Align with your purpose

December 22, 2012 at 11:45 PM
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Many people in the U.S. subscribe to the Protestant work ethic, the belief that one must work hard in order to prosper. But success does not require struggle and suffering. It can be effortless and you can actually have fun while pursuing your goals, even though you're working incredibly hard.

The key to unlocking effortless success lies in your choice of goals. The more your goals are aligned with your purpose, the more fun you'll have and the more easily you'll achieve the success you desire.

The key to effortless success. We each have a unique purpose to fulfill here on Earth. Identifying, acknowledging and honoring that purpose is perhaps the most important action a successful person can take.

Without a purpose in life, it's easy to get sidetracked and end up accomplishing very little. But when you have a purpose, everything seems to fall quickly into place. The people, resources and opportunities you need naturally gravitate toward you. The world benefits, too, because when you act in alignment with your true life's purpose, all your actions automatically serve and benefit others.

 What alignment means. We're all gifted with a set of talents and interests that serve as clues to our purpose. Once you know what your life's purpose is, you can begin to organize your activities around pursuing it. Everything you do should be an expression of your purpose. If an activity or goal doesn't fit your purpose, don't spend time on it.

For example, I am frequently invited to join in multilevel marketing companies and have done so on several occasions. But although the companies and their products were superior, I have been left feeling drained. The reason is that hosting meetings and selling opportunities to others does not support my purpose, which is to inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy. I've learned that the best way for me to work with companies is by speaking to and training their distributors, an activity that does allow me to fulfill my purpose.

Aligning with your purpose is most critical when setting professional goals. Don't ignore the signs that your job or career is not right for you. If you dread Monday mornings and live for the weekends, it may be a sign that it's time to follow your heart and pursue the work you truly long to do.

Are you aligned? There are a few ways to gauge whether your goals are aligned with your purpose. The first is to simply ask yourself whether achieving a given goal supports your life's purpose. If not, the goal is not something you should pursue. Fortunately, human beings are equipped with an inner guidance system. We know when we are aligned with our purpose because we experience joy. When you have a sense of being in the "flow," you are in alignment. When working toward your goals becomes a chore and success seems to elude you, stop and evaluate whether your goal is aligned with your purpose.

At its heart, effortless success is about fully embracing and expressing who you are. It means following your inner guide to ensure that you are living your very unique purpose as fully as you can.

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Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com.

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