39 Key Questions You Must Answer to Discover Your Life Purpose

I'm going to share a sad fact with you. When I
speak at an Elementary School and ask my audience,
"Do you have dreams?" almost every hand goes up.
When I ask the same question at a Middle School,
only half of the hands go up. When I ask High School
and College students if they have dreams, only a few
hands go up. And when I speak to adults at conventions,
or corporate events, I'm surprised if anybody raises
their hand. In fact, I don't even ask the adults anymore
because it just embarrasses them.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Most men die at age 25
but are not buried until they are 70." What he meant
was, most people give up on their dreams before they
are 30 years old, and spend the rest of their lives in
"survival mode", living day to day, just trying to get
through the day rather than living a life filled with
passion, in the pursuit of their dreams.

Life is tough. There's no doubt about it. And unless
you are crystal-clear about where you want to go,
crystal-clear about your life purpose, mission, calling,
or destiny, and unless you believe it is possible for
you to make your dream a reality, you will not act on
it and you will revert to "survival mode". Believe me,
"survival mode" is not a good place to be.

The whole secret to a successful life is to find out
what it is your destiny to do, and then do it.

I know. I've been there. Ever since the third grade,
I dreamed of being an Olympic athlete. But I didn't
believe in myself so I never committed to acting on
my dream. Eventually I put my Olympic dream up
on the shelf. For years, I felt lost. I felt like a nobody.
I felt I was not making a difference. I did not like
myself. Many years later, while in College, something
happened that inspired me to go for it.

When I saw tiny Scott Hamilton win the Gold Medal
at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, I said to myself,
"If that little guy can do it, I can do it too! I WILL
be in the next Olympics!" And I made a commitment
to do whatever it took to make my dream a reality.
All of a sudden, my life had purpose, meaning, and
passion! Four years later I was marching in the Opening
Ceremonies of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

I believe God puts a dream in our heart, he gives
us all the gifts, talents, and resources we need to
make our dreams a reality. But it's up to us to believe
in ourselves and it is up to us to do the work. Many
times, you will not discover your true gifts until you
put yourself through the struggle of chasing your dream.
The person you become through the struggle is your
gift back to God.

You were created to make your dream come true.
It is your life purpose. It is you calling. It's your
mission. Your dream will draw on your talents, it
will appeal to your highest ideals, and will give you
unlimited energy. Having a vision of where you want
to be satisfies several universal drives within each of
us. Having a dream connects with the spirit that dwells
in our heart; it gives us an outlet for our unique gifts
and talents, and makes us feel that our lives matter.
It makes us feel that we are making a difference.

A dream does several things. It gives you a future
focus. Instead of being worried about the frustrations
of the present, a dream gets you thinking about the
possibilities of the future. A dream gives you energy.
Have you ever been so engrossed in a book or in a
project that hours seemed like minutes? That's what
it feels like when you are passionately chasing your
dream. Finally, a dream keeps you from wasting your
life. Dreams keep you from wasting your talents, your
abilities, and your creativity. They keep you from living
a life filled with regret. That terrible "What might have
been?" feeling.

You will experience success in life to the extent that
you are clear about and commit to achieving your
life purpose.

How do you find your purpose? It all comes down
to spending some quality time getting to know
yourself through some very specific questions.
I would suggest going out by yourself for a couple
of days to a quiet place, maybe a cabin in the woods,
out by a lake, a place where you will not be interrupted
and really thinking about it. It might be a good idea
to take a notebook to write your thoughts.

Before I give you the questions, I'd like you to think
about some people you deeply admire. What is it about
them that you admire? Specifically what qualities do
you admire in them? I'd be willing to bet that anyone
you admire, is someone who is dedicating their life
to their unique calling. If you are having trouble thinking
of people, just think about people like Michael Jordan,
Tiger Woods, Mother Theresa, Michael Dell, Bill Gates,
Sam Walton, Norman Schwarzkopf, and the NASA Astronauts.

What do they have in common? They love what they
do. They would do it for free. They are good at what
they do. Doing what they do is extremely important
to them. They have a sense of destiny, a sense that
they are doing what they were born to do.

Well you know what? The experiences you have
had up to this point in your life have prepared you
for your life purpose. You have unique talents, abilities,
interests, and values that only you can bring to
greatness. There is a destiny that only you can fulfill.
But first you need to find out what you would love to do.
What you would be willing to do for free. What you are
good at doing. What is extremely important to you.
What you were born to do.

So here are the questions. Don't just glance at them.
Invest some time in them. Remember, what you learn
from them could change your life - and the world! You
might want to write each of these questions on a
separate index card and spend at least 15 minutes
on each one. Fifteen minutes writing your unique answer
in your life mission notebook.


Note: Some of these questions are very similar. They
are just worded differently. This is done intentionally.
I want to stimulate different parts of your brain in order
to get closer to your true answer.

What are my greatest talents?

What do others say I am good at? (You want to weigh
this heavily because many times our gifts come so
naturally to us, that we underestimate them. Your
true gifts will be more apparent to others.)

What have my unique life experiences prepared me to do?

What do I love to do so much that I would do it for free?
Why? (The why is very important. It will give you clues to
your driving force.)

What activities give me satisfaction? Why?

What excites me about life? Why?

What is my secret ambition? Why?

What are my hobbies?

What is my greatest character strength?

What is my greatest passion?

What would I be willing to die for? Why?

What will I feel like when I make it happen?

What will the regret feel like if I don't make it happen?

What am I good at?

What do I get complimented on?

Where have I excelled in the past?

Where have I been successful?

What is important to me?

What do you naturally do well?

What things do you view as your greatest successes? Why?

Is there a cause about which you feel passionate?

What is it about that cause that attracts you to it?

What are the most important lessons you have
learned through your experiences about life?

What do you daydream about doing? Why?

What things do you want to be remembered for
at the end of your life? Why?

What things will your life be incomplete without? Why?

If you had a year left to live, what would you do
differently? Why?

What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Why?

What would you do with your time if you were wealthy?
Why?

What do you stand for?

What were you born to do?

What is your unique mission in life?

What does God want you to do?

What are your unique opportunities?

Where can you make a difference?

How do you want to be remembered? Why?

What will outlast you?

What will continue after you are gone?

What legacy do you want to leave behind? Why?

You might want to go through this exercise on an
ongoing basis (maybe a couple of questions every day)
until you become crystal-clear about your purpose in life.

Remember, you can't make your dream come true
if you don't even know what it is. If you can't see it,
you can't get it. Once you see it, dedicate your life to
making it a reality. Give yourself to your vision. You
are worthy of it. It's why you're here. It's how you
will make a difference in the world. It's how you'll
be remembered. It's your legacy.

So? Are you going to do this or not?

If you do, you are making a BIG mistake!


Ruben Gonzalez is the author of
"The Courage to Succeed," and the
co-star of the personal development
documentary "Three Feet from Gold."

His experiences as a three-time Olympian,
business owner, and professional keynote
speaker give him a unique perspective on
how to conquer the corporate struggles of
today. Ruben will inspire and equip the people
in your organization to maximize their potential.

For booking information, visit
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com or
contact him at 832-689-8282.