Discovering Your Purpose 5 Tools That Will Help You Find Your Calling

In this episode, we dive deep into discovering your life's purpose and explore five powerful tools to help you find and live out your true calling. You'll learn why purpose is crucial for fulfillment, understand how your childhood passions and core gifts can give clues to your path, and gain insights on how serving others and paying attention to what breaks your heart can guide you to your greater mission. The session also debunks common myths about purpose and offers practical action steps to get started on your journey today. Whether you're just starting out or looking to realign with your purpose, this episode is packed with meaningful insights and practical advice.

00:00 Introduction to Discovering Your Purpose
00:46 Life Hacks and Personal Development Shares
01:31 Metaphors and Life Lessons
05:56 The Importance of Purpose and Decision Making
11:25 Setting Intentions with Five to Thrive
21:38 Engaging with the Audience
22:37 Why Purpose Matters
28:40 Purpose Fuels Perseverance
35:06 Five Tools for Discovering Your Purpose
47:48 The Power of Faith-Based Living
49:28 Reflection on Anger and Action
50:39 Discovering Purpose Through Childhood Passions
54:39 The Ikigai Framework for Finding Purpose
01:00:17 Identifying Core Gifts and Talents
01:02:55 The Concept of Flow and Its Connection to Purpose
01:06:02 Serving Others: The Law of Dharma
01:13:07 Creating a Unique Career Path
01:16:34 Common Myths About Purpose
01:24:13 Final Thoughts and Action Steps

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Transcript

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Today's topic is going to be on discovering your purpose five tools that will help you find your calling. So we're gonna be covering everything purpose here today. And I love talking about purpose. Definitely one of my favorite things to talk about on the Breakfast Club for so many reasons. I think the, the biggest thing is that all of us at some point in time. We tend to struggle with our purpose. We tend to struggle with kind of finding out what's our thing. And even if you have a specific purpose, sometimes you don't really know how to go about the purpose. Sometimes it's, it's not a hundred percent clear. You have an idea. You have bits and pieces of what you think your P purpose may be, but you really don't know the best way to go about it. So today we're gonna be. Unpacking all of that. So, uh, before we jump into the meat and potatoes of the Breakfast Club, we typically cover different life hacks, fun facts, stuff like that. Um, you know, every week is something different. We also have tons of personal development shares that we cover here as well. So, uh, let's get ready to jump right into it. Shout out to everybody tuning in from different social media platforms today. The Breakfast Club is live streamed on every platform from LinkedIn to YouTube, to Instagram to Facebook. So most platforms you can find on social media. So also feel free to follow me on Instagram at the World Traveler. And I typically post different content throughout the course of the week that you guys can keep up with. So let's jump right into it. The very first share that we have for you all is the importance of understanding human behavior is best shown with a metaphor. Imagine someone standing on a riverbank. Suddenly he hears a cry for help and sees a man drowning. So he leaps in and rescues him. As he's catching his breath, he hears more screams and again jumps into the river. This time rescuing two people before he even has a chance to recover. He hears four more people calling for help. The rest of his day is spent pulling person after person from the raging waters. If only he had walked a short distance up river, he could have discovered who was throwing all those people in the water in the first place. What efforts could you save yourself by addressing problems at their cause instead of their effect? And this is from the book, giant Steps by Anthony Robbins. Really great shares. Every single day is pretty much something different. It's 365 days of wisdom. So really, really great share. And this reminds me of the, the frog and the boiling water metaphor that I had shared with you guys a couple of weeks ago. So the, the, the metaphor pretty much the, the, the, the frog and the boiling water is that typically, uh, let's just say you have a frog that's alive. I, I shouldn't say typically because people usually don't do this, but let's just say you threw a frog that was alive in a pot of boiling water immediately that frog is going to jump directly out of that boiling water. But apparently if you put a frog and let's just say warm water, that's maybe not so hot, maybe it's even room temperature, and you just turn up the temperature slowly and slowly over time, what'll happen is that frog will just. Stay in that water and it eventually end up getting cooked. And the, the metaphor is really a, a life lesson for sometimes. In life. We, we tend to just kind of stay and, and let these problems in our life simmer, let these bad habits or these vices or just issues that we have in life kind of brew over time. They fester over time and we're just there cooking. We're, we're there, are being cooked, I should say. And it is important to identify when you have something that's, that's growing in your life that isn't necessarily serving you. So it's like, when is the best time to kill a monster right before it grows? It's, it's, it's a really great metaphor for, for life when it comes to just navigating through life, because we tend to just stay in, uh, toxic patterns or we tend to stay in behaviors that aren't necessarily conducive to our overall wellbeing. And we just are there essentially getting cooked. And what happens is eventually it gets too late. We kind of find ourselves crashing. Whereas if you identify, okay, what in my life right now isn't necessarily serving me? It's like, let's just say you're spending a lot more money than you should over time. You may not necessarily notice it in the beginning, or maybe you're eating unhealthy and there's days after, days after days that go by of maybe overspending or overeating, and then eventually it just creeps up on you and you're like, where in the world did this, you know, 20 pounds come from? Where in the world how did I rack up so much debt? And it's because those little, those little subtle behaviors, you don't, you don't notice them because they're so subtle. But over time it compounds. And it works like that with negative behaviors, but it also works that way with good habits. Good habits compound over time. And then you get to a place in your life where you're now reaping the benefits of all of those good behaviors. So people will, will look at you like, man, you, you were a overnight success. And it really is not the fact that you're an overnight success, it was the good behaviors that compounded over time. So it's always good to kind of evaluate where you are. It's, it's, it, it also brings me to the idea of, um, being that we're covering purpose. When you think about just purpose in general, most people kind of navigate through life and let's just say they're working their job. And maybe in the back of your mind, you know that there's that part of you that's not fulfilling your purpose. There's that part of you that's not living up to your potential. And you live a life where you just subject yourself to existing. You live a life where maybe you're just working to the nine to five to pay bills, and you, you think in your mind that, oh, well, at some point in time I'll get around to doing whatever my dream is. I'll get around to, let's just say, engaging with what my purpose is. And days go by and you kind of get caught up in a comfort zone and weeks go by and you're still in that comfort zone, and you're just living this life of hedonism, if you will, just a life that is self-fulfilling. It's just all about what, what pleases you in the moment, and you're not making those daily sacrifices that compound over time. And then you find yourself 20 plus years in working dead end jobs that you're not necessarily fulfilled with. And then it's even harder to get yourself going. Now for those of you who you're probably like, well, I'm in my fifties now and I didn't really live up to my potential all of these years. Listen, it's not too late. You can do a lot in a short period of time. You can accomplish a lot. Tony Robbins oftentimes says that people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10. And I would say people even underestimate what they can do in five years. Some of the greatest accomplishments in the world have come from people who were well into their fifties and sixties, so it's, it's not necessarily too late, but if you're younger, you have a lot more leverage, you have a lot more freedom, you have a lot more energy. Take advantage of your youth. For those of you who are, who are younger, I know we have people who tune into the breakfast club. Some are teenagers, some are in their early twenties. And if you're young, especially if you don't have children, especially if you don't have people who are depending on you financially. Go all out. And that was one of the best things that I did on my journey. I didn't waste a year in my, in my twenties, I just kind of went for it. And I did as much as I could possibly do. And I'm so grateful that I did because I found myself now in, you know, later on in life with a family of five. And here I am and there's so many things that I'm, I'm super limited on today that I wasn't limited on over 10 plus years ago. So take advantage for those of you who are, are in a situation where you don't have all of these dependents. And if you have dependence, people who are depending on you every single day, and you have to provide for your family, listen, the best thing that you can do is just, even if you get an inch for the day, if you get a yard for the day, just do something. Do something. Don't let a, a day go by where you don't do anything. Do something today that your future self