Unleashing Your Entrepreneurial Goddess Part 3: Know Your Purpose - Discovering Your True Purpose

This series began by looking at your desires. What your aims are and what is driving you to succeed as a Tycoon Woman. Depending on how broad a perspective you chose to adopt you may or may not have touched on something that sits above your desires – that is your life’s true purpose.

Finding your true purpose is discovering that part deep within all of us which seeks to be fully expressed. 

Throughout our lives we are constantly being given purpose by others. Such purposes are imposed on us because of society’s norms and values, our cultural heritage, our age and our gender. What characterises a purpose derived in this way is that it is externally defined. It may at first appear that an externally defined purpose is honourable and worth pursuing – often they speak to our personal success and what we believe will make us happy. However, following an externally defined purpose can never be as fulfilling as following one that comes from your own heart based on listening to your inner wisdom.

It may be that you have been so busy following your externally defined purposes that you have not stopped to consider whether or not you are actually living your true purpose. Externally defined purposes are characterised by the following:

1. They are assigned to you by others.
2. They reflect others’ needs rather than being an expression of who you truly are and what you are passionate about.
3. They are driven by a fear or lack mentality. Consequently they are often executed as away from rather than towards approaches. That is you are motivated by the need to avoid or prevent something you don’t want rather than aspiring to achieve your highest desires.
4. They can be uninspiring and dis-empowering at times; to the point which merely thinking about them can fill you with dread.
5. Pursuing them provides only temporary satisfaction. Eventually a deep sense of dissatisfaction and lack of fulfilment sets in and you are left feeling as if a key part of your life is somehow missing.

What has been driving you to pursue the life you currently lead? If your answer is earning money, becoming successful, achieving a certain social status, fulfilling parents or teachers’ expectations or duty, chances are that this is an externally defined purpose and you are yet to indentify your true purpose in life

Unlike an externally defined purpose, your true purpose is an active creation by yourself and is the result of connecting to your deep inner wisdom and listening to the clear voice of your heart.  Your true purpose is:

1. Consciously created by you;
2. Your personal choice.
3. Something that flows from inside of you towards the world. Depending on your view of existence, it is your inherent pre-encoded purpose, inner calling or destiny.
4. Resonates with who truly You are – that is You minus the fear, the doubts and self judgement that says you are wrong, nothing or not good enough.
5. Based on unconditional Love.
6. Driven by an overwhelming inner desire, passion and love to truly serve others
7. Free from others’ expectations of what they think you should do or be
8. The thing you are most passionate about.
9. Inspiring, energising and empowering.

Pursuing your true purpose gives you lasting meaning and fulfilment. You know that you have discovered your true purpose if what you are doing includes things such as creative self-expression, growing and educating others, inspiring love and meaning, helping/serving other people.

5 reasons why knowing your true purpose will help you in business and in life generally

1. It give your life Meaning and fulfilment.

When you start living your life in line with your true purpose, everything you see, touch and do bursts with meaning and fulfilment. This is because knowing your true purpose frees you from the cycle of questioning your existence whenever the going gets tough or you experience a setback. That is not to say you never have to spend time in reflection or re evaluating your goals etc. However, this is done in joyful pursuit of something which you are passionate about.

2. You have an infinite reserve of drive and passion.

Imagine that each day you wake up full of enthusiasm and joy Instead of feeling bogged down by dread and weariness. When you discover your true purpose it’s like being plugged into an endless supply of energy, drive and passion which fills you to the brim, then overflows and oozes through you into the world. People who are living their true purpose are propelled through each day by the thought of being able to pursue their true purpose for the rest of their existence. How does this compare to how you currently experience your life? If you feel that you are numbly stumbling through life, consciously working to discover your true purpose can re energiser your life and awaken your passion.

3. It provides you with instant focus and direction.

Your true purpose acts like a beacon of light in the darkness that guides you through your life, work, relationships, decisions, and daily actions. If you often find yourself ambling through your life from one fad to the next without clear direction or focus, then discovering your true purpose serves as a satellite navigation system to guide you turn by turn and keep you heading towards your destination.

Knowing your true purpose allows your truths and values to guide your business decisions to the benefit of all rather than simply be driven by the profit motive alone. Whilst businesses clearly need profits to survive, it is equally important that as budding tycoons (destine to become highly influential and highly respected within your chosen niche); you recognise that in order to not only survive, but also thrive, profit alone cannot be your sole purpose.

In business it is not uncommon to find ourselves challenged by circumstances which call into question our core truths, beliefs and values. As we become more aware of the impact of our consumption patterns on the world, businesses are being challenged to ensure that their products and services take account of the needs of all stakeholders. i.e. shareholders, employees, customers, community and the environment. 

On a micro-level, defining your true purpose enables you to get the maximum out of your day-to-day life. By examining your actions in terms of how they contribute, promote or diminish and detract from your true purpose you will gain immense clarity.  

4. Knowing your true purpose gives you the freedom to discard the things that do not matter without feeling guilty.

Without knowing your true purpose you can find yourself torn between different areas in your life. Knowing your true purpose gives you freedom because you now have clarity on what matters to you.

When you have clarity on what you want to achieve, that’s when you can arrange everything around to be congruent with your inner self. You’ll be able to create a business that is aligned with your true purpose. You’ll take on projects and take actions that are in accordance with what you want to achieve. You’ll be in relationships that express love rather than fear. Knowing your true purpose empowers you to start living your life in alignment with your inner truth.

