Tara West » conviction

3 Steps to Defining Your Life Purpose

Tara — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:57:06 +0000

One way to truly know yourself and experience fulfilment is to get in touch with your Life Purpose. With the frenetic pace of life, business and career pressures, it can be easy to be distracted and start living a life that isn’t aligned with your purpose in life. Have you ever felt miserable and as if your life is going nowhere, or not in the direction you thought it would?

Your Life Purpose works hand-in-hand with your values and, the two combined, give you the unwavering belief in what you stand for and ensures you live your life by design, not someone else’s making – you are happier and fulfilled when doing what’s most important to you AND expressing it in every part of your life.

Richard Lieder, who wrote ‘The Power of Purpose’ said it best:

“Purpose is the conscious choice of what, where, and how to make a positive contribution to our world. It is the theme, quality or passion we choose to center our lives around.”

Here are 3 steps to defining your Life Purpose:

1) No-one can define your life purpose for you. Your life purpose is something within you which firstly begins in deciding that YOU matter – YOU are unique and different from everyone else and YOU are special. For 15 minutes each morning, take some time out to sit in a room free of distractions. Look upon this time as an opportunity to sit quietly and concentrate on just being in the moment. Observe your breath and let your mind empty itself of trying to sort out the day’s problems. Instead, focus on you and experience a comfort within yourself. This may not come naturally at first and you may find your mind filling with your ‘to do list’. When you do, stop, concentrate on an object in the room or the nice scenery outside and clear your mind.

2) To find out what matters to you and define your life purpose, it requires delving into your life from various angles to discover any matching themes. Block out an hour in your diary, then find a nice quiet spot to answer these questions. In doing so, listen to your inner intuition – the little voice inside you. What does it immediately say to you? Write it down and forget about making the words or sentences perfect. Just jot down what comes to your mind.

What do you love doing in your spare time or when working?
What activities are you currently doing that you enjoy?
What do you naturally do well?
What are your 10 greatest successes throughout your life so far? (Note: this isn’t what someone else thinks, this is what YOU think)
What causes do you feel passionate about?
What are the 10 most important lessons you have learned in life?
What things do people normally ask your help for?
If money was not an issue, what daydream would you be fulfilling right now?
Imagine you are writing your own eulogy. What things do you want to be remembered for at the end of your life?
Picture yourself at 80 or 90 years old. You are happy, content with life, and feeling very blessed at everything life has gifted to you. Your mind wanders to your family, your friends and other relationships and you give a happy sigh… your heart skips a beat remembering everything you have achieved in your life. Reflecting on everything your life has been made up of over the last 80/90 years, what matters to you most?
How would your life be different today if you knew it was impossible to fail?

3) Once you have answered your questions it is time to look for the common themes that have emerged. What patterns do you see? What seems to matter the most to you? If you are unsure of what the patterns are or what they mean, then consider asking a family member, friend or coach to help you in defining the themes.

Once you have defined your life purpose, don’t let it sit in your head. Next step is to write your Mission Statement. By writing down your own personal mission statement that is your life purpose, you are giving yourself permission to live by your life purpose and providing a tangible reminder each day of who you are and how you are living your life by your own design.

A Mission Statement is made of three parts.

1) Your talents and values – this is the essence of who you are

2) What you wish to accomplish and what contributions you believe you bring to the world – yourself and others

3) Quantifying your life purpose – the measurable results you wish to achieve by living out your life purpose – i.e. how will you know when you are truly living your life purpose?

When writing your life purpose use positive words and eliminate such things as “I should”. There are no ‘shoulds’ in a life purpose… your purpose is made of ‘I will”. Express yourself in the present tense, even if you may not necessarily be living all aspects of your life purpose in the present tense, at this point in time.

For brainstorming purposes, this is a great site to view what other folks have come up with for their personal mission statement:

http://www.missionstatements.com/personal_mission_statements.html

Once you have written your Mission Statement that clearly expresses your Life Purpose, don’t hide it in a draw. Display it proudly on your wall where you can see it everyday. If you wanted to take it one step further – and why not? – then consider getting your Mission Statement designed and printed, then framed. The design could encapsulate in a visual way how you live your life purpose.

I just love what George Bernard Shaw has to say about a purpose:

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

Are you waiting for the world to make you happy, or are you going to design your own purpose and mission in life to make yourself happy?

Working with a coach can assist you in uncovering your true potential and accelerate your success. Get a free introductory session to learn more.

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Trip Down Memory Lane

Tara — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:55:10 +0000

Tonight I took a trip down memory lane and watched ‘The Man From Snowy River.‘ Goodness, did it really come out in 1982?! It only felt like yesterday!

