IWIWIW: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose in About 20 Minutes

I Wish I Wrote:

HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR LIFE PURPOSE IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES
by Steve Pavlina, January 16th, 2005

Why I Wish I Wrote It:

I don’t like my job.  I thought that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I’m not even 4 years into it, and I’m ready for something new.  Unfortunately, everything I’ve done post high school was geared towards getting me here.  So now that I know it’s time to go somewhere else, I have no idea which direction to take. Articles like this are supposed to help:

Here’s what to do:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

I’ll admit I have not yet committed my 20 minutes to this exercise. Perhaps this is just me making more excuses, but my head has been so clouded lately that focusing has required more effort than it should, so my attempts to start the list have not gone well.  (I suspect this is also why it takes me a long time to fall sleep and why I suck at yoga.) I have, however, been keeping a list of jobs and/or organizations that stick out to me (such as the Boys and Girls Club, Culture for Kids in the Arts, children’s libraries, tutoring, and academic support), so I at least have a starting point.

I’m curious if anyone out there has tried this, or similar methods before?  Did they work?  Have you discovered your life’s purpose?

IWIWIW: The Short and Sweet Guide to Being Fucking Awesome

I Wish I Wrote:

THE SHORT AND SWEET GUIDE TO BEING FUCKING AWESOME
by  Julien Smith of In Over Your Head on January 24, 2011

 Why I Wish I Wrote It:

It’s basically an inspirational self-help post in disguise, but with over 5000 likes, 1500 re-tweets, and 145 comments, clearly it works.  As suggested by the title, it is short and sweet, with 3 easy to remember “standards of awesomeness” – which is great because ain’t nobody got time to read long, complicated articles.

The message is simple, easy to remember, and 100% relevant and doable for everyone:

From this day forth, your purpose is to be the most fucking awesome person you can imagine being.

That’s it, folks.  Just be awesome.  (I mean, you obviously already are pretty fricken awesome because you’re here reading my blog.)

Also, there is a picture of a shark in space!

IWIWIW: Preschool Gems

I Wish I Wrote:

PRESCHOOL GEMS & IT’S TWITTER FEED
By Leslie McCollom

Why I Wish I Wrote It:

It’s adorable! It makes me laugh! And I’m super jealous that I didn’t think to turn the things the kids I teach I say into a Twitter feed and make billions of dollars by turning it into a book. Or a TV SHOW!?!? (Oh wait…)

I only teach kids a few weeks out of the year, but one summer my assistant and I wrote some of the quotes down and I still laugh about them.  Like: “Wholly cow! He SPITTED in my MOUTH!” or the kid that did a 3 minute “monologue” where he put on a faux-fur coat, curled up in a ball, and said nothing. (He later told us that the piece was entitled “Roadkill”.)

Anywho, here are some of my favourite gems to entice you to check it out, if you have not already done so: