October 2013, TRUE LIVELIHOOD NEWSLETTER

 

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This newsletter is intended to support the work of people who are engaged in developing the careers, vocations, livelihoods, jobs and/or work of other individuals. It is our belief that everyone's work life can and should be molded and crafted to be the expression of our finest gifts and a source of great joy. Towards this end, we hope that the content of these newsletters will support you with both practical tools and inspirational ideas.
 
Welcome to our October 2013 edition!
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Photo of DeniseThe Call to Purpose:
Living a Life Laced with Meaning

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

In celebration of the 10th anniversary year of this newsletter, I have selected articles from over a hundred issues written since 2003 to highlight in the last months of 2013. Let me share with you a few reasons why this month's selection on "The Call to Purpose" was an easy, clear-cut choice.

First, the desire I hear expressed most often and most fervently in my workshops by participants from all walks of life and at various points in their careers, is to find and follow their calling or purpose and/or to help the people they serve to find their own. This is not the least bit surprising as I believe this to be an ancient longing at the core of the human heart. As I write in the article, "When we think about people we've known who were the most content, who exude the most joy, and who model the most wholesome and healthy lives, we see a common thread among them - their time and talent was spent for something beyond their own personal welfare. Look more closely and we will find that their time was not "spent" at all – it was "invested", whether in a profession, for a cause, or in the well-being of the people closest to their hearts.  People who have found a path of authentic service in the world emanate a sense of deep satisfaction and contentment that goes deeper than what we think of as ordinary "happiness".  I believe that is a quality of joy that every human being seeks – the joy of making a difference and leaving a legacy for others to follow."

And while I believe this to be a fundamental desire, it remains for many, if not most, to be a most elusive goal. I don't believe that coming into one's purpose is elusive by nature, but more as a result of our faulty thinking. The spirit of the selected article is to demystify some of the most persistent myths about what it means to find one's purpose. With a new perspective of what it means to take control of the daily power to bring our own sense of purpose to whatever it is we are doing, we can listen for the call of everyday living, while remaining open to Life's ongoing and mysterious invitations to purpose. It was the writing of this article that put me in new relationship with my own sense of calling, as I began to view it as my daily responsibility to find, hone and declare my purpose for that day, one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time. This simple practice has had more profound effects on my life and work than I could ever fully describe or do justice to. I am so happy to revisit these insights and to share them with you once again!

Finally, I cannot count the number of people through the years who have made mention of this article, expressing appreciation for an upgraded perspective on purpose and the use of the prompts that follow the article. Like the breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel dropped through the forest to find their way back home, we too have been leaving breadcrumbs leading back to our purposes. Have fun responding to those prompts yourself and seeing where they lead!

With much love and gratitude,

~ Denise

You can read Denise’s new article, in PDF format:
The Call to Purpose: Living a Life Laced with Meaning


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