In my early teens, I thought it was the bees knees at the time… and some 25+ years later, it didn’t disappoint! When Jim (Tom Burlinson) cracked the whip, it brought back memories of many hours in perfecting the art on my dear little ‘Middy’ who had patience a mile long. And of course, the Mansfield countryside where it was filmed… I spent many happy childhood vacations in the area dreaming of riding over the mountains on a wild black stallion! Lastly, who could ever forget ‘THAT’ ride down the mountainside… Jim bravely riding where no man had dared to ride before, arched back in the saddle, arm in the air! (And yes, I practised that on my horse too – however, not quite that steep!)

Then there was overriding emotions of admiration for Jim… his courage and conviction… and, at the end, sadness that the wild Brumbies were caught.

If you haven’t seen this movie, do yourself a favour and watch it. And when you do, look out for that courage and conviction… because that in itself is well worth it and inspiration for whatever you are doing in your life – personal or business

The Man From Snowy River was based on Banjo Patterson’s poem by the same name (if you don’t have time to read the poem, then please read the PS at the bottom):

The Man from Snowy River
by A. B. “Banjo” Paterson

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the colt from Old Regret had got away,
And had joined the wild bush horses — he was worth a thousand pound,
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,
And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.

There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup,
The old man with his hair as white as snow;
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up –
He would go wherever horse and man could go.
And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand,
No better horseman ever held the reins;
For never horse could throw him while the saddle-girths would stand,
He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.

And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast,
He was something like a racehorse undersized,
With a touch of Timor pony — three parts thoroughbred at least –
And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry — just the sort that won’t say die –
There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye,
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.

But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay,
And the old man said, “That horse will never do
For a long and tiring gallop — lad, you’d better stop away,
Those hills are far too rough for such as you.”
So he waited sad and wistful — only Clancy stood his friend –
“I think we ought to let him come,” he said;
“I warrant he’ll be with us when he’s wanted at the end,
For both his horse and he are mountain bred.”

“He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko’s side,
Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough,
Where a horse’s hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride,
The man that holds his own is good enough.
And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home,
Where the river runs those giant hills between;
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam,
But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen.”

So he went — they found the horses by the big mimosa clump –
They raced away towards the mountain’s brow,
And the old man gave his orders, “Boys, go at them from the jump,
No use to try for fancy riding now.
And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to the right.
Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills,
For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight,
If once they gain the shelter of those hills.”

So Clancy rode to wheel them — he was racing on the wing
Where the best and boldest riders take their place,
And he raced his stock-horse past them, and he made the ranges ring
With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.
Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash,
But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,
And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and sudden dash,
And off into the mountain scrub they flew.

Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep and black
Resounded to the thunder of their tread,
And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely answered back
From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way,
Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;
And the old man muttered fiercely, “We may bid the mob good day,
No man can hold them down the other side.”

When they reached the mountain’s summit, even Clancy took a pull,
It well might make the boldest hold their breath,
The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full
Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.
But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head,
And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer,
And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down its bed,
While the others stood and watched in very fear.

He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
He cleared the fallen timber in his stride,
And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat –
It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
At the bottom of that terrible descent.

He was right among the horses as they climbed the farther hill,
And the watchers on the mountain standing mute,
Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among them still,
As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.
Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain gullies met
In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals
On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,
With the man from Snowy River at their heels.

And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam.
He followed like a bloodhound on their track,
Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their heads for home,
And alone and unassisted brought them back.
But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot,
He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;
But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,
For never yet was mountain horse a cur.

And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
Their torn and rugged battlements on high,
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
And where around the Overflow the reedbeds sweep and sway
To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
The man from Snowy River is a household word to-day,
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride
..

..
PS:
If, like me, you find deep admiration for the Australian Brumby – or you just love horses – then please visit Save The Brumbies Inc, who fight against the terrible injustice of the Australian government who allow the slaughtering of wild brumbies from the air and ground and then left to die, including tiny foals who perish of starvation without their dams.

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Circumstances don’t make, but REVEAL you!

Tara — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:10:34 +0000

Circumstances do not make the man, but reveal him. James Allen.

Truer words have never been spoken. Throughout the ages seemingly great men and great women have been exposed as less than noble, less than genuine and even less than human when faced with challenging circumstances. The reverse is also true – Men and woman who seemed ordinary and average when thrust into the most difficult situations have risen to extraordinary heights of character, leadership and excellence.

Watching this great “revealing” is the stuff history and legends are made of. Observing a person in a challenging situation or circumstance will manifest much about who they are deep, deep inside and what they will likely do in the future. What you are at your core is your center of strength and that ability to do what is right, under pressure or even when no one is looking, is the core of your personal integrity.

