Life on Purpose (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Life on Purpose

[Dan.Linehan]

Great review and quotes, I'll definitely check it out!

[Sam988]

Wow i really liked it, the advices that you displayed from the book were already being followed unconsciously by me, so maybe that's why i'm so damn sure of what i want to be and do for every year up to 20 years from now.


I'll definitely take a look at this book, even if i already know everything about my purpose (or think i do ), this book looks like can assure me of my convictions and possibly correct some things that might be a bit wrong in my plannings.

[Jeff Lilly]

I actually reviewed this book back in June on my own blog, here:

Druid Journal » Blog Archive » Review of Life on Purpose

My review wasn't quite as glowing as Steve's -- I think there's a lot of valuable things in it, but:

• The exercises are hard. They're hard because they really admit of many, many different kinds of answers, but Swift is looking for just one, and he doesn't give you enough hints to figure it out. (For example: "What are the three components that make up the simplest unit of a person's life?") I think they're not really meant to be solved -- you're just supposed to think about them for a while, flexing your brain, and then read the "real" answer keep reading. But I can imagine someone going through the book and thinking, "Wow, I could never figure that out... Am I too dumb to figure out my life purpose??"
• Many of the exercises are vague. Oftentimes it's difficult to figure out what you're being asked to do.
• The life purposes he gives as examples in the book are kind of weird; they seem like grab-bag lists of things you want, rather than Life Purposes. For example: "A life of purposeful, passionate, and playful service, mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and spiritual serenity." (Swift's own life purpose.) Compare that to Steve's "To grow, and to help others to grow", or my own "To experience and create beauty". Swift's purpose -- and the others he gives as examples in the book -- seem to lack focus.

Finally, after I read the book through once, I fully intended to go back and work through the exercises more carefully. I already have a life purpose, but there were a lot of exercises I thought might be interesting to work through in any case. But I found that I simply put the book aside and have not gone back to it. There was really nothing in it that inspired me enough to pick it up again. I've found my own personal growth to be helped much more through meditation.

So I agree with Steve that this is a great book, and will likely be very, very helpful for a lot of people. But I don't recommend it unreservedly. I'd say buy the book if:

1. You want to know your life’s purpose, and you have a good handle on introspection and connecting with your intuition. If you’re in this situation, the book will be just what you need: the exercises will challenge you with difficult questions, forcing you to grow in ways you may not have, and confronting the aspects of your life you might be trying to avoid. And your intuition will guide you to the right purpose for you, regardless of Swift’s weird life purpose examples. :-)
2. You know your life’s purpose, but you want to explore it further, and get some good ideas about how to implement it and live it in your everyday life.
3. You’re thinking about making use of Swift’s Institute and its coaching services. I strongly suspect that reading this book will give you a good idea of what to expect. ;-)

[Trudi]

I haven't read the book, but the "rules of purpose" sounded awful familiar. Sure enough I pulled out my copy of "The Portable Coach" by Thomas Leonard (founder of Coachville). The three rules posted are chapters in out that book - with the exact same numbering. I don't know about the rest of the book but that's not original. In doing a search inside on Amazon.com I found two references to Thomas Leonard's Attraction Principles - but none to "The Portable Coach".

Those references are buried almost 200 pages into the book. If he is relying as heavily on Thomas Leonard as it appears, seems like he should have referenced him right up front. But maybe there's a lot more to the book than those 28 principles of attraction (as Leonard calls them.)

Thomas Leonard died a couple of years ago. It would be a shame if this author was taking advantage of that fact.

[bswift]

Hi Trudi,

Let me clarify matters regarding the “28 Attraction Principles for Living On Purpose.” Yes, these were adapted from Thomas Leonard original 28 Attraction Principles, as clearly stated in the book itself. Thomas articulated the original statements years ago then gave permission to others in the coaching profession to re-contextualize them, which I did inside the context of living on purpose. These were used as examples of one of the 15 tools for living on purpose — purpose principles. Most of the book is taken directly from the Life On Purpose Process that I developed over the past 12 years.

One other piece was inspired by the work of Ken Wilber, the Map of the Kosmos, as again I stated in the book and was sure to get permission to use.

I believe you will find the Life On Purpose Process a fresh and engaging process for bringing clarity of purpose to your life. Thanks for asking the question, since I imagine others had the same question you did and this gave me the opportunity to clarify matters.

Brad Swift, Author of Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life

[bswift]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the follow up posting and for your original participation in the Life On Purpose Writers Blog Tour. If I may, let me respond to some of your comments here. Simply look for the ++'s that precede my comments:

* The exercises are hard. They're hard because they really admit of many, many different kinds of answers, but Swift is looking for just one, and he doesn't give you enough hints to figure it out. (For example: "What are the three components that make up the simplest unit of a person's life?") I think they're not really meant to be solved -- you're just supposed to think about them for a while, flexing your brain, and then read the "real" answer keep reading. But I can imagine someone going through the book and thinking, "Wow, I could never figure that out... Am I too dumb to figure out my life purpose??"

++ You’re right, Jeff, the point to the particular exercise you pointed out was not whether the reader would be able to come up with the correct answer or not, but simply that it’s valuable to engage in the questions and the inquiry, a coaching approach I learned years ago while working with and for an international personal development company that used a coaching model in their programs.

And if someone found themselves thinking they were ‘too dumb to figure out my life purpose,’ then it might also serve to help them uncover their Inherited Purpose since that statement clearly comes from fear, lack (as in there’s not enough of me, ie, dumb), or struggle.


