My new book Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice All in 140 Characters or Less, is at the printer right now.  I’m told that I will have the printed copies in my hand by the end of the week.  Next week I’ll give away a few copies on this blog.  I’ve decided that I am going to devote my next 140 career success coach blog posts explaining each of the tweets in the book in detail. 

Today is Tweet 1…

Define exactly what life and career success mean to you.  It’s easier to hit a clear, unambiguous target.

Career success begins with clarity of purpose and direction.  As the tweet says, it’s easier to hit a clear, unambiguous target.  Successful people know what they want in life.  However, career success means different things to different people. 

When I graduated from Penn State in 1972, I chose to do a year of service.  I became a VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) Volunteer.  I worked for a grass roots community group in North Philadelphia.  I had a successful year.  I wrote a proposal that was funded by the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare.  We received a grant to do Sickle Cell Anemia awareness and screening in the community.  The grant provided some much needed jobs in the community.  More important, we were able to identify local people who carried the Sickle Cell gene and make them aware of its consequences.

I enjoyed the experience tremendously; so much so that I took a job as a VISTA trainer, training new volunteers.   I was a full time, but we used several independent training consultants and coaches to help us with our work.  These folks worked out of their homes, traveling to the assignments.  I liked their lifestyle.  They were able to do work they loved helping people learn new skills — and they had the freedom and flexibility that came with being self employed.  Of course, they had to generate enough income to fund their lifestyle, but that appealed to the entrepreneur in me.

By the time I was 25, I knew that I wanted to become an independent career success coach and consultant.  I knew that I needed some additional education and experience to be able to do this successfully.  So I went back to school and received an MA and PhD.  I worked in the Training and Development Departments of three Fortune 500 companies, moving up the ladder, taking increasingly more responsible positions.  All this was in preparation for that day in March 1988 when I resigned my job and struck out on my own as a career success coach.

22 years later, I’m doing what I decided I wanted to do when I was 24 or 25 years old.  I’m doing some things that I didn’t imagine way back then – blogging and writing books.  However, my life today is much as I imagined it in 1975.  My clarity of purpose was very instrumental in helping me become the career success – and career success coach – I am today.

I have a friend who is a serial entrepreneur.  He started a software business when he was 27.  He built it up and sold it to a major computer manufacturer by the time he was 35.  He has since started and sold four other companies.  His clarity of purpose lies in the challenge of creating something new, building it into a viable sustainable business and then moving on.

I have another friend who recently retired as the Executive VP of Human Resources for a Fortune 50 company.  We were chatting a few days ago.  She told me that when she was in college, she decided that she was going to join a good company and work her way up the ladder.  She took an entry level HR job with a company she liked.  It took her over 25 years, but she eventually became the most senior HR person in that company.  Her clarity of purpose and definition of success was different from mine and the serial entrepreneur’s, but she reached her goal.

My second friend told me that her son has yet a different definition of success.  He is not interested in climbing the corporate ladder, or in being an entrepreneur.  He wants an interesting job where he can contribute, but he doesn’t want to spend inordinate amounts of time at work.  He wants to spend as much time with his family as he can.  His definition of success is different from his mother.

I’ve just told you four stories about four different people.  All four of us are professional successes – according to our clarity of purpose. 

As a career success coach, I often tell my clients that there is no one correct definition of career success.  There are as many definitions as there are people in this world.  Your definition of career success is what’s right for you – not anyone else.  I would not have been happy building and selling a number of businesses in succession, climbing a corporate ladder or working for a large company in an individual contributor position.  However, as you can tell from the stories of the three people above, they were.  They knew what they wanted and they went after it.

That’s why defining your clarity of purpose is so important.  Your clarity of purpose provides both a foundation and launching pad for your career success.  The old saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know when you get there” is a cliché, but true.  Getting clear on your personal definition of career success is the first step to becoming a career success.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Career success begins with a clear idea of how you define success for you personally.  Tweet 1 in Success Tweets says, “Define exactly what life and career success mean to you.  It’s easier to hit a clear, unambiguous target.”  If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you take some time and think about your clarity of purpose.  How do you define life and career success for yourself?  Keep that purpose and definition of career success in mind as you move forward in your life and career. 

