Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

Profiles On-Purpose®

Are You Thankful For Your Trials?

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Thanksgiving in the United States is a time of reflection on our many blessings.   Has 2009 been a challenging year thus far and are your prospects… well, let's not go there for now.  So in these times, what can we be thankful for in the midst of the suffering?

In today's On-Purpose® Minute, let's explore a few reasons why trials are reason enough for being thankful.

PLEASE listen to this remarkable (link is here) message by my friend, Scott Alexander.  Are you finding the gold nuggets in the mine of suffering?  Scott's message was given at Willow Creek Church in Winter Springs, FL.   Steve Brown of Key Life Ministries chimes in as well after Scott's message. If you've never heard Steve, then you are in for a double treat.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Casting Crowns Music

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Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian band that just had an article written about them entitled Casting Crowns On Purpose.  In the article, the front man, Mark Hall, shares what it means to have a "life on purpose."  He is really close to understanding the power and potential of being on-purpose. 

Back in the late 1980s when I was teaching about on-purpose in the positive, it was very novel.  Until that time, most people would use on purpose to negate a negative, such as, "I didn't mean to spill my milk on purpose."  I knew then, as I still do today that I am pioneering a positive concept whose time has yet to come.  Even today, most people are seeking their purpose, rather than the follow through of living or being on-purpose.

I envisioned the day when the words and concept of being on-purpose would be in the popular culture.  Well, it continues to creep into everyday use more and more as the Casting Crowns article indicates.  I must admit a certain measure of joy mixed with disappointment because
the general use of purpose is misunderstood and the concept / lifestyle
of being on-purpose is used far too cavalierly. 

Pastor Rick Warren's work, The Purpose Driven Life popularized the use of purpose; unfortunately, it was a watered down version of the concept.  Oh well, I persevere in this calling trusting the results to God.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Fall In Love With Your Life

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Maria Carter and I met at an On-Purpose Person workshop I conducted in San Diego around 1995.  She bubbled with enthusiasm for life and people.  She has a voice and spirit that is positively uplifting.

At the time we met, Maria had a dream of helping people learn to love themselves more fully.   I'm proud to Fall In Love With Your Life book cover art recommend her book, Fall In  Love With Your Life Forever.  This work is an expression of her purpose and is true gift to women who struggle with their inner critic.  Go to her website and order the book today. 

Guys, it is a great gift to give to women in your life.  Wives, daughters, and mothers alike will benefit from calming their self critical voice and allowing their true selves to emerge on-purpose.  Not only will her life be better, but so will yours.   If momma is happy, then everyone is happy.  ; )   

Crown Ministries Founder Howard Dayton

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Howard Dayton is one of the creators of Crown Financial Ministries.  I've been blessed to participate in several Crown Ministries programs over the years.  In fact, my Crown Group still meets regularly to study, learn, grow, and support each other in life and work.  

Howard and I first connected back in 1993 when The On-Purpose Person was first released.  I remember having lunch with him and being impressed with his gracious manner, genuine faith, and sense of call upon his life.  Here was an on-purpose person par excellence.  At the time, I remember Howard's excitement that over 27,000 people that year had participated in the Crown Financial Ministries flagship program:  Biblical Financial Study.  Today, there are probably 27,000 per week doing this program.   It is life transforming.  Do this program! 

Over the years, Howard and my paths would cross from time to time with chance meetings in airports and such.   Wednesday, Howard was the keynote speaker at the stewardship dinner for my church – All Saints Episcopal- Winter Park. We shared a brief reunion. I was delighted to have this photo snapped so I could share it with you.  I treasure his leadership and example.

Few of us will ever have the opportunity to transform so many lives.  So meet my friend Howard Dayton and give thanks for his life and ministry.  By the way, October 7 was his 66th birthday.  Happy birthday Howard! 

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

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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

Profiles On-Purpose: John Francis

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"Part of the mystery of walking is that the destination is inside us
and we really don't know when we arrive until we arrive."
John Francis

John Francis has a remarkable personal and professional story. He is an intelligent man with a warm and gentle spirit that I personally find engaging and attractive. I'm profiling him here, however, not necessarily for his vocation within the environmental field; that is noble in his niche. More importantly, here's a man who has silently and literally walked into his calling only to discover the importance that going more deeply into who he is requires change, release, and willingness to leave the past behind and to step into the present and future in spite of the risks of losing one's known identity.
This video featuring John Francis on TED is compelling – a 20-minute peek into a man making a difference based on the strength of his convictions, yet recognizing how his strength had become a prison. Toward the very end of John Francis' talk, you'll learn life lessons about the On-Purpose® process that is always underway in our lives.

One day in 1983, John Francis stepped out on a walk. For the next 22 years, he trekked and sailed around North and South America, carrying a message of respect for the Earth — for 17 of those years, without speaking. During his monumental, silent trek, he earned an MA in environmental studies and a PhD in land resources.
Today his Planetwalk foundation consults on sustainable development and works with educational groups to teach kids about the environment.

Jim Weiss Radio Interview

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My family and I have been great fans of Jim Weiss of Greathall Productions for many years.

Greathall Productions helps to produce Great Minds!  Our children, Charles and Anne, grew up listening to the amazing story telling of Jim Weiss.  Here’s a man whose voice wraps around a character’s personality to bring it to life.  Jim’s ability to capture the essence of meaning of a story in a few choice words is remarkably educational and entertaining.  We read to the kids when they were little tykes.  Afterward, we would often put on a Jim Weiss tape to lull them to sleep.  We continued the practice until they got older and could read on their own.  Their interest in our reading to them waned but
their desire for a good bedtime story never ceased.   As teens I would often pass by their rooms at night and hear Charles or Anne listening to  Jim’s soothing voice and fabulous tales as they drifted off to sleep.  Now donning headphones, I haven’t a clue what they’re listening to and I’m going to bed before they are!

A cool story about Jim reveals how he owns his stories.  He was a guest on my radio show.  Rather than impose upon him to tell a story on the air, I brought into the studio an audio tape of Robin Hood.  I gave it to the audio engineer to play coming out of a break so listeners could hear Jim.   The tape played for about 15 seconds and then jammed.  Jim offered to finish the story live.  He picked it right up, went into character, and delivered it flawlessly.  You should have seen the eyes around the studio; Alan, my co-host on the show was blown away… as was I.

Jim Weiss is truly a treasure for every generation in your family.  Grandparents and parents alike will enjoy sitting with the kids listening to Greathall Productions and discussing the stories.   Do yourself a
favor, visit Greathall Productions, and buy a CD or ten!

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