will. Thank you for. So next we have, before we go into the next share, we have people tuning in from all over. I see the comments coming in. Uh, feel free to keep dropping comments. Let us know what cities you are representing here this morning. So I see we have Stewart, Florida in the house. We got California in the house, man, shout out to everybody tuning in from California three hours ahead. So it's like 4:11 AM on the Cali side. We got Trinidad and Tobago. We got Mount Vernon, Memphis, Tennessee. Welcome. Welcome everyone. Happy to be here with you all. We have Atlanta in the house. We have Texas. Awesome. Alright, next year we have, once you understand the master system of evaluation, you are better equipped to influence your own behavior and that of others. There is a clear science to the way you evaluate your life's problems and opportunities. Understand the components of your decision making system can help you not only understand your own behavior. But anticipate what you'll be repelled from and pooled towards. As you'll soon see, there are five components that determine how you evaluate anything from what you should have for dinner to whether or not you should be married. Each one of us has a unique combination of these components, and this is what causes our lives to be equally unique. So decision making is always going to be a, a really, really big part of your, your purpose. You, you have to be very wise with how you go about making decisions in life because your decisions ultimately alter your destiny. And the better you get at decisions, the better your, your outcome is, is going to be. You have to live a life of intention. Remember, clarity of intention equals power. The more crystal clear you are on what it is that you need to do, the more likely that your decisions are gonna reflect that. Okay. So, uh, really, really great share. And when it comes to decisions there, there's so many things that you're going to have to decide. Like, for example, deciding who you're going to be for today, who do you decide to be? I love sharing my five to Thrive, uh, exercise where, uh, it's an intention setting exercise. And the idea of the five to Thrive is to ask yourself five core questions for setting your intention for the day. And when you think about it, they're ultimately intention setting questions that alter your decision making process. So for example, the very first question is, what do I want? What do I want? When was the last time you started your day with genuinely asking yourself, what do I want? What do you want for today? Maybe you want to spend more time with your children. Maybe you want to exercise for the day, maybe you want to write those few pages for your next book or create that content. But what do you genuinely want? You see, if you just go with the, go with the motion or go with the flow, what tends to happen is like you're, you're like a ping pong ball in a vast ocean. Ocean. There's no rudder, there's no sail, there's nothing that's propelling you to a specific destination. So you have to be very crystal clear on, on where it is that you want to go or what, what's the purpose for the day? What's the agenda for the day? So what do I want? But secondly is why do I want it? And the why is really the deeper purpose. So for example, let's just say you want to spend more time with your significant other. Well, why? Well, maybe you want to create a family. Maybe you want peace in your home. Maybe you want to feel a lot more love and compassion in your life or whatever it is, but why? What's the underlying reason you want what it is that you want Next? The the third question is, well, how do I want to feel? Because remember, everything that we do in life is a means to an endy motion that we want to experience. There's a video that's going viral on the internet with Will Smith and Will Smith talks about the valley, and he talks about, oftentimes people will talk about being at rock bottom in life, and for him, he's experienced kind of the opposite. Rock bottom, which he refers to as Clifftop. And Clifftop is a state in your life where you, you live life for all of these pleasures, and life reaches its limit for how fulfilled external things can make you feel. So, for example, you get to the end of money, and there are tons of studies on this where a specific amount of money, after a certain amount of money after your bills are paid, after you cover all of your basic necessities and maybe a few luxuries of things that you would love to do, money also has its limit for how much happiness it can bring you. He mentions it, it's with love, it's with sex, it's with material possessions. You reach the very limit where it no longer fills you up. And he says What happens is whether it's the valley or rock bottom, or whether it's clifftop. Really, this is all a call back home to yourself, back home to yourself. Getting to a place where you reconnect with who you really are at your essence, and you have an understanding that all of these external things are there to fill us with a specific emotion. You see, it's a call back home to yourself because really what you're looking for is the feeling, the feeling of fulfillment, the feeling of certainty, the feeling of variety, and you have to get to a place in your life. He says, where you just love life. You love, you love yourself so much, and you love life so much where you no longer are dependent on external things for that internal gratification, that internal fulfillment, that internal joy, that peace, that love, all of those things that you ultimately want to feel. The key is to get to a place where you can feel those feelings without being dependent on outside forces. So I thought that was a really great share by the way. And next we have, before we jump into today's topic, uh, we have a share from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And that is to keep your commitments. So think of an important goal that you haven't made progress on whatever that is. So that important goal may be something that you set as a new year resolution, but think of a specific important goal that you have not made progress on. I know for a lot of people, it's their weight loss journey, or maybe it's their content creation that they said that they were gonna follow through whatever it's next. Think of the smallest possible action you could take to progress that goal. What is the very smallest possible action? So oftentimes, for example, for me, uh, when it comes to just exercise, so there are some days where I fall short and I don't necessarily get to exercise, but what I'll do is I'll just go for a walk. Or what I'll do is I may do 50 pushups or a hundred pushups, or just some type of exercise. And you have to give yourself some grace because again, there are gonna be days where you're on a hundred and you accomplish a lot for the day. You're super productive, but you have to be okay with certain days. You only being at 5%, you only being at, I mean, hell, even if it's 1%, it's still an inch closer to the goal line, and you have to give yourself some grace. You're not always going to shoot at a hundred percent. There are gonna be days where you make a lot of progress towards that goal, but. How do you show up for yourself on the days where you weren't so productive? How do you show up for yourself on the days where you just needed rest? Yesterday I went out to St. Pete. I. Florida and I drove out, I did the podcast episode at, at the Moxie Hotel. Really beautiful hotel, by the way. Definitely go visit if, if you've never been. But I, I went and by the time I got back home, I, I realized I was on an empty stomach, so I hadn't eaten all day, and I was just, my energy was super, super low. So by the time I got home, I went to get some food, and after I ate, came back home and I, I really just needed to catch myself and there was so many things that I wanted to do, and in the past I, I would beat up on myself because I'm like, man, I didn't get to do the things that I really, uh, know that I, I, I had to get done for the day. And one thing that I've learned is beating up on yourself and feeling guilty about not doing what you wanted to do. It's not very useful. It's not very useful, having overwhelm, having anxiety, because that very overwhelming anxiety. Is the very thing that holds you back is the very thing that prevents you from being more productive. So you have to just let it go and give yourself some grace and say, you know what? I may have just gotten an inch, but it's still an inch closer to the goal line. That's the idea more than anything. Next, keep your commitments no matter what. Next week, take on a slightly larger goal. So if your goal, for example, was to run 15 minutes on the treadmill, then build up from there. Or maybe your goal was to reach out to one prospect for your business. Build up from there, start to get some momentum. But sometimes we tend to get overwhelmed with these big audacious goals that we set for ourselves, and we end up having paralysis of over analysis. We get so caught up in accomplishing the big things that we end up not doing anything. So take those small incremental steps. Next, ask yourself, do I trust myself to follow through on the commitments I make to myself? Most goals are challenging, otherwise, we would have accomplished them already. We have become frustrated with ourselves if we truly want to accomplish a goal, but continue to procrastinate acting on it. So true. And here's a really great quote by Stephen Covey. Make a little promise to yourself and keep it then a little bigger one, then a bigger one. Eventually, your sense of honor will become greater than your moods. And it's so true. You have to continue to build your, your trust in yourself, build your trust in your follow through, in your commitment, in your discipline. And over time, you start to take this on as a badge of honor. And the other day I did a social media post about my, my consistency and if there's anything that I've been proud of. It's definitely been my consistency. And again, I didn't cultivate consistency from