentic self. I am currently working to re-write the limiting belief that I can’t do something because of my cough. For so long I’ve felt that I can’t talk in front of groups because I’ll cough. I can’t lead or participate in group meditations anymore because my cough is disruptive. I don’t like sitting behind people in theaters because I don’t want them to think I’m carrying some kind of disease and coughing it all over them. I’ve had people move seats in waiting rooms to get away from me. I’ve had people in theaters lean forward to distance themselves. My cough and throat clearing has annoyed people in my YouTube videos to the point where they’ll complain or ridicule me for it.
Just about anything triggers my cough right now from breathing, to turning my head to the side, from eating, drinking, anything. I’m a Reiki Master and Massage Therapist. Massage places have said they can’t hire me until my cough is taken care of because they’ll “lose money” if I work for them. So I don’t. I have my own business and it’s perfect. My clients keep coming back anyway, cough or no cough. My cough is my own limiting belief and I’m determined that it will go away someday just as quickly as it started.
Aligning to Our Purpose
Today I had an epiphany that the podcast that I created as a way to merge my two worlds of digital marketing and hands-on healing practices was actually a stepping stone to get me one step closer to where I’m supposed to be.
I believe our life purpose is a living breathing part of us. It grows with us and we strive to align our selves to it throughout our journey regardless of what stage we’re in or what shape our life purpose is currently taking. We can’t stop asking why we’re here because our soul wants to align with our purpose, all day, every day. It knows that’s where it is meant to be. It knows without a doubt that THAT is the reason we are all here. To align with our journey and our purpose. To help others open doors using the unique experiences that each and every one of us has.
We don’t need to be gurus. We don’t need fancy training or the wisdom that comes with age. We are exactly enough, just the way we are.
If It Feels Uncomfortable Or Difficult, It’s Likely Exactly What You Need
When you feel an urge to jump at an opportunity but the path to get there is difficult, don’t stop! When things get difficult it means we’re growing, we’re learning. We’re transitioning and building our own path. Doing so sometimes hurts. It’s sometimes uncomfortable and our minds will try to convince us to give up but it’s important to KEEP GOING.
Don’t follow in someone else’s footsteps. Don’t follow their train tracks. You are here to build your own! You’re capable of it. We all are. There are no limitations other than the ones that you believe to be true. The ones that you put there. See past the doubts.
Set your sights higher and reach for them one step at a time. You can do this. You can find your Awesome Sauce, your life’s purpose. You already have everything you need to make it happen. Just believe and keep moving forward.