5. You will become highly successful

A clear mission statement is a business’ passport to success. Corporations like Google, Apple and Sky are so successful because they have clear mission statements guiding their organisations. A company without a mission statement will have no clarity on what it needs to do and be less likely to succeed and may even fold. This is equally true for people as it is for companies. Imagine you are managing your life like a company. You need the equivalent of a mission statement, i.e. your true purpose, to lead your life to success. Success comes about as a corollary to embracing your true purpose because knowing your true purpose is akin to having a clear mission statement.

Before going on to look at how to identify your life’s purpose and construct a statement that encapsulates its essence, i.e. your personal mission statement, it is worth taking a moment to look at some guiding principles on how your purpose might look in order to be the most effective.

It should resonate who you are.  Your true purpose should actively reflect your passion, what you most desire, what you value and your core beliefs.  A good indicator that you are on the right track would be the answer to the following question.  If I have to do something for the rest of my life without being paid single penny what would I choose to do?

Your life’s purpose should be something that is not bound by time and space. In other words it should be something that could be expressed throughout eternity.  If that sounds a bit spaced out to you don’t worry just think of it as something that you could do today or any time in the past or in the future.  Another question would be to ask yourself if you were to live forever what would you want to do.

In order to achieve the best possible outcome allow your imagination to run free.  Don’t be bound by the social physical or mental constraints in your current life.  Ask yourself: If I couldn’t possibly fail what would I do.

Aim to be specific rather than vague.  Identify the things that require you to take concrete action rather than change your emotional state.  For example an objective to be happy can be achieved simply by changing your mind.

It also helps to avoid terms that are in descript like “living life to the fullest.” Aim to identify what specifically you feel you should do in order to live your life to the fullest .

Think of your life's true purpose as a direction of travel rather than an end state.  So for example China is a destination whilst “east” is a direction of travel. Similarly to become a doctor is an end state; caring for and treating sick people is a purpose.

Your true purpose should be rooted in love and aligned to your highest emotions. Because it comes from within it should be self affirming. When you are in step with your true purpose you do not require the external world to verify or validate you.

So now that we have looked at the fundamentals behind identifying your true purpose let's move on to how to construct one.

There are many ways to work out what you are here for. All include some element of internal reflection. You will need to set a time when you will not be disturbed for at least 30 minutes. I am going to share with you the method I was shown when I was training to become an interfaith minister. I particularly like this method because it gradually builds a profile of you and what you love doing and then combines the element to form a statement that expresses your true purpose.

Step 1

First list a minimum of 10 of your personality characteristics that you like. For example you may like the fact that you are optimistic, have a good sense of humour or easy to get along with. Make sure that it is your list rather than what people have always tried to impose on you. It could be that you like parts of your personality that some people around you don’t value, for example I am very talkative and I actually like talking. When I was younger this was held up as a negative and for a long time I internalised this. When you’ve completed your list mark it as List 1

Step 2

Next go through List 1 and select your top 4 or 5 personality characteristics, i.e., your favourites. This is your List 2.

Step 3

Using the items in your list of favourites, i.e. List 2 – list a minimum of 10 ways you enjoy expressing these characteristics. For example if you put that you have a good sense of humour it could be that you love expressing this by always finding something to laugh at when things look bleak. This becomes your List 3

Step 4

Now select from list 3 your top 4 or 5 ways you enjoy expressing these characteristics, creating your fourth list. List 4

Step 5

Write a statement in no more than 25 words of your vision for an ideal world. Express this positively, e.g. A world where everyone has enough to eat rather than saying no more hunger.

Step 6

Put it all together using the follow template:

The true purpose of my life is to use my (favourite personality characteristics – List 2) by (favourite ways of expressing these characteristics – List 4) so that (vision statement from step 5)

So here is an example using my answers

List 1- Personality Characteristics 

1sense of humour

2 helpful

3 kinds

4 generous

5 optimistic

6 talkative

7 drive

8 dependable

9 hard working

10 just

11. Intelligent

12. Clear thinker

13 creative

List 2 - Favourite personality characteristics

1 generous

2 talkative

3 helpful

4 creative

5 kind

List 3 - Ways you enjoy expressing your personality 

1 saying yes where ever possible

2 being conscious that people have a good experience of me

3 being interested in everyone I meet

4 spending time with my family and friends

5 making things

6. Solving problems

7 caring for those in need

8 giving to charity

9 volunteering in the community

10 being dependable

List 4 - Favourite ways of expressing your personality

1 saying yes where ever possible

2 being conscious that people have a good experience of me

3 being dependable

4 Solving problems

5 being interested in everyone I meet

Vision statement

A world where everyone is treated like they truly matter and has equal access to opportunities to be safe healthy and loved

My life's true purpose statement using the template


The true purpose of my life is to uses my generosity, helpfulness, creativity, kindness and talkativeness by saying yes where ever possible , being conscious that people have a good experience of me, being dependable, solving problems and being interested in everyone I meet so that everyone is treated like they truly matter and has equal access to opportunities to be safe healthy and loved.

Play around with the grammar and words until you create something that you are happy with.  If it doesn’t sound or feel right initially go back over the steps and re examine if you have identified your most important characteristics or the activities that you use to express them. The trick is to feel into the process with your inner wisdom rather than intellectualise it. When you eventually arrive at your true purpose it will automatically feel right and you will have a deep sense of connecting with it. In other words you will just know and you will wonder how it was that you were ever unaware of it.

Please do share with me your experience and the output you generate from this exercise – I would love to read about it.


image A Woman Jumping by kongsky