shooting at a hundred percent. No, it was just being okay with having a string of days that I only got an inch. But you know what, it was still consistent action. It was still, again, progress. So to, uh, kind of come full circle with the five to Thrive, you had the five questions for setting intentions. The first was, what do I want? The second is, how do I want to feel? Or why do I want it? The third is, how do I want to feel? The fourth is, who do I wanna be or not be? And the fifth is, how can I make this all a reality? And you set your inten intention for the day with whatever it is, and this will most certainly help you with your decision making process, which will ultimately help you with whatever it is that's your purpose. Okay, so, um, before we jump into today's topic, uh, drop in r if you're watching the replay, if you're with us live drop in LI see we have people tuning in from, uh, New York City. We've got Virginia in the house. We've got. We got, uh, all, all kinds of cities tuning in from all over. So shout out to everybody from all over the world. Appreciate you guys tuning in, uh, from all different platforms and, uh, let's jump right into it. We have some really great shares for you, uh, outside of this. And, uh, today's episode is going to be diving deep into the tools and mindset needed to create the life you are meant to live. So, uh, we're gonna be talking a lot on purpose and that deep sense of meaning that gives your life direction, drive, and fulfillment. So if you've ever asked yourself, what am I really here for? Today's session is for you. So let's jump into it. Number one, why purpose matters. Why purpose matters in the first place. Like, why not just live your life? Why not live your life? Someone I, I recently was in Atlanta and we had these group of people that were evangelizing and they had came up to us and asked us, um, the, my, my friends and I, we were all together and they asked us, well, what's the purpose of life? And, uh, my, my immediate inclination was to answer your purpose in life is to find your purpose and live it out. Uh, I remember hearing that one time when someone asked a mentor of mine, what's their purpose? And they mentioned that. And I was just thinking to myself, man, it's so true. Your purpose is to discover your purpose and then live it out, whatever that is. And it's different for everyone. So why does purpose matter in the first place? Think about the fragility of life. Think about how precious life is, how rare it is for you to even be alive today. The likelihood of you being alive and, and why squander your life. The thing about it is, when you get to the end of your life, will you genuinely be able to say to yourself that I'm, I'm proud of the life that I've lived. I'm fulfilled. I'm so happy that I followed through on my purpose. I lived up to my potential. Don't, don't leave this life with, with regrets that you didn't play full out. And yeah, it's, it's going to be very difficult to get out of your comfort zone. It's going to be very difficult to just navigate through the fears of chasing your dream because there is this force of resistance along the way, but that very resistance is what makes you stronger. That very resistance is what fortifies your mind. It's what cultivates your character. So you have to navigate through resistance if you're gonna follow through on your purpose. And that is the reason why when you follow through on your purpose, you get those feelings of pride and significance because you have to navigate through the difficulties. And that's why people who are admired all around the world, when you think about the one commonality they have across the board is these are people who did very difficult things and they're admired for it. And people look up to them for it. And you become a hero in the process. You go through your hero's journey, you go through all of these dragons that you have to slay throughout your hero's journey, and you come out on the other side victorious. You come out with the great elixir of life, with the wisdom to pass back on to the rest of the world. That's what it's all about. Okay, so why this purpose matter? First and foremost, purpose gives life, direction, purpose lives. Li gives life direction. You don't want to live a life where you're just existing. You don't want to live a life where you're just kind, again, going with emotions and rolling with the punches. There are moments in life where you genuinely have to surrender and allow life to just kind of unfold, but you also have to have some kind of intention, some type of north star, if you will, to go after. Because if you don't, you'll find yourself living a life of nihilism. You'll find yourself being very apathetic. You'll find yourself being miserable, being depressed, feeling like there's a void, feeling as if, wow, there, there, there's, there's gotta be more to life. And I'm not sure how many of you are currently there. Or how many of you can relate anybody? Anybody ever have, like, have any of you been in a season in your life where you were just like, man, there's gotta be more to this. There's gotta be more to life. Have you ever been in a season where you knew something was missing because you just didn't feel like you were living up to your potential? You didn't feel like you were living up to your purpose? Drop a Y in the comments if that has ever been the case for you throughout your life. I know I've been there, I've been there. I've been in seasons in my life. Like when I first started in entrepreneurship, for example, where I wasn't really sure that I was doing what I was called to do, or I wasn't really sure that I was living up to my potential. And what I've discovered over the years is sometimes what tends to happen is you're on the right track and you're getting a piece of the purpose. You're getting bits and pieces, you're getting fragments of the purpose and all of these bits and pieces, they tend to come together later on in life. And you're, you're growing and learning different things and it's, it's so important to just continue to press on, continue to explore, continue to try different things because what if your great purpose in life, you simply haven't encountered it because you haven't tried enough things. You've been very limited in terms of what you've been exposed to. You just, you just have done things that everybody else does. What if your purpose is something that you had no idea you even had a passion for this, but like, you may very well try. There's something that you do later on in life and you, and you fall in love with it and realize this is what I was born to do. So I believe, especially for those of you who are just starting on your journey. Try different things, experience different things. Go out there, travel, find yourself, discover yourself. That's one of the best things that you can do. And sometimes your purpose isn't something that just kind of falls on your lap sometimes. Your purpose, you, you have to be intentional about creating your purpose, and that's what we're gonna be talking more about here shortly. So another reason why purpose matters. It fuels perseverance when things get hard. Purpose fuels perseverance. When things get hard, that is the deeper why. Maybe your purpose is fighting for your loved ones. Fighting for the wellbeing of your loved ones. Think about this. For those of you who have children. Yesterday I was watching my, my children. They, they were just kind of running in the front of our home and, uh, running around and I was kind of stalking them. Anybody like stalk their children? Like, not, not in a negative way, but you're kinda like, they're young and you're just, you're just in awe of your children. Like they, they came from you and you, you just love them so much and you just like watching them play and watching them just kind of do their thing and they don't even know that you're watching them. So I'm like one of those. I, I, I guess, um, like a creepy dad that's just kind of like looking at his kids, just play and, and I'll, I'll, I'll stay, stay there in admiration. They have no idea. I'm looking at them and I, I can't help but think about how much I love my kids and sometimes I, I think about the amount of love and, and the fact that I will do anything for them. And it's interesting, I had, I had came across a post yesterday on social media that I thought was profound. It said, most of us say things like, we'll die for our kids, or We'll die for our family. We'll do anything for our family. Well, if that's the case, why wouldn't you eat healthy for your family? Why wouldn't you exercise for your family? Why wouldn't you go after your dreams for your family? Why will you not do everything in your power to keep yourself alive and well for your family? If you're willing to die for them, why not be willing to live for them? How profound is that? And the reason why I bring up my children is because. When you think about it, sometimes we won't do what we need to do for, for ourselves. We won't take that extra step, or we won't take massive action for ourselves, but we'll do it for our kids. We'll do it for our kids. I remember when my wife and I, we did our recent business launch back in October and we went all out, massive action. And one of the things that we were intentional about was telling our kids exactly what we were gonna do. And the reason why we did that is because we understood that we may genuinely let ourselves down and not follow through on our word to ourselves, but we knew damn well that we will not let our kids down. We weren't going to fall short. So you need to find something worth fighting for, something worth fighting for, and have the faith that. It will work itself out because the faith is what will help you during times of, of hardship, during times where you have to persevere. And yesterday, as I was reflecting on, like just watching my children and ref reflecting on how much I love them, I was thinking to myself, man, if God just loved me half as much as I love my kids, boy am I loved, like we are really, really loved. If you