Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

on-purpose

Plant a smile on your face and enjoy a garden of grins in return.

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I like to walk around with a big grin on my face. That’s easier said than done when you have lips like mine. Have you seen my lips? Take a look at my picture above, look closely….do you see lips?  I’m lip challenged… lip impaired… lipless. All the skin for my lips must have moved north to my nose. I do have a, shall we say, distinctive nose. With my lips all on the inside of my mouth, walking around with a big grin is work for this face.

But it’s worth it!

Here’s where that grin grows into fun. I’ll be walking and grinning down a crowded downtown street or in an airport. Some people avoid making eye contact for fear I’m some kind of stalker I guess. Others are obliviously lost in their thoughts. But here’s the on-purpose payoff. A lot of people smile back. And some even say, “Hi!” For the price of a smile, I get to enjoy the bounty from the garden of grins I plant as I walk.

Try it and see how it is to be on-purpose.

The present problems you face may be the face you present.

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The CEO of a company in Houston, TX engaged me to do an On-Purpose program at her headquarters. Fifteen executives gathered around the conference room table.

The COO was a woman named Barb. Early in the program she caught my eye. She had this look! My interpretation of “the look” was a mix of anger and confusion. What had I done to deserve this wrath? It was disturbing my concentration.

As a presenter I tend to home in on certain people as barometers of the group to see if I’m connecting. Barb had grabbed my attention. Could I win her over in the early minutes of a program that was scheduled to go all morning?

After 30 minutes of “the look” from her… I couldn’t take it any longer. I gingerly confronted Barb. I asked, “Have I said something that offended you?” 

“No, I’m loving this on-purpose stuff!”

“Oh!” I was perplexed. “The way you were looking at me I thought you were upset with me.”

She laughed and her beauty truly showed. “This” and she pointed to her face while giving me the look “is my thinking face.”

A gasp erupted in the room from 14 other people and me. In that moment, we had all gleaned the same insight. The only problem was Barb had been working there for three years with these people. They all thought she was upset with them, too, but for years.

Barb now explains to people she meets that she has a “thinking face.” You can only imagine what a difference this has made in Barb’s life.

The present problems you face may be the face you present. Do you or someone you know have a “thinking face” that may be keeping you from being on-purpose?

“A ‘Balanced’ Life” a Poem on Life by Kevin W. McCarthy

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A "Balanced" Life

A balanced life is what I sought,

Only to have a life that was not.

My battle for balance was constantly fought,

Yet, time and again I found myself caught.

 

I planned, I managed, I strove to obtain.

With burnout, frustration, and a worn out brain.

Time I did “manage” with feelings distraught,

Where the harder I tried, the less I got.

 

A balanced life captured my thought.

Advice and coaching I often sought.

So coaches and counselors I did retain

To inspire, encourage, and help me retrain.

 

I listened and learned and did as I ought,

Yet my sense of my self continued to rot.

Day after day I did not obtain,

A life in balance – I could not sustain.

 

Daily my Father saw my deep pain,

Finally, he asked of my earnest campaign.

I told of the experts and advice I had bought.

He listened long. Then, I asked what he thought.

 

“A balanced life you will not obtain.

It’s an illusion sure to drive you insane.”

About the balanced life I so anxiously sought.

In essence he said, “All is for naught.”

 

Could my experts’ advice be words all in vain!

Dad’s contrary words were too simple and plain.

Defensive and righteous, I took a pot shot,

“If not balance, what else have you got?”


He answered, “A balanced life is what you’ve sought.

Instead, try this one simple thought:

Live your life integrated.  It will go as it ought.”

A different perspective my Father had brought.

 

Intrigued and delighted his words fell as rain,

To my parched soul truly going insane.

How do I integrate?  How do I maintain?

Were questions resounding deep in my brain.

 

“In the beginning, when you were begotten

A purpose was given, you’ve long since forgotten.

Search your heart and all its terrain.

Your purpose lies dormant, yet steadfast and fain.

 

“Ignoring your purpose causes work with strain.

Why worry about balance if it isn’t germane!

Align to your purpose, live as you ought.

Listen, my love, to the words that I’ve taught.”

 

His words were startling, and hard to contain

For Balance, my idol, he had just slain. 

No more was my stomach tied tight in a knot.

For a balanced life I no longer sought.

 

In the heart of my heart I had learned a lot

Of ordering life on Dad’s integrating thought.

Gone were failings and feelings distraught

Where the harder I tried, the less I got.

 

I’m sparked by my purpose so simple and plain.

Integration, not balance, now keeps me so sane.

The gift of hope in my heart does remain.

For being on-purpose I can surely sustain.

 

© 2011, Kevin W. McCarthy


What Might You Miss?