That’s my take on the importance of defining what success means to you personally.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to comment on this post, sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Did you watch the NCAA men’s basketball championship game last night?  As you know from reading yesterday’s post, I was solidly in the Butler camp.  They lost 61 – 59 to Duke, but they can hold their heads high.   It was one of the best NCAA championship games I’ve ever seen.

Many people thought Butler coach Brad Stevens was a little nuts for giving up a good, well paying job with Eli Lilly to sign on as a volunteer assistant coach at Butler.  Yet there he was last night, coaching in college basketball’s biggest game, and coming within two points of winning it.  He figured out his purpose in life, followed his passion and he is a career success in the field he chose.

Brad Steven’s success reminds me of Alexandra Levit’s column in the most recent Wall Street Journal Sunday call “Go Your Own Way.”  Ms. Levit made a great point about the problems that come up when you don’t clarify your personal definition on success…

First, you must determine if you are indeed stuck in a career because of what others think.  Did you, for instance, become a physician because your parents had that dream for you since you were born?  Did you go to business school and pursue finance because you want to have more money than your neighbors?  People who give more weight to external beliefs than their own often lack confidence.
 

She quotes cartoonist, Hugh McLeod, who she says, “has built a career on ignoring everybody.”  Mr. McLeod says, “Avoid people who are constantly negative about your career choice, even if they are your best friends.  Instead, seek out people who inspire you and share your point of view.”

Brad Stevens had to ignore the advice I’m sure he got from his friends at Eli Lilly.  Instead, he sought out like minded people, basketball junkies, who thought his decision was pretty cool.  As a career success coach, I advise my clients to not only clarify their purpose in life, but also to surround themselves with positive people who will support them in their quest for career success.  Mr. McLeod, the cartoonist, suggests the same. 

There will always be nay sayers in your life.  People who tell you that they have only your best interests at heart who advise you to stay safe, stick to what you’re doing – especially if it comes with a good pay check — even if you’re miserable.  The first words out of my mother’s mouth when I told her that I had resigned from a good job with a very large company to start my own career success coach business were, “Oh my God, no!” 

My mother loved me, but she was worried I would fail in business on my own.  Truth be told, I was too.  But my passion for my purpose was greater than my fear.  I created a support system by finding a new set of friends; independent professionals like me.  These folks thought it was great that I had the courage to go out on my own.  Remember though, years before I made the jump from a corporate employee to a small businessman, I had decided that my life’s purpose was to work independently helping people achieve the career success they want and deserve.  Brad Stevens always knew in his heart of hearts that he was meant to be a basketball coach.  I always knew in my heart of hearts that I was meant to be an independent career success coach.

Natalie Costanza-Chavez writes a spiritually oriented column in the Denver Post called “Grace Notes.”  On Sunday her column was titled “Your Dreams Don’t Die.”  She told the story of a man who described his unfilled dreams to her…

Finally he said to me – and I remember how he turned up his palms at that moment, the tips of his fingers rounded to make his empty hands like a cup.  “Who am I to try such a thing?  How dare I?”  For a moment I thought I’d cry.  My response to him: “How dare you not?”

Ms. Costanza-Chavez, a poet and spiritual writer, Ms. Levit, a Wall Street Journal columnist, and me a career success coach, are kindred spirits.  We all believe that there is something great in all of us.  We all believe that you have to be courageous enough to find it, and commit to it.  We all believe that you cannot truly be a life and career success until you clarify your purpose and direction in life, and then pursue it passionately.

Ms. Costanza-Chavez does a great job of explaining how your clarity of purpose and direction will guide you as you go on your way to career success…

When you are ready, you will feel something inside you move slightly, even though you are standing perfectly still.  And then you will know it’s time to step lightly toward the door.  What waits there is an old friend by now.  What waits there is familiar and yours.  You reach for it, take you arm around its shoulders and draw it nearer.

Wow!  I got goose bumps just typing those words.  That’s the power of clarity of purpose and direction.  Ask, Natalie Costanza-Chavez, Alexandra Levit or me.  Better yet, ask Brad Stevens.  Even though his team lost last night, he is a winner in the career success game.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life.  They listen to the voice inside them that tells them what they are destined to do.  They don’t let the views of well meaning others decide who they are and what they are meant to do.  They risk security to gain fulfillment.  Last night, Brad Stevens coached in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game.  He dared to follow his heart and his passion.  Even thought he lost to Duke, the young men on the Butler basketball team are better for it.  Basketball fans are better for it.  We’re all better for it.  He is a role model to all of us.  Are you going your own way?  If so, great.  If not, why not?  Take it from a career success coach.  Success begins with a clear sense of purpose and direction.  Your purpose and direction will give you the confidence to create the life and career success you want and deserve.