* Many of the exercises are vague. Oftentimes it's difficult to figure out what you're being asked to do.

++ Really? Could you help me understand which you found vague so I can bring more clarity to them in future editions of the book, or possibly even put suggestions on the special section of the Life On Purpose web site where book readers can go for such assistance?

* The life purposes he gives as examples in the book are kind of weird; they seem like grab-bag lists of things you want, rather than Life Purposes. For example: "A life of purposeful, passionate, and playful service, mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and spiritual serenity." (Swift's own life purpose.) Compare that to Steve's "To grow, and to help others to grow", or my own "To experience and create beauty". Swift's purpose -- and the others he gives as examples in the book -- seem to lack focus.

++ Interesting that you didn’t mention my ‘Reader’s Digest condense version’ of my own life purpose — to live a life of service, simplicity and spiritual serenity. The ‘purposeful paradox’ regarding life purpose statements is that they be broad and expansive enough to give the person plenty of room to fully express themselves for decades as they ‘pour their life’ into the context of their life purpose, while having focus as well. Having made every effort to live true to my life purpose, both the full statement and the condensed version, I find it accomplishes both very well, so the ‘proof is in the pudding,’ as the old saying goes. And I can promise you, for the people who articulated the other examples, they are far from weird -- they are empowering and life enhancing.

Finally, after I read the book through once, I fully intended to go back and work through the exercises more carefully. I already have a life purpose, but there were a lot of exercises I thought might be interesting to work through in any case. But I found that I simply put the book aside and have not gone back to it. There was really nothing in it that inspired me enough to pick it up again. I've found my own personal growth to be helped much more through meditation.

++ Perhaps it’s now time to go back and see what “Nuggets of Gold” await you. As for the comment on meditation, I heartily agree that for many, many people, including myself, meditation can be a great adjunct to living on purpose. Let’s be careful to not fall into the mental trap of ‘either/or thinking.’ The tools for living on purpose such as Purposeful Practices, Purpose Pivoting, and Purpose Projects are all valuable ways to bring more purpose to one’s life, and have been proven to be effective over the decade-plus that this Process has been around. Still, they are not meant to be a substitution for other spiritual practices like meditation, yoga, etc. but to be used in conjunction with what the reader has already found works. Of course, like any set of personal development tools, they only work when they’re taken out of the tool box and put into regular use.

Brad Swift, Author of Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life

[napieed]

Sounds like an inspiring book. I'll add it to my reading queu.
Reminds me of what Thoreau said:
"Only he is successful in his business who makes that pursuit which affords him the highest pleasure sustain him."

[songwriter]

I like this topic a lot. I will put into my personal perspective but others like Steve himself may be in the same situation...

One old intention of mine (posted since I don't remember in "What are your intentions?) is:

"To be a professional musician with artistic freedom"

okey.

"To be a professional musician" means making a living of it, my "inherited purpouse"

but my "divine purpose" in that blog's words would be to do music that made others enjoy, learn, ... make the world a better place and all that stuff . Same things that Steve means about his blogging.

"Even helping people isn’t of major concern. I’m just being my natural self, expressing my own joy and passion for life",
that's it being really Me I call it.
And inspires to write, I can't write good music when I'm thinking of being a pro!.

I mean... the two things collide . They don't help one another...

Okey, Steve wants to make money and want to make money... I could do music that I find empty and silly but commercial, sell out my beliefs... and it will be easier for me to win money my music. And I guess Steve could do the same... explaining empty and silly things that he doesn't believe... but well... he will make a living... (Steve or whoever...).

But... when you refuse to sellout and stay to the "Divinity purpose" is harder to make a living of it. And that's the real difficulty, to do it without selling out...
and that's hard, but we do it anyway cause we know it's worth it... if not we wouldn't try so hard...

(by the way, I like it very much when "Market Your Talents Shamelessly", lol, that's it. I do not do it here by the way, you don't know my name or my music at all, I don't want to do it here, maybe I'm sabotaging myself or so... but I don't want to do "promotion" here)

[songwriter]

After my yesterday veeeery long post I just want shared that I see things today in a different way.
I've realized of the importance for me of just making music, and that's my real purpose (or the divin....) not making a living of it (for God's sake!). I'm been able to write a good song after many time without inspiration, and it was song of love to... music. And that's all. And I felt the love.

I think I've got to change one old intention of mine.

[jbischke]

Sounds like a good book and that's cool that Brad is responding here. I wanted to mention that Brad is making the audio for this book available through LearnOutLoud if anyone wants to listen, rather than read, this book. Here's the link:

Life on Purpose on Audio

It's funny because I was just about to go to Amazon and buy the book and was bummed there wasn't an audio version. Didn't even realize Brad had already uploaded it to our site!

[bswift]

Hi songwriter and others,

May I further clarify the distinction between one's true, divinely inspired life purpose and the inherited purpose?

Your true life purpose is the context, vessel or container into which you pour your life and that then has the power to shape all of your life. It's more about who you are as a human being and what you came here to be and to experience. The foundation of one's true life purpose is the attractive force of Universal Love.

On the other hand, the inherited purpose is based in fear, lack and a need to struggle to survive. It also has the power to shape your life, particularly when you're not clear what your true purpose is, or in times when you feel threatened or unsafe.

So, it not really about making money or not, though often times the 'need to make money' is one way in which the inherited purpose can take over without one even realizing it.

Hope this helps.

PS - thanks, jbischke, for letting people know about the audio version of the book.

BRAD
Author of Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life