are truly a child of God, like and you have kids and you understand the power of the love that you have for your kids, then you also understand that your creator loves you even more. And he will not. He will not forsake you. He will carry you through during times of difficulty. And I have to remind you that there will be times of difficulty. There will be times of adversary, adversity, and you have to make a conscious decision on whether or not you're willing to go through the fire, whether or not you're willing to be forged in the fire, and continue to persevere and lean on your faith. Lean on your, your purpose, your why, what, what, what is driving you, whether it's yourself or your children, or whatever it is that you're pursuing. Maybe it's even your passion, but you have to find the fuel that will keep you going during times of difficulty. So, last but not least, why purpose matters, people with a clear purpose. Tend to have better mental health, stronger relationships, and more success in their careers, and it's so true. You think about, for example, if you are super intentional about living in alignment with your purpose, you don't have room to be out turning up in the clubs, popping bottles, or you don't have room to be out there. Just engaging in, in things that don't necessarily serve your greatest good, like having a very, very strong purpose will prevent you from engaging in things that are just satisfying your flesh, engaging in things that are leading to your destruction. That's why it's important to have purpose because you'll find yourself just doing anything to fill this void that you have the void of significance that you crave so much. Understand. That significance is a fundamental, basic human need. And if you do not have significance from some type of purpose, you'll seek significance in all kinds of things. Things that don't even serve you, things that are actually against your values and your principles. So that's why having a purpose is so important. One of the best things that you can do for your children is help them identify their purpose, because that purpose will keep you on track with whatever it is that's your north star. It'll keep you on the right path, and it'll prevent you from doing things again that aren't necessarily in the best interest of your greatest good. So here's a great quote. Without purpose, it's easy to drift, but with it, everything aligns. Everything aligns. So I'm going to now jump into the five tools for discovering your purpose. Take notes, however you take notes, whether it is typing it into your phone or writing. I always prefer writing because it definitely helps you remember this stuff. But take notes, um, so far if you're getting value, by the way, drop a v in the comments for value. Before we jump into the five tools for discovering your purpose, this is definitely going to help so many people who are tuning in right now on their purpose. And I know maybe you already have found your purpose, but you may know of people who are looking to discover their purpose. Some of us are very blessed and we find our purpose very early in life, but some people don't find their purpose, I mean, until decades of, of living, like maybe in their fifties and sixties and, and, and be okay with, you know, the fact that, hey, I may have not found my purpose, but don't give up on the idea of. Finding your purpose. Sometimes you just have to create it. You have to identify whatever your gifts, talents, interests, passions, all the, all these different things and create your purpose. So lots of value that we're gonna be sharing. And by the way, um, I am going to be launching a masterclass here, uh, this, this week on launching a YouTube channel. So I just hit my 400th video on YouTube. If you guys are not subscribed to my YouTube, by the way, I'm almost at 12,000 subscribers. Very humble beginnings. And the goal, of course is to get to over a million subscribers for more impact in the world. And I'm sure it'll be millions over time, but I just launched my YouTube channel, uh, less than two years ago, and really proud of what we've been able to do so far. But. We hit our 400 video, we're monetized on YouTube. I would've never in a million years thought in my lifetime that I would be a YouTuber. I hear kids say that they wanna be YouTubers when they grow up, and I, I did not know my life would go in this direction, but when we launched the Journey podcast, it just went hand in hand because today most people actually consume podcasts on YouTube. So, um, I have a podcast, by the way that that's video. It's, we have a traveling podcast, so we bounce around from different production sets. And when we talk about purpose, it's, it's interesting because YouTube, for example, I, I never in a million years would've even imagined that I would be a podcaster. I didn't know that this was part of the plan, but I had a love for sharing information. I had a love for educating and inspiring people, of helping people. I. Live their best life. I had a passion for having conversations with people and seeking knowledge and wisdom. And again, there were fragments over the years. There were, there were different pieces of the puzzle that were aligning and it all came back full circle with the work that I do today. So. I would've never in a million years again thought that I would be podcasting, YouTubing and all of that. But this is where life has led me. So I'm really proud of what we've managed to do so far, and I have an incredible team behind my company, dream Nation Media, uh, that we have in place. And, uh, these days now I'm paying it forward back to the community and helping people also embark on this journey for those who have an interest in, whether it's life coaching, podcasting, YouTubing, all of that. And one of the best ways that you could possibly, uh, learn how to take your life to the next level, your business, to the next level online is by getting. Coaching, getting consulting, hopping on masterclasses, being a part of mastermind communities, investing in courses and seminars and all of these different things. So, uh, DM me the word coach and um, I'll send you the link to the masterclass once I drop it. Uh, and you're not going to wanna miss this masterclass. For those of you who have aspirations to learn how to monetize on YouTube. And keep in mind you can do all kinds of stuff. Whatever your business is, you can continue to do your business, but these days you have to build your brand. There's just no way you're gonna be able to compete in the marketplace. If you're not building your brand online. The best time that you could have started building your brand was 10 years ago. The second best time is right now. Do not wait any longer to start the process of building your brand, because today your social media is your modern day resume. A lot of companies are finding people out through social media. It's interesting because. This actress that I interviewed yesterday, uh, she got nominated for an Emmy. She was on the soap opera Days of our Lives for over a decade and really, really amazing individual. And one of the, the things that she mentioned is these, these companies that, that hire actors, they don't care about what school you went to. They don't care about your acting education or anything, they just wanna know that you can do the job. But one of the most common questions that they ask is, how many followers do you have? How many followers? Who would've thought for acting these days? It's how, like what's your following? Again, it's, it's marketing. Even a lot of record labels, record label labels who are bringing on singers, right? Many times they'll decide whether or not they want to sign you to their record label based on how much of a following you have. And it takes time. It's brick by brick, year over year, over year. So, uh, you have to compress timeframes because it's, it's a long process to build a brand, to build a following, to build influence. But it is something that you can take with you wherever you go. It'll be your most portable asset. So anyway, um, hit me up. DM me the word coach. I could also send you my Calendly link if you, uh, just have questions for me about, Hey, Josh, how do I get into this space? How do I, you know, monetize my brand, my business, all that? How, how do I compliment what I have going on? A lot of people just don't know where to start, and you have to seek those who have the information. Okay? So let's jump right into it. The five tools for discovering your Purpose. Tool number one, pay attention to what breaks your heart. Some of you're like, well, what do you mean by that? What breaks my heart? I don't know if I, I had my heart broken, right? Like, maybe you're thinking that, but what breaks your heart? Now what? What do I mean by that? Okay. Remember, purpose often lives in our pain. Purpose often lives in our pain. So for example, I. One of the things I, I grew up in the hood, right? I grew up in one of the worst parts of not only America, but the world. And when I say worst parts, I'm talking just crime. Some of the things that I was exposed to as a child, uh, poverty, all of those different things. And when I say poverty, I'm not talking third world poverty. Let's be honest. I had running water like your boy had heat on most days. Like we, it wasn't extreme poverty that you will find in third world countries. And I never wanna disrespect the third world struggle. And, you know, we even our worse is better than like the best in a lot of countries in here in America. So I always just wanna make that clear. But when I, when I talk about poverty in America, I'm talking more so being at the bottom of the totem pole, like the very worst economic place you could possibly be living off of, government assistance, all of that stuff. And I've, and I come from that and. One of the things that was very painful for me was just growing up in such a hostile environment and, um, you know, I had to liberate myself through personal development. I, I had to build my mind, I had to grow my connections. I had to, uh, just work on