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For the longest time you've promised yourself you would work the
process in The On-Purpose Person, right?  But you haven't!  Today you make good to yourself on your promise.

Join me for The On-Purpose Leader, a six-week
experience in being on-purpose that can transform your life.  Here's your
chance to do right by yourself.  You will:

  • Clarify and organize your life around what matters most
  • Write your statements of purpose, vision, missions, and values
  • Gather, mix, and mingle with other On-Purpose Persons
  • Gain membership to a 24/7 private web group supporting your journey
  • Ask questions of Kevin on conference calls and in forums and
    discussion groups
  • Have a workbook with everything you need to work the process

Register
Here For Session One.  It is free and no credit card is
required for registration.   You will need to be registered in order to
get passwords emailed to you for both the live session and the replay. 

Enroll today in the full six-week experience and take advantage of the early bird savings (use code: EARLYBIRD28).  Enroll with a friend and your investment is $1.80 each per day!  Click on Enroll
today,  scroll down, and look for the Companion Special (2 persons for only $150). 

Register
Here For Session One.  It is free and no credit card is
required for registration.  You will need to be registered in order to
get passwords to both the live session and the replay.

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Who Will Awaken Your Worth? Janet Cronstedt Will!

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Janet Cronstedt: An On-Purpose Person Profile

Janet Cronstedt is a dear friend and business associate. When she turned 50 she came to an On-Purpose Person workshop and wrote her purpose statement of “To the Glory of God, I exist to serve by Awakening Worth.” (Read her story here.) Since then, Janet has made more and better choices in her missions to be aligned with her purpose, moving toward her vision, and living true to her values. She’s the first to tell you it was a breakthrough moment in her life and being on-purpose is a high standard.

Thanks to Janet, I was booked as the keynote speaker for Take Shape Life Convention in July of 2008. I had the breakthrough of becoming a client and losing 50 pounds and having kept most of it off since. As a result of attending the convention with me, my wife, Judith, became a health coach with Take Shape For Life and is now helping many others get to a healthy weight and create the healthy habits to keep the weight off, often get off obesity medications, and be rewarded psychologically and financially. Janet provided our family with a breakthrough.

Janet is an amazing speaker from the platform because she leads with her heart. Invest 19 minutes and watch this two-part video from Janet’s speech at the TSFL Convention from 2009. You’ll find it inspiring, hard-hitting, and, most of all, one that awakens worth. Thanks Janet for being you!

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Part 2

 

On-Purpose Profile: Shakira Sings For Education

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ShakiraShakira via last.fm

One's education and life trajectory are highly correlated.  For some reason, however, many segments of our US population (children and parents) view schooling as a prison sentence instead of an opportunity of a lifetime.

Let me assume you don't know of Shakira, a international pop sensation from Colombia, South America, not South Carolina.  This young woman's remarkable voice, talent, and moves (She Wolf song video) have catapulted her to the top of the song charts. 

Shakira, gets it, however, when it comes to education – she is pouring much of her earnings into education by founding a school in her hometown of Barranquilla.  The multiple Grammy winner has gifted $6 million through her foundation, Pies Descalzos, which means "barefoot" in
Spanish, to create a school to help 150 kids get ahead in life.

And if you're tempted to think Shakira is simply an empty-headed, manufactured public relations image, let me encourage you to watch the short video (below) of a speech she gave in the United Kingdom at Oxford Union about the importance of education.

Shakira, you are an on-purpose person!  Thank you for converting your pop
culture fortunes into dollars dedicated to improving the culture of your country.  Your legacy will live in the lives of those children and the
generations to follow.

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On-Purpose Leaders Workshop

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DSC00054

The On-Purpose Leader program based on The On-Purpose Person was a meaningful event.  Here are the attendees after the event.  All were from the East Coast from South Florida to Baltimore, MD.   We had a tax lawyer, several health coaches, a COO, entrepreneur, several people from financial services and insurance, two married couples, and an HR executive. 

The joy of these programs for me is the chance to get to know new and existing people in a deep and profound manner beyond the typical chit-chat.  There's an intimacy and closeness that happens in these events.

Cindy Hedgepeth (red blouse) did a fabulous job of co-facilitating the program with me.  This globe trotting trainer is gracious enough to take a day and work with me on these programs.  

I look forward to seeing each of these participants again.  One of the things we do is offer a 50% discount to returning alumni and a guest on a space available basis.  I have a feeling we will see some of them again as they go to the next level of being on-purpose.  In the meantime, please keep them all in your prayers as they've taken some remarkable steps to examine their lives and invest in making their futures on-purpose.  Special thanks also to Mary Richardson and John Smith who volunteered to pray for the group, Cindy, and me in preparation and during the program. 

Welcome these new On-Purpose Leaders!

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin