Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

passion

Are You In The Midst Of A Tough Shift? (part 3)

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(This video was originally recorded on Valentine’s Day. Every day should engage your heart.)

Purpose is a matter of the heart!

Far too often we tend to think of the heart as a weak or soft place subject to vulnerability. Nothing is further from the truth. We’re most at risk when we don’t know the depth of our heart or who we are.

Your 2-word purpose statement is an expression of your heart that gives your head a way to use, remember, and engage the true strength of who you are. Not knowing your heart is a disadvantage avoidable only by you.

Would you like help in discovering your 2-word Personal Purpose Statement?

Go to ONPURPOSE.me. ONPURPOSE.me logoThis online app will guide you through a process of selecting a purpose statement, plus you’ll receive a 10-email course that’s practical to being on-purpose. The limited-time reduced launch price is currently available.

The graphic I’m using to illustration the heart and head relationship is called The On-Purpose Pal. He’s introduced in The On-Purpose Business Person and has advanced to a big part of all things On-Purpose. The “OP Pal” graces The On-Purpose Poster that clarifies the language of leadership: Purpose, Vision, Missions, and Values.

How Do You Manage Disappointment?

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Disappointment is inevitable but it need not be debilitating.

How you manage it, however, is a choice with profound implications to your well-being, relationships, and opportunities. The easy route is to react negatively and stay there, but what good is that? You have a better choice.

I got to thinking about the word: disappointment.

It led me to this chain of words: disappointment > disappoint > point > appoint > appointment. The common word is “point” as in a mark or dot or direction. When we’re disappointed, the mark has been missed. It does, however, provide an opportunity for redirection.

What if disappointment is really intended to direct us to a greater appointment?

So when we stay in a negative place, aren’t we the ones who increase the price of the initial disappointment and risk missing where we’ve been appointed to shine?

(To see another use of “the point” you can watch this 9-minute video about the punctuation of your life. Is your life a question mark, period, or exclamation point? It is an excerpt from a keynote speaking engagement I did a few years ago.)

The holiday season sets high expectations, which can lead to great disappointment.

How do you turn that around?

As one year rolls into the next, take some time to refocus on-purpose.

I would love to hear your words of advice for getting unstuck when you find yourself disappointed with something important.

What works for you in managing disappointment? Share your thoughts in the comment box below. What you have to say may be the very words that help transform another person’s perspective. Now don’t disappoint me!  : )

Are You Making Half-Hearted Attempts?

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What are the “benefits” of making a half-hearted attempt? There are none! It is merely an action of hedging one’s bets, a means for buying time, a time-filler, or an occupation until something better comes along.

Therein lies the problem! We’ll trade our precious lives hoping that luck will strike us with something better coming along or working out in our favor. This blind optimism is often professed as faith. In truth, it is sophomoric (wise fool) with roots in victimhood—a sure path to discouragement, disillusionment, and heartbreak. Why be half-hearted?

The alternative? Be strategic. Discern what matters and why. Trials and errors will still have their way with you; however, you’ll have a context of understanding whereby your lessons will be absorbed more readily and more fully learned. Be in growth mode. Resist the gravity of decay and lead your life from your heart—the strength of who you are. Exercise your purpose!

Yes, at first, it will probably be slow-going and awkward. But you can learn to live your life strategically, wisely, and in alignment with God’s design. Practice it and soon you’ll master the art of living by design instead of haphazardly.

If you find yourself living half-heartedly, then get a clue! Now is your time to become more strategic. Grab this free, wonderful, and simple-to-use tool called The Discovery Guide Preview that includes forms for “Want Lists and Tournaments” to help you become more clear about what matters most to you. Discover the margin and places in your life where focus and clarity will move you into a posture toward whole-heartedness. You’ll be far more prepared to commit fully into being you and to live by design—being on-purpose!

More resources:

The On-Purpose Person: Making Your Life Make Sense is a great starting point to begin the process of becoming who you are truly meant to be and become. (Kindle and Hardcover available.)

On a very limited basis, I am available for one-on-one coaching to walk with you through The On-Purpose Process. Contact me to learn more.

Purpose Redeems the Past, Part 2

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Thelma was working with a woman named Shirley about a purpose and plan for her life using On-Purpose® tools and methods.  In the course of the coaching, Thelma asked her client to write down her career aspirations.  Shirley refused to allow herself that luxury because her dreams were gone based on some choices she had made in years passed.  This inner city single mom of two children under ten years of age worked two jobs to just barely make ends meet.  She worked a clerical job during the day, went home to fix dinner for her kids in the evening, and then went to work as an orderly at a mental hospital at night.  This exhausting routine was her life.  There was no emotional margin for dreaming.

Thelma is a strong woman who as a single mom herself raised a son and a daughter.  She refused to take no for an answer from Shirley.  Finally Shirley relented under Thelma’s unwavering insistence.  Turns out that this woman was musically gifted.  She could read music, play any instrument, and dreamed of creating an inner city symphony orchestra for at-risk kids.  She would teach them to play instruments and what it meant to be a part of a musical ensemble.  This would be a way to a better life for those kids.

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