Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

Purpose

Purpose Redeems the Past, Part 1

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“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

Do you feel like you’ve wasted away so much of your life that you’re now living with regrets?  Where have the days gone?  When did I detour from the dreams and designs of my life and get in a rut?  Have I become a person as Thoreau described – one who is living a life of “quiet desperation”?  Fear and doubt cloud judgment, belief, and confidence. 

Take heart!  Your purpose is an antidote that redeems the past, inspires the present, and directs your future.  What once appeared as a waste of days transforms into a season of preparation.   There’s a full harvest of past life and work lessons that are now readied for gathering.  In due season you plant seeds that bear fruit in the future born from the lessons of the past.

Purpose provides boldness and clarity.   Deliverance from past transgressions may be too hard for you to imagine.  Yet, time and again, miraculous turnarounds begin when the simple act of articulating your purpose takes place.

Gordie Allen, CEO of Leads Plus, Inc., of Killarney, Florida had three brothers scattered across the US.  Since their parents had died the sons drifted apart and seldom spoke to each other.  Gordie attended an On-Purpose® Person workshop in 1994.  There he clarified his purpose and felt compelled to reconnect with his brothers. He devised a simple strategy.  Each Tuesday he would contact one of his brothers in order of birth.  So the first Tuesday he would contact his oldest brother, the second Tuesday his second oldest and so on.  Years would pass.  When Winston, his second oldest brother, died suddenly of a heart attack, Gordie was the only family member who could give a meaningful eulogy because through those years he had followed the routine.  Since the funeral the three remaining brothers have grown closer.

Purpose Causes You to Want to Make a Difference

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There are a variety of opinions about life and purpose.  Let me assure
you: You have a purpose!  You were born with it.  It is your undeniable
spiritual DNA.  Even if you don’t think you have a purpose – you do.
Designed into your life is your purpose.  Life is meaningful… your life
is meaningful and is making a difference.

You have a reason for being here.  Your unique contribution is needed
every day and in every way. You may never know the difference you
make.  You fit into the Grand Design.  Purpose is indifferent to
circumstances because in any situation your Purpose is at play and is
needed.  That means that you are important in a significant way and you
belong on this Planet.  You are making a difference with your life.

Our culture is one of immediate gratification; but that’s not the way
real life typically works.  Not necessarily knowing the difference we
make is a bit of a raw deal, isn’t it?  Here we are doing these good
deeds on the job and in life, and we don’t get noticed and recognized.
But as mothers have reminded us for centuries, “A job well done is its
own reward.”

[Read more…] about Purpose Causes You to Want to Make a Difference

My On-Purpose Pants!

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One of the oddities about an affluent society is our clothes closet.  Many of us who have gained a few pounds over the years have two and, sometimes, three sets of clothes.  I'm not talking seasonal clothing like winter and summer clothes.  No I'm talking normal, fat, and even fatter.  By the time most of us reach "even fatter," we've lost hope and finally given away the normal clothes settling for the fat and even fatter selection. 

Since I've been in the process of reprogramming my eating through the Take Shape For Life system, I've dropped over thirty pounds since April 3.  Yep, 30 pounds in 2 months.  My "even fatter" clothes began drooping on me within a couple of weeks.  After about a month, I was digging around into the "fat" set of clothes.  Now they're bagging. 

Over the weekend I bought two pair of men's pants and a pair of jeans – size 36!  My belts no longer fit either.  I've shrunk out of my 40s and 38s.  I was looking like a homeless guy with baggy pants.  Honestly, I can't remember wearing 36s.  There were none in my closet.  When I played a lot of competitive tennis – some 18 years ago – I was a size 34 tennis short.  So to wear a 36 is like rediscovering my youth.  What a joy for the baby boomer! 

I am still in my fat burning state.  Who knows, could 34s actually be in my life again?  Why not?  Honestly, the image of size 34 was so hopelessly erased from my self-perception that it is still hard for me to imagine it.  And I'm a guy with vision!  Yet I know it is not only possible, it is probable if I simply decide to commit to it.  My goal weight is 190.  At that weight the 36s will probably fit just fine.  Then again size 34 might be just the thing.

There isn't a day that goes by that someone doesn't ask me about my weight loss and tell me how good I look.  Never in my life have I had so many kind words spoken to me about my appearance.  Family, friends, and clients have asked for my help so I decided to get smarter about TSFL so I can better advise them rightly.  Plus, I love to learn.  I am such a fan of Take Shape For Life that I accepted the invitation by Dr. Andersen to be trained as a Health Coach.  I'll be trained by the best so I can help people be on-purpose with their health.  My wife, Judith, is really the person most interested in actually doing the day-to-coaching with coaching.  Together, we'll be learning.  I'm a zealot about this life changing program that has helped move me toward optimal health and away from disease.  I cannot NOT share it with you.

