By Bayo Ogunmupe
This is a method of finding a life purpose that will enable you put a dent in the Universe. It is a three step way that anyone can use to build the life of undying fame and renown. By putting a dent in the universe we mean the achievement of creativity and inventiveness like the inventor of the atomic bomb Albert Einstein, the inventor of the world wide web Tim Berners-Lee, the inventors of the Internet Robert Kahn and Vint Cerf, and the inventor of the iPhone Steve Jobs. The purpose of causing a dent in the universe coaches call the hardest goal to coach for. Purpose is a great thing to have, but nobody knows where to get it.
One way to find life purpose is to be born lucky. I met one of such people recently. She is a chef and Nutrition host on radio. She told me she knew she wanted to be a chef from age 14. So all of her life choices were directed toward cooking. Besides, her mother loved cooking and as a replica of her mum, she just knew cooking was her natural career. This lady compared her innate sense of purpose to her children who were struggling to pick a profession at the university. Her children didn't know what to do with their lives. So every course major looked equally good and equally bad at the same time. The problem with not having purpose is that if even you make a choice to go in one direction, there isn't any way to know it was the right choice. So you end up having doubts.
So how do you find your purpose if you don't already know it? The answer is experience. You go out to look for the right career or vocation to follow. Certainly, you cannot find your purpose sitting on the sofa. It took me decades to find my life purpose. I didn't know there was a system, so, my journey took a lot longer than it should. In High School, I fell in love with History, Literature and Economics, instead of opting for career courses for law, petroleum engineering or medicine. After securing a let my people go meal ticket from the university, This led to a series of unsatisfactory jobs as contract teacher in the suburbs of Kano, now carved out as Jigawa State. Those jobs were so trivial with students not willing to learn and authorities not ready to equip the schools for academic or lifelong learning.
It was easy to see that this wasn't my life purpose because the work was neither challenging nor satisfactory. At this time, rural life forced me to read, listen to radio: the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America put me my toes. Then, the Internet, the world wide web and online journalism burst into view: Letter From America by Alistair Cooke, a weekly hour long review of the world by the BBC. Then, for the life of scholarship, journalism and fame thus adopted as my life purpose, I had to update my knowledge. First, it was the Graduate Institute of International Affairs, University of Geneva, Switzerland, that didn't open the doors. Finally, it was the study of economic analysis, public diplomacy and project management from the London School of Economics, that I thought would do the trick. Though progress has been slow but it very satisfactory. The struggle continues.
My new purpose entered me into a checkered career as a writer and editor of a myriad of newspapers and magazines, ending as author, columnist and blogger. I look back and see that I have always been interested in creativity and human performance. That's why I watch sports, follow technology and business news. It is also how I approach work, always trying to emulate the work habits of Einstein, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. All the three pieces of the puzzle just fit: passion, format and result. It took me decades of reading, asking the right questions and listening to men of experience. Wisdom comes from experience. So, you can either be like my acquaintance the chef who was born knowing. Or you are like me, drifting through life until I had found all the pieces. The individual pieces are small enough to cultivate from today. One: passion, what interests you can only be fulcrum of your purpose.
Look for a theme that runs through a large part of your life. I made an inventory of all hobbies and genres of media consumption. Human creativity ran through all from athletics to programming. Many people have noted that mastery increases passion. Just start by finding an interest that has been consistent for more than ten years. Work on such a conscientious interest, the odds are that you develop deep passion for it. That's where your purpose lies. Two, result. What is your end game, is it money or just family comfort? Is it to put a dent in the universe and become a legendary contributor to human progress? There isn't a universal answer, you have to find out for yourself. For me, it is following the lines of the German statesman Otto von Bismarck, Mohatma Gandhi of India and the British statesman Winston Churchill. Three: Format, this deals with the type of work you are doing. For me it is writing, talking and organizing people. For you it could be technology. It is just those three steps that will gain you your purpose. Purpose is not an academic exercise, you cannot experiment it. You have to experience it, it is from within.
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