myself. O over the years and personal development has added so much value to my life, so much so that I have a deep love and passion for it. And that's a big reason why a lot of my purpose is censored around that because I know how valuable it was for me navigating out of, let's just say, very difficult circumstances to where I am today. And I, I know that it adds a lot of value to people's lives. So I, that's, that's the reason why a lot of my purpose is centered around coaching, consulting these things, because it's added so much value and it's gotten me through a lot of difficult seasons. So. You have to ask yourself what injustice or need in the world deeply bothers you. Maybe there's some injustice. Maybe there's something that, that is very, you know, traumatizing or, or, or something that the world genuinely needs. And you can, you can provide a solution to that, something that that naturally triggers you. There's so many people that found their calling in that maybe something that, that their, their led to their, uh, their purpose came from their greatest pain. So I, I oftentimes share the story of the organization. Mad Mothers Against Drunk Driver, drunk Drivers or Drunk Driving. And the, the person who created that very organization had a child who, who she lost, right? Because of a drunk driver. And this organization, it helps so many people around the world. It never would've even existed if that mother had not gone through what she had gone through. So you can very well turn your greatest struggle into your purpose. And I always say, never let a good suffering go to waste. If you want to overcome a, a very difficult circumstance in your life where you want to overcome your past, one of the best ways you can do that is by reframing your past and genuinely asking yourself, how can I extract an inspiring message out of this mess? Is there treasure in this trash? You have to seek it. You have to build it, and, and you'd be amazed at how much it liberates you. Uh, another, another example of just purpose in general today, I, I feel because I did not grow up with my bio biological father, I feel that I have a moral obligation to be a really great present father in my three boys' lives. That's just a big part of my purpose, growing a legacy family, because I don't come from any wealth. I, I don't know the names of my great grandparents, right? I barely knew, uh, uh, most of my, my Ian grandparents, I, there's, there's nobody I like, I don't even know anyone with my last name that left anything behind, no legacy, no wealth, none of that. And I just felt like I had a moral obligation in this lifetime to be the first person in my family, to be the one to break that generational pattern. And that is also what led to my purpose. That feeling, that inclination, that, that call to, to be the one in my family to change everything, right? They say that if you are, if you're not born from wealth, that's not your fault. But if you die with no wealth, that is a hundred percent your fault. You have to take responsibility because you had the ability to change those circumstances in your lifetime. Okay. So, uh, really, really important to understand the fact that, you know, what, I've gone through, what I've gone through, but how can you possibly turn that into your purpose? So next, uh, you know, there's, there's circumstances, for example, whether it's someone growing up in poverty, whether it's someone experiencing some type of injustice. I think that also, uh, for me, I, I live a, a very faith-based life. So faith, my, my wife and I like the way we raise our kids. We're, we're very rooted in our faith. And another reason why I live like that, because of the value that it's added to my life. And I've seen people kind of live a life with no type of spiritual foundation and the detriment of living a life like that. And I, I always feel like I have to, uh, advocate for this and kind of go over with people from a very logical standpoint. Hey, this, this is the value of living like this. This is the value. And you could judge a tree by the fruit that it bears. So I'm not just going to tell you, I'm going to show you because I know that you're a lot more likely to follow this way of living if you see the fruits of my labor. If you see like, okay, this person has what I want, this person is a person that I aspire to be like, and perhaps I should probably take a listen to what they're doing. And for me, that's how I was called to my faith because I came across, uh, a group of mentors and a group of individuals in my business community that were happy, that were living prosperous lives, that had great families. And when I asked myself. Man, what exactly, or, or when I, when I sort of like analyzed their lives and, and what's different about the way they go about life versus the way a lot of people that I grew up with went about life and, and the one thing that I realized is these people had a very strong spiritual foundation and they had faith-based lives. Right? And no matter what that faith is, I, I know people from all different religious backgrounds and it's, it's just the idea of living a faith-based life. I actually posted a video on my story yesterday and there's, there, there are tons of studies that show people who live very spiritual lives, their, their brains are actually a lot healthier. Their, their brains work better. Your, your brain is, is more equipped for navigating through the difficulties of life when you have a very strong spiritual foundation. Okay, so here's a really great reflect, a, a really great reflection prompt. When was the last time something made me so angry or sad? I just couldn't ignore something important to reflect on. When was the last time you had something in your life where it's just like, no, this, this is something has to be done about this. Nothing cracks me up more than the people who complain about the government, people who complain about the economy, people who complain about all kinds of stuff in life, but they do nothing about it. And oftentimes, I'll kind of push their buttons a little bit. Like, what are you gonna do about it? Do you like, are you, are you bringing any solutions to the table? And if you're not, then don't complain about it. It is what it is. You could sit there and bicker about it, but if you're not doing anything about it, then what's the point? Right? So, um, find out what is that thing that you just simply cannot ignore? Here's a really great quote. Purpose isn't found in comfort. It's uncovered in the places you are willing to grow. Okay? So purpose isn't found in comfort. It's uncovered in the places you are willing to grow. Really great. Quote, tool number two, follow the clues in your childhood. Really, really great tool there. And what do I mean by that? So your earliest passions, hold clues, your earliest passions. Prime example for me, one of the things that I love to do as a kid, I, I always had this natural inclination towards leadership or, or for leadership. I, I was always the, the kid that led all of his friends. And, and I saw, now when I reflect back, I kind of see how there were so many clues along the way that this was going to lead. To what I end up doing with my life. It's like the story of David starting out as a shepherd boy taming to his flock, and then that leading to him slaying Goliath to then leading to him becoming the King of Israel. Right? And he, he had clues from his childhood that his life was kind of going in this direction. He even was anointed right from the time that he was young. There was a calling on his life. And many of us have different remnants of the past that are these subtle clues that, okay, maybe there's something to that. Maybe these are, these are some of the pieces of the puzzle that are going to lead me to my purpose. So I always had an adventure spirit as, as a kid, I always wanted to explore. I wanted to, uh, just, you know, see and do and, and try different things. And I had a, like, I, I, I was so wild as a, as a kid in terms of. The adventurous stuff that I would do, and I would always encourage my, my friends to kind of do some crazy stuff. I jumped from roof to roof in New York, like I'd go from one end of the block to the other end of the block jumping on on different roofs. And, um, I wouldn't encourage that by the way, but I was just such a, a daredevil and adventurer and later on in life it led to me becoming the, the world traveler, if you will. That whole brand that I built as the world traveler was sort of influence or it came from this childlike enthusiasm to explore and to go around the world and see different things. Now. When it comes to, uh, even personal development throughout high school, like I would, I had such a deep interest in, in reading on personal development, I'd be in the library. I remember there was a season of my life in high school. Um, I used to sit in the library and sell, uh, candy. So I had a, I had a box of candy that I would sell to the students to make some extra money for myself. And I didn't go to the cafeteria during the, the lunch break. I just went to the library and all the nerds were up there with me. And they, they also didn't go to the cafeteria because they didn't want to eat lunch food, believe it or not, like people would roast you if you ate lunch food. It is so ridiculous when I think about it now, but. Anyway, the, the nerds, we'd all be up in the, in the, I was like a hybrid. I was like a jock nerd. So I played full, I played all these sports, but I also was like low-key a nerd. And I would, I would sell all of these candies to pretty much all of these bookworms and people who would just kind of hang out in the library. But I remember there was a season where I read through every personal development book on the entire shelf because I was just that interested in it. And again, it was a subtle clue that my life would sort of go in this direction. Okay. And even with sports, with, with so many different things, I feel like I was wired for entrepreneurship and you saw aspects of that with just the way that I went about sports and all of