By Troy Vincent Sr.
There are a lot of people who talk about finding their purpose. Books have been written about discovering the purpose for your life. From that purpose, your ability to lead and succeed spring forth. Purpose is about your principles, values, passion, and faith. It is in the integration of all these elements that you will come to know your purpose. Very few times in life is purpose revealed without one of these characteristics.
As your faith, your values, your principles, and passion mature throughout your life’s journey, your spirit will reveal your purpose. You will know, as one wise man once told me, in your “knower.” It’s that sense deep down, your intuition, that keep drawing you back to this common place. And often times it disrupts your spirit yet is smoothing and calm. Your purpose is beyond you and there is something great drawing you to do it. It is your sense of significance, what each of us were born to do. You will be convicted, inspired, and motivated by your purpose.
When successful people understand their purpose and have vision, their pathway to success becomes intentional living. Discipline is essential, as you must have discipline to attain and sustain your purpose; self-discipline is the mark of true leadership. Discipline yourself against things that can be a distraction to your purpose. For example, successful men and women do not waste time on things that do not advance their purpose. Relationships are an asset or a deficit—choose your friends and associations according to your purpose, “Show me your friends, I’ll show you your future.”
Manage your priorities—know what is important, not what is urgent; manage them in order of their importance and relevance. For me, God, wife, family, career, and advocacy are my priorities and purpose in life is fulfilled by how it is expressed in each of those priorities.
How does purpose play out? Tommi and I stay close in accountability and prayer. We are reminded by our children and grand’s every day that God’s grace and love is truly alive. They remind us that our decisions are a reflection of the body of work towards our family legacy and that no decision, no challenge, no situation is greater than the God we serve. This informs my purpose and keeps me humbly grounded and focused on purpose in life.