Anything that lacks integrity is unstable, as any engineer will tell you. A bridge or skyscraper that has structural integrity simply does what it was built to do. It isn’t necessarily perfect. It could have flaws. But, under stress, pressure and repeated use, it does what it was built to do. Even in extreme circumstances it will do what it was designed to do. If, on the other hand, a structure does not have structural integrity, it will at some point fail, as was the case with the world’s first jet airliner, the British-made de Havilland Comet.

When the Comet was introduced in 1949, the future seemed bright for jet travel and the Comet was the undisputed, front-and-center leader – until three Comets unexpectedly disintegrated in flight, killing all aboard. The planes were grounded as puzzled engineers worked feverishly to understand why they had operated flawlessly at first, only to break apart later in midair. The engineers set up a fuselage in a large pool and pumped water in and out, simulating the effects of repeated cabin pressurization. At first, the experiment revealed nothing, nothing at all. But over time the pressurized circumstances yielded a startling discovery. The repeated stress caused small, microscopic cracks to form around the rectangular windows, cracks that would eventually widened into gaping holes. The planes could not withstand repeated pressure. They lacked structural integrity and the pressurized circumstances revealed what the Comet was at it’s core – a bright shiny pretender that was not secure or safe.

You and I live in a world filled with pressure and pressure filled circumstances – pressure to accomplish, pressure to get ahead, pressure to be smarter than we are, pressure to conform, pressure to be popular, pressure to appear successful, pressure to earn large incomes. None of us are perfect. We all have flaws for sure. How, then, under repeated pressure, can we avoid allowing small cracks in our integrity to form? How can we be sure that our character is structurally sound? How can we stay true to our core regardless of setting or circumstance?

Ultimately this is an exercise of not only looking in the mirror, but looking deep into our hearts and souls and asking uncomfortable questions of ourselves. When you find yourself in challenging circumstances what are you learning about yourself? Do you like what is being revealed? If not, why not? And while we cannot control those around us during difficult time, and it can be devastatingly disappointing to watch false friends or self-serving leaders crumble and reveal their true stripes and identity at such times, ultimately it comes down to ensuring that your own structural integrity reveals your greatness to the world.

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Your Authentic Power

Tara — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:28:07 +0000

What does it mean to be in your authentic power?

It can be fairly said that when someone is in their authentic power, they are coming from a place within themselves, which in turn creates a charismatic presence that others tune into. That is, the person’s language and actions epitomises who they are, as a person, and emanates a light that others recognise, believe in, and listen to.

Sometimes, when we think of power we think of someone who is wielding control and dominance. Look back in history and you more than likely can think of several people of influence – in their time – who lived up to this meaning; and it is usually these same people we don’t think fondly of!

But when we think of all the inspirational leaders, both past and present, who, in one way or another, influenced your life, then you are seeing someone in their authentic power.

Ghandi, Mother Theresa, The Dalai Llama, Nelson Mandela are just a few that come to my mind.

Who comes to your mind as a true leader? What traits do you recognise?

Leaders who are authentic in their power are genuine, speak from the heart, are factual, have strength in their words and posture, live by what they say, and seemingly without the need to do so exercise a calming influence and authority that is neither domineering nor condescending.

Do not be fearful of power. Authentic power is empowering, rather than disempowering, and does not seek to dominate over another human being. Your Authentic Power can change other people’s lives for the better, and YOUR life. The heart you touch today through your authentic power can be the catalyst and turning point for another.

There are many different kinds of power. True power comes from serving and helping others. Such behavior makes people respect you. They are willing to listen to your views and advice, and they support you. The energy of many people is thus channeled through one person. This kind of power is positive and authentic. Dalai Lama

How do you “get into” your Authentic Power?

We all have authentic power within us and you can tap into it whenever you desire.

Think back to a time when you felt extremely confident – in your own power. What did it feel like? What was happening when you felt that power?

William James (American philosopher) said:

“Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me,’ and when you have found that attitude, follow it.”

Your Authentic Power is your values – who you are, what you stand for and believe in. When you follow what you believe in and what matters to you – what you are PASSIONATE about – you step out with conviction and purpose.

This is your Authentic Power that people subconsciously tune into and are drawn to.

Try this exercise and see how it works for you.

When you go out next to the store, the park or wherever you are going, before you head out, visualise and hold in your heart the person you are – no matter if you haven’t got there yet. If you want to be the next President of the United States, or a visionary missionary in a country most people haven’t heard of – whatever it is that is in YOUR heart.

Visualise it, hold it there in your inner space and LIVE it. Play a movie in your mind of YOU and what is happening in your life… the genuine influence that is surrounding you. Believe in your movie. Then go out and hold that person, YOU, and that movie in your heart and mind. I can guarantee that you will be amazed at the people that are attracted to you because you are emanating your own Authentic Power.

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