that. So what about your past is a clue that can lead you to your purpose. That's why I mentioned all of this, because you will identify your purpose if you kind of look up things that you were even passionate about. Many of you hear me talk about the Ikigai framework. It's a Japanese framework for discovering your purpose. And some of the questions that you essentially ask yourself with the Ikigai framework is, what are you passionate about? You, you identify, what does the world need? Like I remember really reflecting on what does the world genuinely need? And one of the things that came to mind is the fact that the world needs really great leadership. We need leadership from compassionate leaders, but competent leaders as well. And I also reflected and took inventory of what were my passions, because that's also one of the questions that you're asked in this Ikigai framework. And Ikigai is spelled I-K-I-G-A-I. By the way, you can actually Google it and and see the diagram of it, but it's a really, really great template for discovering your purpose. Identifying those, the, the answers to the specific questions. Like what are you passionate about? What does the world need? All of that, what you're good at, because sometimes you may be passionate in something like, I was really passionate about football, but I wasn't necessarily born to be a football player like in the NFL. I mean, if football got me into college, right? Because if it weren't for football, I would never have gone to the college that I went to. But that very college led me to my significant other, that very college got me out the hood, that very college got me to meet my best friends who also invested in my, my company that I launched. That very college led me to the very first business opportunity that retired me from the workforce, right? So sometimes these doors. Aren't necessarily doors that are going to lead to the end all be all, but they're doors that are gonna lead to more doors that will eventually lead you to your purpose. But you have to open and walk through the door. Okay? So moving forward, uh, follow the clues in your childhood. Think back to what you loved doing before the world told you to be practical. Think about that. So maybe you had a love for acting or singing or whatever, and perhaps your, your, your, your passion for, uh, singing or acting or any of these things. Perhaps that very thing might lead you the passion or the interest in that. It may not lead you to being an actor, a singer, but it may lead you to getting into the business of acting and singing, right? Or doing something in that realm. Okay? For example, my love for travel. Led me to the business of travel. I, I love travel so much. It was such a, a burning passion for me that I ended up going into the business of travel. I also had such a love for personal development, and I naturally went into a business where I was called to lead people with personal development, right? I had a love for, for sport, for competition, right? And, and competing in the marketplace and all of these different things. And that's what led me, led me to entrepreneurship. Because in sports, I love the idea of, of, uh, playing a game, if you will. And there's so many parallels between entrepreneurship and sports, for example. That's why a lot of athletes, they get into business after their careers are done, they go into business because it's, it's the love for, for for winning, right? For, for competing, and all these different things. Okay, so think back to what you love doing before the world told you to be practical. Next is, what did you play or pretend or talk about endlessly? I, I asked this actress yesterday, like, what's, what's something that's unique about her or, or something that she has an interest in that most people probably don't. Right. And it is important to ask yourself that I, I ask people that all the time, like, what's something that you're interested in that most people could care less about? In my case, it's astronomy. I love astronomy. It's, but the vast majority of the population could care less about astronomy. And learning about the cosmos and, and all of this stuff. But I, I geek out about the cosmos all the time. I love studying how the planets work and the universe and all of this different stuff. But again, that's a passion that was put on my heart. For whatever reason, I was wired in such a way that I had a love for that. Okay? Understand that these aren't coincidences, they are breadcrumbs. And what do I mean by they are breadcrumbs. They are breadcrumbs that lead you to your purpose. So things that you can talk about forever. Some, some people can legit just talk about a specific topic, like all day long, and what is it for you. I know for me, when it comes to personal development, I could talk about personal development for hours, hence why on the breakfast club every single week for years I've been doing this and I still do not run out of things to talk about because it's, it's always been such a, a, a, a passion of mine over the years. So here's a really great quote. The moment you stop chasing applause and start following impact, you begin to live with purpose. That's what it's all about. It's about the impact more than anything. Okay? So tool number three, identify your core gifts. Tool number three. So again, part of the Ikigai framework is identifying what is it that you're really good at, what are your core gifts and talents? Understand that purpose flows through your gifts. Purpose flows through your gifts. So maybe you have a gift for numbers. You're, you're probably really good at math, or maybe you're really good at event planning. Maybe you're really good at content creation. Maybe you have an eye for aesthetics, whatever it is. But what are your specific gifts? And ask others, what do you think I'm naturally good at? So ask your family and friends because you may think you're good at it, but the entire world does not. So you have to identify what is it that you're good at. But genuinely ask your family and friends because they'll give you an idea of what they feel like you're good at. And maybe that might be an idea for a business. So ask yourself, what do you think I'm naturally good at? Second, take inventory. What do you, what do people thank you for most. Think about that. What do people in your life thank you for the most? It might be your commitment to following through. It may be just cer certain aspects of of life that you're typically thankful for, but what is it, right? What do you typically get compliments on? Maybe you get compliments for how good of a speaker or how good you are at listening. Okay? And identify strengths like empathy, leadership, creativity, problem solving, all of these things that point you toward how you are wired to contribute. I. How you are wired to contribute. So for example, not everybody has a desire to be on a camera for one to two hours talking about all kinds of per, some people are freaked out by this even going on stage. Not everybody wants to be in front of a crowd of people in, in, uh, in front of a or on a stage in front of thousands of people. Not everybody has that aspiration. Some people want to be behind the scenes. Some people are tinkerers. Maybe you're a tinkerer. Maybe you're someone who's really good at building. Maybe you're someone who's super creative. But you have to identify these different strengths that are ways that you are wired to contribute. Really, really great thing to identify. Next tool. Number four, pay attention to flow. Pay attention to flow. It's a really good one. So when you are in flow, you are touching purpose. Now what in the world is flow? You guys hear me talk about flow all the time. Flow is when time disappears and you feel fully alive. So there are moments, for example, where I'll do the breakfast club and I'll start getting into a flow state while I'm speaking and I completely lose track of time. And it, it's like time sort of melts away. I, I get like that when I'm playing sports as well. I'm, I'm so in the moment that I lose track of time. But what is something that you do that you just kind of experience time melting away? And it's, it's beyond time and space because you're so in the present moment, you can end up finding your purpose in that. That'll help you identify what it, what it is that you're truly passionate about and ask what was I doing the last time I lost track of time? What were you doing? If you guys don't mind, drop a comment on what was the la, when was the last time you lost track of time, and what exactly were you doing? I know for me, it's either sharing knowledge or wisdom or I'm, sometimes I'm learning and I lose track of time just learning things because I love learning or playing sports. I love playing sports and, um, I may lose track if I'm playing basketball or I'm playing pickleball or whatever the sport is. But what, what exactly is it next? Your purpose is likely connected to these moments. Moments. It's likely connected to these moments, so you may have things that you do that you haven't even experimented with. Maybe there are certain things that you haven't even experimented with, and it isn't until you actually experiment with it where you're like, man, I could do this forever. Some of you, you get into that state maybe while you're painting. Maybe while you're reading whatever it is. So there's, there's so, so many different things. Now, here's a great quote. Your purpose is less about what you do and more about who you become while doing it. Isn't that amazing? Your purpose is less about what you do and more about who you become while doing it. It's about growth, it's about alignment. It's about becoming the person you were called to be. That's what it's about more than anything. And how else can you be, become the person you were meant to be? If you don't go through any type of challenge, if you don't go through any type of obstacle, that's a prerequisite. It's a prerequisite. You have to fail forward. You have to sort of, uh, look at failure from the lens of the fact that it's, it's more of a life