If you've done a want list and tournament on your Physical/Health Life Account and had "lose weight" show up as your top want, then TSFL may be the program just for you.  Do you have an on-purpose plan to trim down and keep off the weight?  Great!  If not, then let's connect… on-purpose.  Wouldn't you like to own a pair of on-purpose pants as well?

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Profile: St. Lukes Cathedral Church, Orlando, FL

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Cathedral
Can a church be on-purpose? 

The Very Reverend Anthony P. Clark and I worked together to articulate the Purpose, Vision, Missions, and Values for this Downtown Orlando church. 

Purpose: Revealing Majesty

Vision: Shaping Living Stones

Missions:  Gather, Heal, Send, Renew

Attached is Pier Review, a publication by St. Luke’s Cathedral Church (pictured to the left). Beginning on page 2 is a more in-depth article by Dean Clark about being an on-purpose church.  You’ll also see that the cover article is about being on-purpose as well.

Yes, a church can be on-purpose.  The purpose statement for St. Luke’s requires a bit of historic perspective.  During the Dark Ages when many of the world’s great cathedrals will built the goal was for the common person to draw inspiration from the majesty of Christ.  These buildings were to be modest reflections of God’s glory despite their scale and beauty.  Here the average person could begin to get a sense of who God is.  While the physical presence provided a visual message and statement, it was truly the intent of the designers to stir the hearts of worshipers as to the overwhelming greatness of God and his love for them.  It seemed only natural then that Dean Clark seized upon such a powerful and meaningful articulation of a purpose statement like: Revealing Majesty. 

Please download and read the articles to learn more.

Download pr_june.pdf

Time Management: Myth or Missing Link

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Too much to do and not enough time to get it all done.  For most of us that means it
is time to turn to time management.  Courses and seminars in time
management, software packages, PDAs like the Palm, and good old
fashioned daily planners like a DayTImer, Franklin Covey Planner, or Day
Runner, all hold great promise to help you get your life on track.  And
they do!  Kinda.  Mostly.

Time management is a smokescreen masking an underlying
problem.  Sure time management systems allow you to manage events, set priorities, plan your day, and schedule your appointments.  But are you making progress in life or are you just moving around meetings and activities?  Have you just become more efficient at being ineffective?

Solve the underlying challenge of why you need time
management and your time management problems narrow significantly.  In the end, it isn’t the tools and technology or time management that make a difference.  It is you!

[Read more…] about Time Management: Myth or Missing Link

Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth

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Oprah Winfrey’s recent foray with Eckhart Tolle, the author the book, A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose has certainly engaged a huge segment of the population.  Tapping into people’s hunger for spiritual depth is one thing.  Delivering on the promise is another.

Here are some of the Great Question of Life that are often asked:

  • What is the purpose of life?
  • How do I find my purpose in life?
  • What is the meaning of life?
  • Is life meaningful?

[Read more…] about Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth

What Does It Mean to Be On-Purpose?

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The On-Purpose® Approach is best understood by reading my books The On-Purpose Person and The On-Purpose Business.  They provide a fundamental understanding of this movement of hearts into meaningful action.  Nothing else in the marketplace provides such a broad, yet integrated lifestyle.

On-Purpose® is a holistic and integrated lifestyle advocating the fullness of life.
On-Purpose® is a method with everyday tools to build a life, a career, or a business.
On-Purpose® is a point of view that life and work are by design and meaningful.
On-Purpose® is a light turned on to shine into the darkness of the heart of one’s heart.
On-Purpose® is a way to answer The Great Questions of Life.
On-Purpose® is to live with intention and personal accountability within a larger fellowship.
On-Purpose® is to know one’s purpose and to align one’s life with that purpose.
On-Purpose® is living a called life, instead of a driven life.
On-Purpose® is spiritual in that it answers the deepest longings for significance and belonging.
On-Purpose® is hopeful, positive, and relevant to contemporary challenges.
On-Purpose® is shalom from the Jewish concept of peace that comes from being one with God.
On-Purpose® is to clearly know one’s identity in Christ and to joyfully live in this manner.
On-Purpose® is to seek God first and to center one’s life on The Great Commandment.
On-Purpose® is seeking to meet us where we are and to live as Jesus did in his day.
On-Purpose® is the alignment of your heart, head, and hands within your highest values.
On-Purpose® is practical because it can be lived long term and moment to moment.
On-Purpose® is giving from strength even in times of weakness.
On-Purpose® is the difference in people who make a difference™.