Life's Work

Identify Your Life’s Work

Great leaders have always identified what their sole purpose is, their life’s work, the importance of what they are trying to accomplish. In other words, their vision! Some examples are Gandhi, a vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism, and an end to religious violence. Abraham Lincoln, his vision was expressed in the famous Gettysburg Address, a vision and endorsement of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Martin Luther King Jr, his drive and determination was focused on non-violent ways in which to advance the civil rights movement. His vision was for racial equality and a better future where all are equal. There are many others not listed here but I think you get the point.

Identifying your life’s work begins with the understanding of what your passions are, abilities, skills, strengths and talents. It’s a combination of your personal goals, vision and a place in the future that you identify as your utopia or ideal life. Once you discover what you want to become and where you want to go then you can inspire and develop others to help you get there.

Your life’s work does not feel like a job but more like a way of living. It enables you to move closer to your ideal life. You will realize that everything you do is connected somehow to your ultimate goal. You merge your beliefs and views into your work and everyday actions. You will have the inspiration to move a skyscraper if it means helping you realize your vision.

Your life’s work is a commitment to something you feel is for the greater good of all people concerned. It captivates you and consumes all your focus, bending the natural fabric of time within your work day. When immersed in your life’s work you do not experience the natural flow of time, it becomes secondary to your tasks, leaving you with the feeling that you just started your day at 8am and now it’s past closing time and you wonder where the time went. There never seems to be enough time to do what you set out to accomplish in a single day.

People naturally gravitate towards those who have vision and it helps to have a clear and decisive plan along the way. These people will align their life's work, identify with the same core values, vision and mission. They will want and yearn for the same ideal life that can be achieved. This inspiration will enlist their patronage and instill the belief that there are rewards for meeting and exceeding individual goals and objectives during the journey.

With the understanding that you may not be able to achieve your goals alone. You will be faced with the challenge of surrounding yourself with the right people. The right people are identified as those who share your goals, understand your vision and will show support even through the failures experienced along the way. Having the right people around you also includes those who are smarter, wiser and keep your ego in check. You will need to know that you are not always the smartest person in the room and that you need help with certain aspects of you life’s work. The right people connect on a different level than most of your other aquatenses. They help inspire and motivate you no matter what the circumstances are.

Leaders know and understand a simple truth when it comes to their life’s work, “It’s not what you know, It’s who you know” This is a key element in achieving your goals. No one can do it all by themselves. You need the right people in the right place and surround yourself with the right individuals.