lesson than it is failure. Okay. Tool number five, serve others. Serve others. Remember, purpose is never just about you. I love the Law of Dharma. If you ever read the, the book Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, I believe it is by Deepak Chopra, I believe that's the title, but one of the laws is the Law of Dharma, and he mentions how the law of dharma basically states this. The way you find your purpose, especially as it pertains to your dharma, is identifying what are your gifts and talents and how you can use those gifts and talents to serve humanity. How can you use those gifts and talents to serve humanity? So you have to take inventory of what you are good at. You have to take inventory.'cause I always say it's not even just gifts and talents, it's gifts, talents, and interest or passions. Things that you're passionate about. So once you identify what are your gifts, and I actually look at gifts very different from talent. So I look at talent for example, as maybe you have a talent for a three point shot, right? You're really good at shooting a basketball. Maybe you have a talent for running, right? You're really good or at running. But gifts can be something that was endow endowed upon you. Like maybe you have a specific gift where you were born seven foot, and because you were born seven foot, you have a little bit of an advantage, right? That was a gift of being born. Seven foot right, or seven feet tall. But it's not necessarily a talent you understand? So maybe that was a gift. Maybe you have a really good looks, and that gift is what led to your modeling career. Maybe you have a gift with a very unique voice, right? But your talent is your ability to sing. You understand? So gifts and talents I look at very different. I. Because talents many times are sort of like gifts in motion. I, I look at talent as gifts in motion. So if LeBron James, for example, his, you know, he's over six foot seven, whatever it is, but, and, and that was a, a, a gift, right? And he had a certain, uh, body that was built for the game of basketball. And, uh, he also had specific talents that allowed him to thrive in that area because there are other people I. Who are super tall and nothing annoy of super tall person than being asked, do you play basketball? That's like one of the worst things you could ask, like, do you play basketball? Right? Because they get that question all the time. But, uh, there's so many different things that you could be gifted with that aren't necessarily complimenting a specific talent. So, um, you have to identify what that is and you identify the things that you're passionate about. So imagine for example, if a Michael Jordan or a Serena Williams, maybe they had the gift with their physical ability. Maybe they had a specific talent as well. They, maybe they had like really good hand eye coordination, but imagine if they didn't have the passion. The passion is what fueled those, the, the, the, the gifts, the talents, what brought it all together and allow them to thrive. You need the passion. So take inventory of what are your gifts, what are your talents, what are your passions, and how can you use those to serve humanity? You could even take it a step further, like I mentioned earlier, and ask other people, what do they feel like you're good at? Because again, you may feel like you're really good at it, but it makes no difference. It's like, I can, I, I could have felt that I was really good at football, but the reality is if the world didn't feel that way or the people who hired football players didn't feel that way, or the colleges that recruited the top players, if they did not feel that way, then it makes no DI could, I could love or, or feel good about my abilities all day long, but people also have to see that because we work with people like you have to sort of depend on people for opportunity, right? So they also have to see the gifts inside of you. So it is good, it, it's valuable. For, for taking inventory of what do other people think you're good at as well, and pay attention to those subtle clues. Now you have to ask enough people, because you may ask someone who's a hater and they're like, yeah, I don't think you're good at that. Right? And we always hear stories of this where you'll probably have someone who's a naysayer, someone who's a dream. Someone will tell a, a kid that, oh, they're no good at at, at dancing. Or they're no good at acting, but that's just that one opinion. That's that one perspective. So you have to ask enough people for sure, okay? Now remember this true purpose always blesses others. God will use your very purpose to bless other people. That's what it's about. How can you serve humanity with your gifts, talents, and passions? And also ask, where can I use my story, my gifts and experiences? To help someone else. So I love this part of today's session because it's not even just your gifts, talents, and passions. Sometimes it's your story, sometimes it's your experiences. So today I teach a lot on entrepreneurship. I teach a lot on personal development, but how it applied to my life through my personal experiences, you understand? I, I actually created a purpose out of my story and my experiences. So that's the idea more than anything. It's like, for example, I, I do holistic life coaching, so it's body, mind, soul. It's your relationships. It's all of these different things. But how would I truly be able to empathize with what people go through in marriage or what they go through as a parent, if I had an experienced it firsthand. Now, I can tell you all day long from a book what I've read or from a podcast I may have tuned into, but I can speak from a certain place of experience. So I'm using that very experience to align myself to my purpose, if that makes sense. So you have a specific story, you have specific experiences, you have gifts, you have talents, you have passions, and how can you bring it all together to create a purpose? That is the idea. Sometimes you have to create and blaze a trail for a purpose that probably doesn't even exist. What do I mean by that? When I was a young kid. The idea of being an influencer or being a life coach, if you will, was pretty much non-existent. You didn't really hear people say things like that. Like, how many of y'all knew people who had a life coach when you were 10 years old when you were in high school? How many people did you know in your family, your friends? Think about it whenever I ask people this question, how many of how, like how many people did you genuinely know? How many life coaches did you know when you were in high school? You probably didn't know any because it wasn't really a thing you understand? And the work that I, that I do today is kind of hard to call it one thing because it's a combination of things. It's many, many different things. So whether it's being an influencer, whether it's being a YouTuber, we didn't even have internet when I was a kid. Like I remember when the internet first came out and we had the dial up and the, the first website we ever went on, I, I I, I, it was like this ridiculous website that showed all these graphic photos of just crazy stuff happening in the world. Like that was the type of stuff that we tuned into in the early days of the internet. I remember many of you probably remember tuning into aim, like we went into these chat rooms and just had conversations and, you know, you'd put the, the, the, the letters a SL age, sex, and, and location and just to find out about people. But that's the world we came from. There was no making money online. So don't box yourself in, don't limit yourself to the professions that currently exist because maybe your purpose. Something that you have to blaze a trail for. Maybe, maybe you are the very first person to say that, Hey, this is what I am, right? Like, for example, the, the, the term holistic life coach. I didn't get that from someone. I, I thought about what's the best description of the type of coaching that I do, and that's what I came up with. So the, I say all that to say that you can very well create your very own career. You can pretty much determine what it is that you do and, and what you do for a living. And perhaps it's a career that doesn't even exist. So be open to the possibilities. Now remember this, sometimes the most painful parts of your journey become the most powerful tools for service. I can't say it enough. Never let a good suffering go to waste. Turn that greatest pain into a passion. Turn it into a purpose, and, and when I tell you, if you can find a way to add value to people's lives, you'll always be fulfilled. You'll always have that void of significance. It'll always be filled because you're adding value to people's lives. Here's a really great quote. You don't find your purpose all at once. You discover it piece by piece, by showing up, giving, and evolving. Really, really great share. So as we get ready to bring this plane in for a landing, I wanna share a few common myths about purpose. The very first myth is it has to be one thing. It has to be one thing. So you may feel in the traditional sense, oh, I have to be an actor. I have to be a singer, I have to be a dancer. And you're thinking it just has to be that one thing. Listen. Your purpose can be many things just don't end up falling into the trap of being a jack, uh, jack of all trades, master of none kind of person. Make sure that you're actually, uh, very intentional about what it is that you wanna do, and you master whatever it is that you do. You become a person that dedicates their time to their craft. So, for example, when I speak, a lot of people don't know this, but I dedicated about a decade of my life going to Toastmasters International, refining my craft. I did thousands and thousands of business presentations, refining my craft. I was even speaking in college, right? Um, doing presentations in college, which refined my craft. I can take it back to high school. I was my high school morning announcer. Like, like the guy that, that does the pledge of Allegiance and makes all of the announcements of what's going on in the school. That was me. Every single morning my senior year of high school, I was in the National Honors Society giving speeches. Right. Um, in, in front of crowds of people. So that was something that was, that was worked on. I had gotten my 10,000 hours with the craft of speaking, and I had done it over and over and over. It's like the work that I do today on the Breakfast Club. When you think about it, the, the early days of the Breakfast Club, I was doing this in person. I mean, I see we have Ashley, you know, Ashley, uh, was my co-host of the Breakfast Club for, for many years. She was there at the very beginning, um, in The Bahamas where we'd be packing out food courts. Right. And sharing knowledge for two hours every single day, Monday through Saturday. And, and that's where the foundation was laid. So don't just be someone that's like half and half out. Go all in, refine your craft, work on your craft. Become a professional with whatever it is that you are doing. Okay? And understand that it never has to be just one thing. So I'm not just a public speaker. There are a lot of other things that I do, and they're all a part of this greater purpose. So the truth is right, purpose can evolve and it can grow. And you may think that one particular thing is your pur your purpose, and then years later, it actually was a doorway to lead you to what you were truly called to do. Myth number two, it'll come to me in a lightning bolt. So you may feel like your purpose is just going to fall on your lap, like this subtle feather. From Forrest Gump, right? Remember that, that that feather at the very end. Listen, purpose doesn't always happen like that. The the truth is, purpose is discovered, not delivered. Purpose is discovered, not delivered. You have to be intentional with creating a purpose for yourself. Doesn't just come out of nowhere. Now, for some people it may happen that way, but most cases you have to refine it. You have to work at it. You have to give it enough of your time, energy, and attention. And lastly, the last myth is once I find it, everything will be easy. Listen, just because you have discovered your purpose doesn't mean your life will be painless. No, it does not work that way. When you discover your purpose, there will be many trials and tribulations along the way. There'll be many obstacles. There'll be many dragons, tolay, and that's part of the process. Because if it were easy, it would not be an opportunity. Everybody would have it. Everybody would do it, and you would not really appreciate it. You wouldn't cherish it. It wouldn't be as valuable for you. It's like driving the Ferrari. If everybody on the block had the same Ferrari, you would not value that Ferrari. But it, because it's so scarce, that's the reason why people love'em. And they love the, the, the sports cars. Like they, they, it's, it's, it's not always even the car, it's the person in the car and what they had to do in order to get there. And a lot of people who have the ability to have really nice things many times, like, yeah, you can, you know, hate on them and be like, oh, they got a trust fund or whatever. Listen, most millionaires are actually, uh, millionaires that came from no money. You, you can look into the studies. Most billionaires are not first generation billionaires. Are, are most billionaires, are first generation billionaires. My correction, they're they're first generation. They didn't necessarily inherit the wealth. Now you have some that that did, but you look at the vast majority, they became billionaires. First generation, they, they were the ones in their family. Okay? So you don't necessarily have to come from money. You didn't have to hit the parent lottery. In fact, if you come from struggle, if you come from a lot of difficulty, if you didn't hit the parent lottery, that may actually end up being a blessing in your life because that very thing may end up leading to your purpose. I would not be the father that I am today if I grew up with a father. I, I think it would look a little different possibly right now, maybe if I had a great father, um, figure growing. And I, my, my stepfather, I, I don't wanna take anything away from him because he definitely has contributed to the man that I am today. And, uh, very discipline. I learned discipline from my stepfather, but I didn't grow up with my biological father. And that's a big, big reason why I'm so dedicated and committed and so present in my kids' lives. So that's a, it's a big, big reason. So I could have sat there and dwelled on it, or I could have repeated a generational pattern, right, of neglect and abandonment. Or I could have taken the opposite approach and say, you know what? I'm gonna be the one to do different because of what I went through. And I've seen people take both cases. You'll have some people that trauma will get the best of them, and they repeat a generational pattern. And then you have some people that say, you know what? It stops with me. It stops with me. I'm going to be the one in my family. And my recommendation for you is make a decision today that you will be the one in your family. You will be the one because you have the decision, you have, you have the idea. You're on the breakfast club for a reason. There's no coincidence that you're here listening to this message right now. You could have been doing anything in the world, but for whatever reason you were here to hear this message. So, as we wrap up, right, um, remember, purpose gives direction, not immunity from struggle. Okay? So it's, it's not necessarily going to be easy, but as cliche as it sounds, it will absolutely be worth it. A life following your purpose will definitely be worth it. So here's a great quote. Purpose doesn't shout. It whispers through what moves you, what breaks you, and what lights you up. Such a beautiful quote there. So, um, as we wrap up here, I have a few recommendations, few action steps. Number one, journal on some of your answers. Of today's session. So whatever questions we went over, journal about it. Take some notes. What are your gifts, talent, passions, right? All of these different things. How can you use your past, your experiences, your story? And that's why I'm so passionate about teaching people how they can monetize their message, right? How they can extract a revenue in the marketplace from their very story. You can get paid for your story, okay? And, and find your purpose in that. But journal about it today. Take some time for some self-reflection. Also ask three people what they think your gifts are. So remember, it's not just what you think you're good at or what you think are your gifts. Ask other people as well. It can be really great feedback. Also, try volunteering or mentoring and see how it feels. Some of you, you get inspired, you come into Breakfast Club and you're like, man, like this is so inspiring. And you know, I'd love to, you know, share wisdom or knowledge. Listen, you can start with just one person. Start with one person. Start with your kids and provide them with the, the tools necessary to navigate through life. But go out there, volunteer mentor. We, it. This is a team effort. The, the, the, the goal isn't to just pass on the, the knowledge and you guys do nothing with it. Remember, knowledge is in power. The application of knowledge is power. So it's like me taking the burning torch and lighting up your torch for you to go out into the world and spread it. And if enough of us go out there and we mentor and we coach people and, and we lead people with this information, think about how many people never get access to personal development. They were never introduced to it, even though it's out there. There's so many distractions, so many things that we're inundated with, with the internet and social media. But what if you can be the person to give someone the gift of personal development? It's a beautiful, beautiful contribution that you'll make into the world. So try volunteering or mentoring, whether it is a group of kids or, I mean, it could be a career day at your kid's school, whatever it is. Okay? Maybe it could be at your church or you know, your temple, whatever is your, you know, whatever, whatever's your place of worship. But go out there and, and give the gift of mentorship. And another thing that you can do is take a solo retreat, right? Or maybe even a long walk to reflect. I, I always mention here on the Breakfast Club that I walk about, uh, three miles a day and it definitely helps bring me a lot more clarity in life. So walking can be one of the best things that you can do on your journey. And remember. Purpose is found in motion. So start walking and the path appears for all my walkers. You know exactly what we're talking about. So, um, all right, so to to close out. If today's episode sparked something in you, don't ignore it. Lean into the questions. Let curiosity be your compass. And remember, you don't find your purpose like lost keys. You become it by living with intention. Breakfast is served. God bless every last one of you guys. Thank you so much for tuning in. Appreciate all of you guys. Again, uh, DM me the word coach, if you would like more information on, uh, this upcoming masterclass that we're about to drop on, uh, how to monetize on YouTube, all of that stuff. And, uh, really excited for everything happening within our community. Uh, we've got some amazing trips coming up, so you, you guys are more than welcome to shoot me a message. I'm pretty responsive. Uh, so you can, uh, shoot me a message, like, comment, share, tag someone who can get value on today's Breakfast Club session. Thank you so much for all of you who share this. All of you who, who subscribe to my platforms, uh, it's greatly appreciated. For those of you who share stars on Facebook or if you subscribe, uh, it's definitely, uh, uh, really, really appreciated and it helps me continue to do this amazing work that we do here on the Breakfast Club. So, God bless you all. Take care. And uh, next time I'll be seeing you. Uh, on the next Breakfast Club. Take care guys.