That’s my take on going your own way, and not letting your dreams die.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  And, don’t forget that the NCAA women’s basketball championship game is on ESPN tonight.  It should be a great one – UConn vs. Stanford.  UConn hasn’t lost all year.  They won their semi final game by 20.  Stanford has lost once – to UConn.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

March Madness ends tonight – even if it is April 5.  I saw in the paper that a little over 1,400 of the 4.8 million people who submitted completed brackets to ESPN picked Butler and Duke to be in the final game.  That’s 0.03%.  I had it half right.  I picked Duke to beat Kansas in the championship game – and I’m not even a Duke fan.  I’ve been unhappy with Duke ever since they denied admission to a young woman I think of as a niece – who went on to Princeton and is doing very well for herself.

Tonight is a David vs. Goliath game.  If you’re not a basketball fan, Butler is David; and Duke is Goliath.  If you’ve read the Bible you know how that first match up ended.  I’m not predicting that Butler will win; especially since they have to deal with Duke’s 7’1” 260 pound Goliath, Brian Zoubeck and a whole bunch of little guys who can really shoot the basketball. 

But it would be nice to see Butler — an independent, coeducational liberal arts and sciences university founded in 1855 – win.  The butler website says, “Named “Best in the Midwest” by U.S. News & World Report, Butler University emphasizes a liberal arts-infused education that develops engaged citizens committed to making a positive difference in the world.”  And their basketball team is pretty good too.

I always root for the guys in the dark uniforms in the NCAA tournament.  They’re the ones who are the lower seed.  Butler was in dark blue on Saturday and they’ll be wearing dark blue again tonight.  I like this team.  I like their young coach, Brad Stevens.  He loves basketball.  As a career success coach, I always advise my clients that the first step in becoming is career success is to clarify your purpose in life. 

Brad Stevens was born to be a basketball coach.   He figured that out early in life.  When he was 5 years old, he spent each morning watching videotapes of basketball games before attending afternoon kindergarten.  His mother bought him a basketball hoop for his eighth birthday.   He says…

“It’s so much fun to dream in your driveway. I had an old wooden backboard in my driveway. That’s where my friends and I hung out. It was a lot of fun to grow up in that era.”

I love the idea of dreaming in the driveway.

Brad Stevens  played Division III basketball at Depauw University and was beginning a successful career at Eli Lilly when he quit to become a volunteer basketball coach at Butler.  His two mentors, Thad Motta and Todd Lickliter moved on to head coaching jobs at bigger schools.     And so at age 30, Brad Stevens became the Butler head coach.  In three years, his teams have won 89 games and lost only 14.  Tonight they play for a national championship.

Brad Stevens is a living example of clarity of purpose and direction.  He loved basketball as a child.  He loved it as a player in college.  He loved it so much as an adult, he quit a good job with a good company to become a volunteer coach.  He knew that basketball was his purpose in life; and he went for it.  As a career success coach I applaud that.

I have often said that if you asked me when I was 25 what I hoped to be doing when I was 60, I would have said, “Running a one person, coaching, speaking and consulting business from my home.  Guess what, ever since I turned 38 in 1988 I’ve been running a one person, coaching, speaking and consulting business from my home.  My purpose in life is to help others succeed in their lives and careers.  Being a career success coach allows me to do just that.

What is your purpose in life?  What is your passion?  Are you working on it, or are you letting what you could become slip through your fingers because you’re settling for what you are?  I hope you’re actively working on it.  Don’t go to the grave with your song unsung.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify a purpose and direction for their lives – and then they pursue it with passion.  Tonight, Butler plays Duke for the NCAA men’s basketball championship in a true David vs. Goliath matchup.  Butler coach Brad Stevens found his passion for basketball early on.  When he was five years old he used to watch videotapes of basketball games in the mornings before he went to kindergarten.  He quit a well paying job with Eli Lilly to become an unpaid assistant coach at Butler.  He was named Head Coach three years ago.  Tonight, his team plays for the national championship.  This is an amazing story.  However, it illustrates the power of clarity of purpose.  What’s your purpose in life?  What are you doing to pursue it?  Watch the game tonight, and you’ll see two coaches whose passion for basketball and teaching young men is a testament to their personal clarity of purpose and direction. 

That’s my take on Brad Steven and clarity of purpose and direction in life.  What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Yesterday I wrote a post in which I quoted George Bernard Shaw, my favorite playwright.  I showed how his words related to two of the four pillars of my Common Sense Success System: clarity of purpose and direction, and commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and success. 

After I wrote the post, I came across a Japanese proverb…

Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare.

“Great,” I thought.  “Another twofer.”  And a twofer on the same two pillars – clarity and commitment. 

“Vision without action is a daydream” goes to the heart of commitment.   No matter how big your plans, thoughts and dreams, they’ll never become a reality until you act on them.  You have to commit to taking personal responsibility for creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.  And action is the single most important word when it comes to demonstrating your commitment.

On the other hand, action without vision truly is a nightmare.  You’ll never get where you want to go if you don’t have a clear idea of exactly what you want to achieve.  I call this clarity of purpose and direction.  Think of your purpose is your mission in life – why you exist, why you are on this world.  Think of your direction as your vision for the next five years; that big hairy audacious goal you are going to accomplish.  Your mission and vision, your purpose and direction shape your actions.  When you act in accordance with them, you’ll avoid the nightmares that come from unfocused action.

I talk about this stuff and the other two pillars of my Common Sense Success System in much more detail in my books: Straight Talk for Success, Star Power, I Want YOU…To Succeed, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  You can read more about these ideas in any one of these books.  My daily podcasts at www.CareerSuccess.mypodcast.com also provide information you might find useful.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people have a clearly defined purpose and direction for their lives.  They also commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers.  To develop your clarity of purpose and direction, you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you personally.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.   You demonstrate your commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career by doing three things.  First, take personal responsibility for your success.  Only you can make you a success.  You must be willing to do the things necessary to succeed.  Second, set high goals — and then do whatever it takes to achieve them.   Third, stuff happens; as you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks.  You need to react positively to the negative stuff and move forward toward your goals.  Getting clear and getting committed are the starting points for creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on clarity and commitment.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

New Orleans was jumping on Sunday.  The Saints beat the Vikings to get into the Super Bowl.  I read that during the game 80% of the televisions in New Orleans that were turned on during the game were tuned to the game.  That’s an amazing number.  This is the first time the Saints are in the Super Bowl in their history.  They began playing in the NFL in 1967.  That’s a long time to wait for a chance at the championship.  Ironically, many Super Bowls have been played in New Orleans, the Saints just haven’t played in them.  I was at the Denver Broncos first appearance in the Super Bowl in January 1978.  It was played at, you guessed it, the New Orleans Superdome.

The party began in the Superdome as soon as the game was over and continued long into the night in New Orleans.  There was one story about all the partying that really caught my attention.  Sean Payton, the Saint’s Coach mentioned that his young son was worried that they wouldn’t be able to have their post game catch because the stadium floor was covered in confetti. 

I thought this was touching, but I also thought it reinforced one of the points I make about creating the successful life and career you deserve – clarify your purpose and direction in this life.  Sean Payton’s son is a little guy.  Right now, his purpose in life is to enjoy playing with his dad.  By the way, they did have that game of catch, confetti and all.  Young Mr. Payton was staying true to his purpose.  He wanted to be able to continue his ritual with his dad.  A successful day at the stadium meant playing catch with his father after the game was over.  It didn’t matter that this was the biggest game his dad had coached to date.

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the four keys to career and life success that make up my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Star Power, I want YOU…To Succeed, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. 

To develop your personal clarity of purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

When I speak about clarity of purpose and direction people often ask me how this ties into things like a personal mission or vision.  Here is what I tell them….

Think of your purpose as your mission in life as your reason for existing – why you are on this earth.  My mission is helping other people create the successful life and career they want and deserve.

Think of your direction as your vision for where you are going in the next five or so years.  My current vision is to use the internet and emerging technologies to being my common sense message about career and life success to as many people as possible.

Get it?  Purpose = Mission.

Direction = Vision.

