“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why”. Mark Twain
Note: As I commence regular blog posts, and since the blog is entitled “Living on Purpose”, I decided to start with an excerpt from my upcoming book, “The 7 Laws of Purpose”.
A law, by definition, is a causal link, a fundamental truth or principle that when followed will result in success. The 7 Laws of Purpose are fundamental truths that serve as the foundation of discovering and or fulfilling your purpose.
Within this book, you will find principles, that if you follow, will help you discover your purpose and fulfill your destiny. I am fully confident that if you follow and commit the seven laws in this book you will be well on the path of discovering and fulfilling your purpose.
Leaders in government, religion, business and even ordinary, everyday people with no fancy titles have already experienced great success by gaining inspiration from the very concepts and principles discussed in this book. Before we get much further in our connection here, let me be direct: this is not a guide that is intended to lead you to instant or overnight success. There is really no such thing. Fulfilling your purpose is an ongoing journey.
The goal of this book is to bring you to a high level of awareness, to get you on the right path and to help you begin to have extraordinary spiritual success in every area of your life. The laws discussed are not new laws that I have discovered. They are all laws that have existed, as ancient principles and spiritual practices, which people have followed in some form for centuries. I have developed a sense of awareness for these principles and am now articulating them through my particular voice and my particular perspective to particular individuals at this moment in time.
I have been drawn to this theme of purpose for at least two decades. It is a theme that I cannot escape. It is a theme that I initially studied as a part of my own spiritual health and spiritual growth. (I will openly share my story throughout this book). And then as I grew spiritually, it became a theme that has been the major focus and teaching point in my sermons, youth motivational speeches, and even political addresses for over a decade. Although I was immersed in this subject personally, it was initially a subject that I taught with great reluctance.
My confidence in knowing the subject conflicted with inner voices of critique and fear that confronted me with nagging questions such as, “Who are you to teach on purpose?”, “What have you achieved to justify an audience?”, “What if no one listens?” and similar questions. Yet just as I heard an inner voice of critique and fear, I also heard an inner voice of encouragement. The inner voice of encouragement reminded me that I was already teaching and preaching about purpose, and there were countless people who had testimonies of how these concepts had greatly impacted their lives. The irony was that I was “conflicted” about my purpose, which is largely “teaching about purpose”. And it took some time to realize that the process I went through and the inhibitions I felt, were connected to that teaching. While my reservations were about “putting myself forward” by writing a book, others feel the same about using their gifts in other manners. Gifted, purpose-driven people commonly quiet their voice and underestimate their gifts because of societal barriers and other negative thoughts that obstruct their inner-potential.
You have within you all the divine inner resources to achieve everything that you were called to achieve. Become aware of how powerful you are in the present and stop delegating your purpose to some point in the future. Preparation is an ongoing process.
There is no one who ever perfects their purpose. Far too many people wait for the ideal circumstances and conditions before they walk in what they were called to do. Believe in how powerful you are and trust that preparation begins and continues once you take action and once you become more and more consistent in your actions.
I reveal major parts of my personal self in this book because the only way to truly lead is to show who we are authentically. Too many people suffer in silence believing that they are the only one dealing with the challenges of life while everyone else around them does an excellent job of masking their emotions and pretending they are perfect. However, we can only mask our problems for so long. Over time, the concentration of whatever the challenges we are dealing with cannot be contained and will manifest themselves in how we respond to our environment and to others. The alternative is to be liberated by a higher power and to acknowledge that you are imperfect and reliant on God for direction and strength. Purpose-driven people are often better equipped to navigate life the challenges of life by such a perspective. Purpose-driven people have a sense of the direction they are going in along with the long-term view of their lives.
By the way, you may have wondered when you first picked up this book or by now, how do I define purpose? What is purpose? I am tempted to write that it is one thing you were put on this earth for, but it may seem too daunting and scare you away before we get much further. Also, as we discuss later, your purpose always has context. In other words, your purpose may take different forms and manifest in different situations throughout your life. In short, purpose is simply your intention to deliberately and meaningfully develop and contribute your gifts to something above and beyond yourself. It is a divine force that combines your gifts, abilities, passions and then intersects them with a world need.
Karim Camara is a Spiritual Teacher, Speaker and Life Coach. He is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations reach their potential. For more information on how Karim can help you or your organization reach its potential, email him at Karim@KarimCamara.com or visit his website at www.KarimCamara.com.
