Fast forward to October 2014. I had to pick up my life and move away to Kansas. My whole life got uprooted, and me and my family took the long trip from Georgia to the plains. I had to leave my full-time and part-time job where I was comfortable. That’s just a sacrifice that comes with a military family, though. In my quest to Kansas, I thought about things, like where I would work and what I would do. Most of all, I continued to write. I thought about my legacy. Where do I want to leave a mark? What is my purpose?
All along it was right in front of me. I researched information after I read about a YouTuber who had self-published her own book. I was all over the Internet now, searching for more and more information on how I could self-publish the book I’d been working on.
Once I felt like I knew enough to get me by, I hit the publish button. I had published my first book. Journeys of the Heart. I barely told anyone. I was still shocked myself. When I searched for it and I found it on Amazon was when I noticed that I had indeed found my purpose.
That book has gone on to sell over five hundred copies with a mediocre cover, horrible editing, and unflattering formatting. I relaunched the book after a year and went on to sell over one thousand copies total. My relaunch included editing, a professional cover, and a well-formatted book.
Because people believed in me, I persevered. My first failed attempt at self-publishing was still successful. I feel my story was good, so my readers were intrigued.
- Cinquanta Cox-Smith
Finding your purpose shouldn’t be a marathon; you shouldn’t have to participate in a scavenger hunt to find it. When things don’t work for you, you should look at yourself. Are you blaming others for your shortcomings? Once you reevaluate your goals you need to find your way.
Getting out of your own way
• Stop being uncomfortable with your life choices
• It’s okay to fail because at least you tried
• Procrastination only leads you farther away from your dream
• No one is going give you exactly what you want
Your Life Purpose
• Learn new skills that can help you be better
• Time Management for Life Purpose
• Research things you are good at
• Vision Board and Goal Setting
In order to find your purpose, you should be actively doing things. If you are at a standstill, this is where you need to pay close attention and follow the list. I want to go over a few examples of things that you can do to actively prepare yourself as an author.
Research. I know I say this a lot, but it is truly my number one piece of advice. I have to give you this type of information because it’s not always in plain sight. You need to research numerous things about the genre you choose to write in.
Dialogue information, and how to create character outlines, are also important. A Google search is not always enough. Try going to a library to get an actual book that has years of history in it. The library is a very reliable source. You need to know things about creating location names and copyright laws.
Next, you should be doing whatever is set in your heart to do. If you are passionate about teaching content creators how to take their courses from online to an e-book, for example, you should find someone who you can possibly help to test out your skill.
Writing makes me happy, and it makes me excited. I love when I get inbox messages from people who tell me I’ve made a difference in their lives with my words. My heart melts. I try my best to write things that have meaning. I love fiction, but I feel that every story should have a lesson. Sometimes you have to go through the mud to get to the good part.
Knowing that you, in some way, shape, or form, have put your heart into your craft—and it’s reflecting on your reviews that should make your heart smile.
Never think that your purpose is only ONE thing. You may think you are called to just do one thing in life, but really, you can have many gifts. If your gift can be spread out into three or more sources of income, your focus will then shift to all three of your purposes.
Don’t believe that notion that you can only be one thing in life. Nope, you can certainly be more than one. Even if you don’t know what those others things are yet, it’s okay to try out options in new territories. Failure isn’t defeat.
Being able to try new things can open your eyes to a bigger purpose than the one you thought you had.
Here is a task that I want you to complete to help you find your purpose. Freewriting is what opens your mind and your heart. It doesn’t have to be grammatically correct or even make sense.
1. Take out a sheet of paper
2. At the top write the word purpose
3. Write any word or thought that may come to your mind
4. Repeat this step until you have an aha moment (cry, laugh, or smile)
Once you find out what your purpose is—and again it maybe more than the one—you need to start your new journey of living in your purpose.
/ How to start living in your purpose
When you start to feel that there isn’t an emptiness in your life, you have truly found your purpose and what makes you whole. I like to say living in your purpose makes you feel alive—it’s like starting a new life. You will feel fulfilled and that your life has more meaning than it did before you started living in your purpose. Doing the work brings you more joy and no longer sucks the energy out of you. When you aren’t living in your purpose, the things you are doing often suck you dry and everything tends to become negative, no matter how hard you to try to be positive. Doing something that you are destined to do sometimes wakes you out of your sleep because it lives deep inside of you.
No longer doubting yourself is a for sure way to know you are currently living in your purpose. All of the choices you make are done with confidence and pride. The worrying, insecurity, and old procrastination traits are gone out the window. You feel a sense of power knowing that the world will need you at your best, and that’s what you will now strive to be. You have people who are looking for the service you provide and your income starts to increase. You have now experienced an overflow in the financial area of your life.
You no longer feel the need to hide the creativity inside you that you were afraid to express. You can be your true self and share it with the world. You are now more patient when dealing with certain types of people, but you trust yourself enough to say no when you need to. The next steps in your life appear scary, but you trust your decisions more than ever.
One major way to know you are living in your purpose is that you no longer search or feel like you need approval from others. Your voice and courage are what matters to you. With those two things, you can conquer the world. You can now pitch your ideas and freely talk about the things you have created or written. Your characters are now a part of your life. You’re fearless, and you feel alive.
I used to struggle with becoming so frustrated that things weren’t working, but as soon as I started living in my purpose, everything that was meant for me came to light. The frustration vanished, and the opportunities were lined up at the door. Change. It’s a word I used to be very afraid of, but I no longer fear change. I embrace it. Once you accept things that you cannot change, it will allow you to create a lifestyle that you love.
Your