Your personal vision needs to be aligned with your mission.  Your goals should flow from your vision.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life.  Your purpose is your mission – why you exist.  Your direction is your vision – where you are going in the short term.  New Orleans Saints head coach, Shawn Payton’s son has a simple purpose in life – to spend as much fun time with his father as he can.  That’s why he worried that he wouldn’t be able to have his post game catch with him last Sunday – because the field was covered in confetti.  What is your mission in life?  What is your vision for the next five years?  If your answer is, “I don’t know,” please take some time to answer these questions.  These answers provide you with your clarity of purpose and direction – a foundation on which you can build to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on clarity of purpose and direction.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS, I Want YOU…To Succeed, Star Power and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. 

To develop your personal clarity of purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you personally.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

The other day I received an email from Brad Swift of the Life On Purpose Institute (www.lifeonpurpose.com).   Brad made a great point about clarity of purpose…

“Taking a bold standing for living on purpose starts by knowing your purpose with crystal clarity — knowing it so well that if someone woke you up at 3:00 in the morning and asked you what your life purpose is, you’d be able to tell them.  And if someone who knew you well heard what you said, they’d realize that your life was a true and authentic reflection of that purpose.”

Brad makes two great common sense points here.  First your clarity of purpose has to be deeply ingrained in your psyche.  It has to be part of who you are.  Second, you have to live your clarity of purpose 24/7/365.  This takes commitment; commitment to determining your life’s purpose, and commitment to living it.

Several years ago I decided that my life’s purpose is to help others create the successful lives and careers that they want and deserve.  I realized that I take immense satisfaction out of seeing others learn, grow and succeed.  In another life I might have been a teacher or athletic coach.  In this life, I help people succeed in business.

If you were to wake me at 3:00 in the morning, shine a light in my face and ask me for my life’s purpose, I’m sure I would say, “helping people create successful lives and careers.”  It’s that much a part of me.  My elevator speech begins, “Hi, I’m Bud Bilanich, the Common Sense Guy; I help people create successful lives and careers by applying their common sense.”

What is your purpose in life?  Is it deeply ingrained in you?  Have you even thought about it?  Clarity of purpose and direction comes first in my successful model.  I always suggest to my coaching clients that they think of their purpose as their mission in life – why they are on this earth.  I suggest they think of their direction as a medium term goal – something that they will accomplish in the next five or so years.

For example, as I’ve said, my purpose is to help other people create successful lives and careers by applying their common sense.  My direction has changed recently.  My vision for the next five years is to build an internet based coaching and career development business. 

That’s where I’m going.  It’s also why I write this blog.  It’s why I publish my ezine.  It’s why I’ve begun sending my subscribers daily “Think, Act, Succeed” quotes.  It’s why I’ve begun podcasting.  You can check out my new podcast at http://CareerSuccess.mypodcast.com.  It’s why I crated my common sense success system.  You can get a free 90 minute DVD that overviews it at www.CommonSenseSuccessSystem.com/freedvdoffer.

Your direction defines what you do every day.  It should reinforce your life purpose.  Clarifying not only you purpose but your direction helps get you to the second of Brad Swift’s points; “If someone who knew you well heard what you said (about your life’s purpose), they’d realize that your life was a true and authentic reflection of that purpose.” That’s why I think that while clarity of purpose is important.  Clarity of direction is equally so.

Clarity of direction helps you determine what you are going to do every minute, every hour, every day.  If your direction is congruent with your purpose others will notice.  More important, you will be living your purpose and creating the successful life and career you deserve.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life.  They have a clear understanding of what success means to them and an image of themselves as a success.  Everything they do is consistent with their clarity of purpose.  They look forward and decide where they want to be.  Their day to day actions all help move them closer to their vision of success, and are consistent with their clarity of purpose.  When you clarify your purpose and live it, you will hardly ever procrastinate or find yourself going off on tangents.  You’ll be laser focused on living the life that is important to you.  What’s your clarity of purpose?  Are you living it?

That’s my take on clarity of purpose and direction.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks so much for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity of purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you personally.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

I love to read.  I especially love to read mysteries.  I think this comes from my childhood when I devoured every Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew mystery at the local library.  Sue Grafton is one of my favorite writers.  Starting in 1982, she has written a series of mysteries; beginning with A is for Alibi.  Last week, U is for Undertow came out.  I’m hoping to get it for Christmas – that’s hint Cathy.  I want to take a few minutes here to talk about Sue Grafton.  She is someone who is very clear on her purpose in life – writing entertaining mystery stories.

