Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

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The On-Purpose Person

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TOPP_3D_PrintedBook The On-Purpose Person
Making Your Life Make Sense

Let's skip the usual jacket cover hype here.  Instead, I'll post bits and pieces of the back story – how the book and message of Being On-Purpose came into being.

There isn't a week that goes by when I don't get asked by someone about becoming an author.  It seems everyone wants to write a book.  Few actually step up to the challenge – and it is a challenge.  Even fewer find the commercial success they expected.  So you better understand why you're writing a book in the first place.

Please post your comments or questions here about becoming an author or about my books or publishing experience in general.

Ask YOUR Questions here about publishing a book and I'll share one best selling author's perspective.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

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Weighing In Again

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A number of readers followed my journey of losing weight this year.  I lost 50 pounds… but have I kept it off?

Yes!  I weigh either side of 190 a few pounds, down from a 1/1/2008 holiday high of 240!

Here's a summary of my journey.
I lost the 50 pounds from January 1 through September of this year.   The first ten pounds I dropped from January 1 – April 2.  While doing the Take Shape For Life program (phase 1: weight loss), I dropped 37 pounds between April 3 and June 30.  As the keynote speaker at their National Convention I was weighed on stage (dressed) and was 193 or down a total of 47 pounds.  In the transition stage I dropped a few more pounds to get to 190.  A full 50 pound drop in mass. 

As exciting as my weight loss is, Judith, my wife, decided to become a Certified Health Coach with Take Shape For Life.  Attending the National Convention with me, plus a desire to help others, and my results, prompted her to catch Dr. A's vision for Getting America Healthy.

Wow!  She's helping about 20 people regain their health.  It is an exciting time and the extra income during these economic times has been a true blessing.  She's been a stay at home mom (I hung her Darden School MBA diploma in our laundry room – really!).  This is a wonderful transition for her back to the workplace on her own terms.  Wonderful success stories with clients bring joy to her spirit.  Teaming up with Dr. Wayne Andersen and the Take Shape For Life team has been a joy. 

By the way, Judith has lost 25 pounds on TSFL as well.  She's back to her college weight. 

So if your New Years Resolution will include losing 20, 30, 40 pounds or more, click here to visit Judith's web site.  You can email her here for more information.

I have to admit, I'm a zealot about this weight loss / get to optimal health company.  TSFL is truly on-purpose.

Have a Happy and Healthy Holiday season.  We are!

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Wall Street and Big Business: Thanks, Dr. Spock

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"The Financial Bailouts" have me thinking and pondering, Why do I find them so, frankly, offensive to my senses?

I can argue this from the viewpoint of being a capitalist and free market
advocate.  The debate can be political in terms of government and
policy – conservative and liberal.   Certainly, there is an economy at
risk argument that is being made along with the loss of millions of jobs. 

I read, listen, and watch "the experts" debate the issue eloquently on both sides and I find myself caught in the middle of which way to go.  All of the above enter into my opinion.

In the end, I've decided that the Bailout is just plain wrong.  What Dr. Spock did for parenting with his no spanking approach, government is now doing to society.  The United States is a nation "By the people and for the people…." Unfortunately, we've become a nation afraid to spank our children.  What Dr. Spock did to parenting, government is now doing to our nation.  

Dr. Spock made valid points, but there is a larger context to parenting.  There's something important to a child's development to have an authority in their lives who sets and secures appropriate behavior boundaries.  It prepares the child to be a more responsible and contributing independent adult.  A parent like a government needs to carry a full arsenal of options including the power of a good whack on the bottom.

As we hear reporters and politicians speak in terms of "taking the military option off of the table" it is Dr. Spock in the Congress.  Now the generation of Dr. Spock is running the nation as if it were their household – Democrats and Republicans alike.

Consequences

The Concept of Consequences has been decimated.  Simply, this states that a person is responsible for the results of his or her actions.   If I stick my hand on wet paint that is clearly marked as wet paint, then the natural consequence is I get paint on my hand.  Cause and effect.

Unfairly and sadly, sometimes we suffer consequences that are not the direct result of our doing.  Two relatives' careers with Arthur Andersen ended because of the Enron scandal.   One worked in Boston, the other in California.  Neither had any business dealings with Enron or the Houston office of Andersen, yet they paid the price as the result of the actions of others.  Curve balls come at us in life.

Consequences are often thought to be negative (punishment), but there are also positive consequences.  Study hard, get good grades, enroll in college, graduate, and gain greater opportunities in life.  This typical cause and effect pattern is predictably preached by many a parent.  Consequences for our actions are something we are supposed to learn as children.  It helps us grow into mature and productive adults. 

As a nation, perhaps, it is a season of reflection and consequences.  Money is never the answer to a problem.  It is simply an easy salve to apply, a seemingly quick fix that fails to deal with the fundamentals.  The "Me Generation" – of which I'm a part – needs to suffer the consequences of our avoidance to deal with the hard truth of overindulgence for decades.  Abundance has lulled us into apathy and complacency.  We're masters at avoiding the consequences of our actions. 

Images-1Popeye the Sailor Man's fat friend J. Wellington Wimpy taught all too many of our generation the use of credit.  To anyone who would listen, Wimpy offered, "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Like overindulged brats fattened by our parents, our due is coming.  Tuesday, dear Mr. Wimpy, has arrived and the bill is due.  Our character needs to be strengthened or our country will be lost.  I believe in the Spirit of America to face, survive, and improve.  We need a season of pruning and leaders who are willing to make the tough call.

From the ashes of Wall Street or Main Street, the U.S. economy will rise again because the character of its citizens will rise to the occasion.  Trust "We the people" to get it right, to pay the price, to be creative, and to make the most of a time such as this.  Given the challenges to freedom arising in the world today against them, the banner bearers of liberty may very well need this time of preparation if truly "Liberty and Justice for All" is to survive. 

Let Wall Street and the Automotive industry go into bankruptcy.  Let home borrowers who overextended themselves lose their homes. From out of pain and suffering, comes humility and wisdom which are more precious than gold.  We'll all be better people and a better nation for it.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

True Generosity

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Giving out of joy and thanksgiving for our blessings and abundance are the building
blocks for true generosity.

In The On-Purpose Person, the Professor tells the man, "Knowing yourself
better means you're more aware of your special gifts and talents that especially
qualify you to serve. No one else in the world is exactly like you. Someone or some
cause needs you. Think of them as your 'customers' or 'audience' awaiting your performance.

"From this appreciation of yourself, you will naturally share from your strength. Your
prior mind-set may have been one of scarcity rather than abundance. Trust your instinct to give with joy."

During this holiday season, even though our country is in a time of economic turmoil,
remember that On-Purpose® is to serve by giving from our strength in spite of the conditions about us. You may not be able to change the world, but you can make a difference in the world about you. One simple act of kindness offered in thanksgiving is all it takes. And then repeat as the Spirit leads you.

Purpose or Purposes

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You have only one purpose in life.   Once you know that purpose, you are to align your life and make choices consistent with it so you are on your purpose, rather than off your purpose.  That’s the essential message of being on-purpose.

In business, and especially in the church community, many people write about their “purposes.”  Note the use of the plural form, a recent pop culture invention mostly due to Pastor Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life in which he tells people they have five purposes of Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Evangelism.  These are missions of the church, not purposes.  For all the good Pastor Warren’s book is doing, it is ultimately confusing people at the core of their being, but it is getting them engaged in life more profoundly.

You do not have many purposes in life.   You may have multiple visions and missions, but only one purpose.  You may have many reasons for doing something, but only one will to do it. (Read more about the subtle differences between purpose, vision, mission, and values by clicking on this sentence.)

Need further proof of the singular nature of purpose?   The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary doesn’t provide a plural for purpose.  Purpose is inherently singular.

For example, here is an excerpt from a devotional I read today, “God
will provide the necessary circumstances to accomplish His purposes in
your life.” This is incorrect because of the plural use of the word.  God has one purpose for your life, and, yes, he will arrange the circumstances.  To push the point just a bit further, let’s replace purposes with the word will.  This is a more accurate description of the usage.  God has one will, not a plurality of wills.

Reason and purpose are frequently interchanged.  Life purpose is a person’s one reason for being or raison d’etre.  Purpose in lieu of reason is an appropriate, but a less effective word choice.  Purpose is deeply about one’s intention or will.   I appreciate that one can have many reasons for doing something, but there is one intention.  To be otherwise is to be double-minded or confused.  That is the very challenge purpose clarifies for you.  You can’t have purposes or be on-purposes. The logic and semantics don’t support the concept of purpose – plural.

Avoid getting caught up in this sloppiness of use.  Strike the non-word purposes from your vocabulary. Purpose is a truly special and remarkably powerful word as applied to one’s life purpose.  Seek the singleness of strength of being of one mind, body, and spirit and you will be on-purpose.

Your comments are always invited.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

The Folly of Self-Diagnosis

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As I dropped my car at the garage, I told the mechanic, "I think my muffler is broken."  Later that day when I picked up my car, the mechanic informed me there was nothing wrong with the muffler.  After paying his bill and starting my car… the darn noise that began the auto repair visit remained.  I asked the mechanic about it.  He said, "You asked me to check the muffler." 

Just shoot me!  I left the car for another day and made additional transportation arrangements.

Yesterday, my wife told the refrigerator repair man, "I think the gasket needs to be replaced because the refrigerator door doesn't stay shut."  He was better than my car mechanic.  After a quick visual, he informed, "It is worn but is working.  Your hinge isn't set right."  $125 later we had a hinge adjustment.  Only problem is the refrigerator isn't cooling. We thought it was the door being ajar.

The folly of self-diagnosis is real.  Unless you are an expert on something, don't do the diagnosis.  Speak in terms of the problem, not the solution.  

A friend of mine, Chris, is a brain and spinal cord surgeon.  If I'm
having a headache, do I tell Chris, "I think my cerebral cortex is
swelling.  You need to check for a tumor."  Absurd! But we all do this kind of self diagnosis regularly.  My goal is to get out of the habit.

Consider your area of expertise.  When you're working with customers or
clients who don't know what you know, do you find it odd when they
start telling you how to do the job they hired you to do?  Why did they come to you in the first place?

Here at On-Purpose Partners, we help individuals and organizations write their core strategic statements of purpose, vision, mission, and values so they have a fighting chance to be on-purpose.  Some people want to debate our terminology and approach.  I always invite clients to read my books before they engage us to ensure they understand where we're coming from before they invest their hard earned money working with us. 

Often, it doesn't matter.  They argue.  We're delighted to clarify and explain the difference between purpose, vision, mission, and values, but why debate it with us after you've hired us.  We're pros at this.  Let us do the diagnosis.  Tell us your problems.  Let us practice our craft.

Candidly, pride is why we're all guilty of self-diagnosis.  I don't want to look stupid in front of my mechanic because I'm a guy.  I'm supposed to understand cars and engines and mechanical things.  Right?  Wrong.  I'm clueless.  Faking it to impress the grease monkey tells him I'm both stupid and a phony.

These days, I tell my mechanic, "My car is making a weird and loud noise.  I haven't got a clue what it is."  Instead of faking my way to repeated repair visits, today I confess my ignorance, find the most honest mechanic I can, and throw myself at his mercy with an open line of credit.  My favorite question, "If it were your wife and kids driving in the car, would you do the repair?"  My automotive bills are high, our cars run fine, I have fewer visits, and I have no pretense.

About twenty years ago we had a father and son living next door who worked on their own cars.  I observed to Judith one day, "Every weekend they're working on their cars to get them working.  I don't even crack the hood of my car and it runs fine."  What's the moral there?  Those who do… who don't know they don't know.. do more of what they don't know. 

Let's call it personal outsourcing.  Judith is calling the refrigerator repair guy back today to say, "My refrigerator isn't as cold as I think it should be." It will probably be another $125 or more.  The compressor is probably shot!  Oops!  Did I just do a self-diagnosis?

Do you have a story where self-diagnosis got you in trouble?  Share it in the comments so we can all learn and laugh.