Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

Career & Work

Profiles On-Purpose: Janet Cronstedt is Awakening Worth

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Janet Cronstedt and I began doing business together in 1999. Quickly we became friends and have remained that way since. We do very little business together but we remain connected thanks to email and cell phones.

She is one on-the-go lady these days. Janet was the Senior Vice President of Take Shape For Life, the health coach company and plan that helped me lose my 50 pounds a few years ago. In fact, Janet introduced me to Dr. Wayne Andersen, the Co-Founder of TSFL, who engaged me to speak at their National Convention.

Below is the full article Janet wrote in her weekly column for TSFL called From My Heart to Yours. Her story of becoming an on-purpose person humbles and excites me. Enjoy getting to know my friend, Janet.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

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“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both!”
James A. Michener

When I turned 50 my husband asked me what I wanted for my BIG birthday. I responded with, “I want to go away on a weekend retreat to Orlando, FL, which promises that I will walk away with a clear idea about what on Earth I am here for.”

Try saying that to your spouse of 30 years! There is not a doubt in my mind that Bob would have so preferred I said, “A piece of jewelry.”

That weekend and my discovery at the Power Up On-Purpose seminar, hosted by Kevin McCarthy, author of The On-Purpose Person, changed my life. It led me to leave a comfortable job, affiliate with a new company 3,000 miles from home, and for the first time in my 58 years, live on my own 50% of the time. Married at 20 and entirely dependent on my wonderful husband, that was probably the most difficult part of it all for me!

My purpose, awakening worth, continues to guide me, stretch me, shape me, challenge me, scare me, excite and reward me in amazing ways. I exist at TSFL to awaken worth. YOU matter to me and awakening your worth gives me joy every day in every way. I enjoy every precious moment!

As Dr. A says so well in Chapter 21 of Dr. A’s Habits of Health, “until there is purpose, life lacks vibrancy and is at some level, joyless.”

Chapter 21 ROCKS. Read and re-read it. Share it. Let it lead you to purpose. You and those you touch will never be the same.

Better together,
Janet Cronstedt
SVP

“Without fulfillment, we can’t achieve optimal health.” — Dr. Wayne Andersen

Learning to Lead Starts With Yourself

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Watch this video interview I did with Factor77 to gain insight into on-purpose concepts.  Some of the questions asked and answered are below.

  • Was there something you went through personally that made you write your book?
  • What is your methodology for taking a step back in today’s world and being able to figure out what the heck you're doing?
  • Why do you say a balanced life is a myth?
  • So if you're doing what you love there should be no balance?
  • How do you go out and find the right people to keep you motivated?
  • How do you know when it’s time to stop and look around at what you're doing and take that first step?
  • How do you feel satisfied at the end of the day instead of stressed out?

I wanted to have a purpose.

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I wanted to have a purpose.   This was the front page headline of the March 18, 2009 Orlando Sentinel.  The article by Kate Santich, a staff writer, portrays how people out of work are making the positive decision to volunteer more and are finding surprising rewards.

Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI (Business Network International) says, "Givers Gain."  Having invested a couple of hours with me on the telephone on two separate occasions, I can tell you this man lives his motto.

To the people featured in Ms. Santich's front page article – Larry Szrom, Janet Morris, Claudia Mayes, and Yesennia Cruz, I must give a tip of the hat for taking their job loss and turning it into someone else's gain.  Yes, givers gain.  What they are sowing is returning to them in fresh ways.

So thanks Kate Santich for some great reporting, sharing these personal stories, and seeing good in the midst of loss.  Thanks to those featured in the article for providing hope, inspiration, and direction for those frozen due to a job loss and financial stress.  Those featured express a virtue of being an on-purpose person – service.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Are You Serving on a Board of Directors?

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Many of us who are business owners get invited to serve on boards.  We're used to running things, not governing via policy through the CEO (for profit) or Executive Director (not for profit).   The role of being a director is deeply misunderstood by most of us who serve on boards. 

Recently, I was quoted in the following article in California Executive.  Perhaps this will shed some light on your board involvements.

Now More Than Ever, Company Boards Must Respect Boundaries

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Totally Off-Purpose… I so relate!

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Many readers think I'm an "A" type personality who is extraordinarily organized and has it altogether. Guess again. Remember writers write about their struggles.  Enjoy!

To watch more commentary on real life go to http://www.ingredientx.com/. 

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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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

On-Purpose® Radio Interview

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Listen for free to a 23 minute radio interview (MP3) with Kevin W. McCarthy by James Burkhardt on radio station WORL in Orlando.  James asks great questions regarding business matters for small and medium sized companies.  Join James and Kevin on Focus Orlando Radio Show as they talk about marketing, people, financing, target audiences, and business growth.  Learn how to do business on-purpose.

Recorded on May 10, 2008