On December 1, I read an interview with her that appeared in USA Today.  When she was asked, “Are you working on your next book?”  She replied, “I’ve been working on V, which doesn’t have a title yet.” 

“Do you feel like you’re in the home stretch with the series?”  “Yes, but since it takes me two years per book, I’m not going to finish for 10 years.” 

Sue Grafton will be almost 80 years old when Z is for Zero (the title she has already chosen) is published.  She expects to keep writing – but not a series of linked books.  Writing a series of 26 books takes an amazing amount of focus, especially since each book takes two years to write.

I think it’s great that a woman is approaching her 70th birthday can look ahead and know what she will be doing with her life over the next ten years.  I’m approaching my 60th birthday and I know that if things go according to plan, I will be writing this blog and helping people create the successful careers and lives they deserve when I’m 70 and hopefully 80.

Successful people find what they love and then they make a career of it.  I know a man who was a very successful surgeon.  He found that he enjoyed tinkering with the disposals tools used in surgery.  He’s gone now, but by the time he passed, he had over 25 patents and had built a very successful medical device business from the ground up.  He was successful as a surgeon, but he loved creating helpful tools for other surgeons.  That was his true calling.

And that’s why developing your clarity of purpose is so important.  When you find something you really like to do, you can see yourself doing it forever.  You won’t be counting the days till retirement.  You’ll be savoring every minute of every day as you do what you love.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people have a clearly defined purpose for their life.  Sue Grafton’s purpose is writing mystery stories that entertain large numbers of people.  My purpose is helping others succeed.  My friend’s purpose was creating better surgical equipment.  What is your purpose?  It should be something you love.  If you don’t love it, you’ll get burned out and see your work as a grind.  If you love what you do, you see your work as a gift and something to which you look forward every day.  As we approach the end of 2009, spend some time thinking about what you truly love doing.  Then, and more important, think about how you can make doing what you love your life’s work.

That’s my take on the importance of doing what you love.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity of purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you personally.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

Maya Angelou is famous for her quote on love…

“Love recognizes no barriers.  It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

I like this quote.  It says a lot about love for another person or for a cause.  But in this post, I’d like to address it in a different context; one that helps you create your clarity of purpose.  When you figure out what you love doing, you will be well on your way to developing your clarity of purpose.

The other day, I was at a client’s office.  I bumped into one of their employees who works in their conference solutions department.  He and his colleagues set up meeting rooms, make sure things like flip charts and markers are there and that the projector works.  They also do minor repairs on the rooms and the equipment. 

I have known this particular guy for about 15 years.  I often facilitate meetings for this client, so I rely on his help if I need something for a meeting.  Quite by accident, we got into a conversation about personal responsibility.  He was telling me that years ago the company used to use real china and crystal water pitchers in its meeting rooms.  He said that he and one of his coworkers used to stay late every night – on their own time — to make sure the china was clean and that the water pitchers were iced and ready for meetings the next day.

Even though the company no longer uses real china and crystal water pitchers, he cares deeply about his job. As we spoke, he went into great detail about what he does and how he does it.  Then he said something very interesting.  He said that he believes that is job is not setting up rooms.  His job is helping to create successful, productive meetings for the company. 

And that’s his clarity of purpose – helping to create successful, productive meetings.  He loves what he does, sees the value in what he does, and is good at what he does.

He told me that he likes me because I see the value in what he does and treat him with the respect he deserves as someone who contributes to the success of the meetings I facilitate.  This is true.  I respect him for his great work and commitment to it.  And I am happy for him because he is someone who is clear on his purpose and the contribution he makes. He is happy in his work and his life.

I love helping other people create the successful lives and careers they want and deserve.  Because I love what I do, my efforts recognize no barriers.  I jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to be successful at what I do.  I have posted to this blog five days a week, 50 weeks a year (I take off the last two weeks of every year) for six years.  That’s 250 posts every year.  Sometimes I have to work really hard and juggle my schedule to make sure I do a post every day.  But I make the effort because it is one way I live my purpose in life; helping others succeed.  Besides that, it’s something I love doing so it really doesn’t seem like a lot of effort.

What are you willing to jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to do?  The answer to this question will lead you to your clarity of purpose.  And it will help you create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people are clear on what they want out of life.  They define what success means to them personally.  They create a vivid mental image of their success.  And they clarify their personal values.  Figuring out what you love to do is the first step in defining what success means to you personally.  As Maya Angelou says, when you love something, you recognize no barriers, jump hurdles, leap fences and penetrate walls to do what you are meant to do.  When you love something this much, you have a clear purpose for your life.

That’s my take on the importance of loving what you do.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

I have been thinking about how to not just clarify your purpose and direction in this life, but how to live it.  Here is what I’ve come up with…

Figure out why you are here on earth. 

Act in a manner consistent with your purpose every minute of every day.

Clarify your personal values.  Use your values to help you make decisions, especially in ambiguous or unclear situations.

Live each day as a testament to your personal values.

Create goals that reflect your purpose.

Keep your purpose in mind as you work on achieving your goals.

Create plans and milestones for each of your goals.

Use your goals and milestones to help you plan every minute of every day.

Believe in the future.  Stay positive, confident and optimistic.

Visualize yourself achieving your goals.

Act in a manner that inspires others by your actions.

Be tenacious.  Persist with passion.  Never quit.

Prioritize your actions based on what is important to you – not urgent to others.

The common sense point here is clear.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction.  They figure out what they are meant to do in this life.  They build their goals on this purpose.  They visualize themselves achieving their goals.  They keep their purpose in mind when they encounter problems and setback as they work on their goals.  They clarify their personal values.  They use their values as guides to decision making in ambiguous situations.  They are tenacious, persistent and passionate about achieving their goals and realizing their purpose.  Follow this advice and you will create the successful life and career you want and deserve.

That’s my take on how to realize your purpose in this life.  What’s yours?  Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Clarity of purpose and direction is one of the keys to career and life success in my Common Sense Success System.  I discuss it in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success, Your Success GPS and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success.  To develop your personal clarity or purpose you need to do three things.  First, define what success means to you.  Second, create a vivid mental image of you as a success.  Once you define what success means to you personally, I suggest that you develop a clear mental picture of you as a success.  This image should be as vivid as you can you make it.  Third, clarify your personal values.

Yesterday I met a really cool guy – someone who figured out his clarity of purpose and direction and lives his passion.  Wayne Bennett is the president of a company called Team Worx.  He does team building for large corporations.  Wayne is passionate about two things – helping people learn to think out of the box and helping young people by giving them access to bicycles.

I have spent most of this week working with one of my large corporate clients, helping them manage an acquisition.  Yesterday afternoon, we had Wayne and his people in to conduct a fun interactive teambuilding sessions for about 100 people.  Wayne did a bang up job challenging people to work together and use creative thinking in solving some very interesting puzzles.  As the teams solved puzzles, they earned “cash” that they could put to use in buying bicycle parts. 

Part of the exercise was to work together to build a BMX bike.  By the time we were finished, we had built eight bikes.  Then came the really cool part.  Wayne arranged for a local charity – in this case, a drop in after school program – to identify eight kids who needed a bike.  Once the bikes were built, he brought in the kids and the meeting participants presented each of them with a brand new bike and helmet.  A local bike store was there to make sure that the bikes were put together properly and to fit each kid to his or her bike.

The kids loved it.  The meeting participants loved it.  All in all, it was a great afternoon.

I’m telling you Wayne’s story, because he is a guy who has clarified his purpose and direction in life, and is living it – and from what I can having a whole lot of fun in the process.  Why not?  He gets to live his passion – helping people learn to think creatively, and helping disadvantaged children get free bikes.  Why didn’t I think of that?

I went to bed happy last night.  I loved seeing those kids with their new bikes.

The common sense point here is simple.  Successful people clarify their purpose and direction in life.  Really successful people manage to tie their purpose and passion together into their job.  Wayne Bennett of Team Worx is a great example of someone who is living his passion.  He teaches business people how to think more creatively, and how to work together better.  He also gives back in the process.  His team building programs have resulted in thousands of needy kids getting bikes that they otherwise wouldn’t have.  What’s your passion?  How can you tie it to your direction in life?  Take Wayne’s advice on this one – think outside the box.

That’s my take on living your passion and thinking outside the box.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes and leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud