Success Through Purpose

One of my mentors once said if the purpose of something is unknown then abuse is inevitable. So, I began to think if that means that if I don't find the purpose of my life, I'll abuse the very life that I have. I soon realized that it was true. I discovered that if I don't find my purpose in life, I can't find true success. If there's no purpose the word success cannot exist or be made meaning of. This means that the very existence of the word success means that purpose exists. Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. This goes to prove the point that success is unattainable without purpose. We can say a student is successful if he/she graduates because that means the student has accomplished the purpose of school; that is complete the curriculum and receive a passing grade. We can say a shampoo product is successful if it indeed helps clean our hair. A pencil is successful if we can write with it. A light switch is successful if it controls the presence and absence of light. These examples establishes a clear integral connection between purpose and success. However, when it comes to our lives we seem to forget this very important relationship between purpose and success. For decades now, we have come to redefine what success really means. Many have come to use the byproduct or corollary of success to define success itself. Many equate a profession, dream job, fame, accumulation of wealth, houses, cars, jewellery, influence, popularity, money, and other possessions to success. These are things that can and will come with success, but they do not equate to success. A man can have all these things and still not be successful. However, many don't understand this so they pursue these byproducts of success thinking it'll bring them fulfillment, happiness, and peace.

True success can only be attained through purpose. But, the society we live in today seem to have forgotten this. This is why today you will find someone who has fame, houses, cars, jewellery, influence, money, and other material possessions but still isn't satisfied or living the 'best' life. To capture how we have lost the idea of what it means to be successful, I did a quick survey on success involving people from different age groups and walks of life (Find the pictures below). The survey result I found interesting because each person had a different explanation as to what success means. Many have lost the methodology for attaining which is through discovery of purpose, so abuse rates have drastically increased over the years. Today we see people putting toxic substances into their bodies, some committing suicide, and others committing crimes. This can all be linked to lack of purpose. We abuse and mistreat ourselves because we don't know the purpose of our lives. The same way you won't know to take an Advil pill for headache if you didn't know the purpose of Advil, you also won't know what to do with your life if you didn't know its purpose.

Purpose is indeed the key to true success. If we want fulfillment, joy, and peace in the world, we need to start seeking to discover the purpose of our lives instead of pursuing the byproduct or corollary of success. The pursuit of the byproducts of success usually lead to error, disappointment, and destruction. We can see this in the lives of Walter and Gatsby. Walter didn't seek to find his purpose instead he was too focused on living the American dream by pursuing the byproducts of success. This led him to be too desperate to the extent that he put his trust in the wrong person and that cost him his dreams and that of his sister's. In the case of Gatsby, He dedicated his entire life to accumulating wealths and material possessions in other to win a woman's heart. This pursuit of the corollary of success instead of true success led to his destruction. These are the prices we pay when we pursue the wrong things in order to get the title of successful. We need to stop applying the principle relationship between purpose and success to just the world around us and start applying it to our individual lives. All of the benefits that come with respecting the relationship between purpose and success in the external world will also be evident in our live when we begin to value the relationship as-well. This topic of purpose and success is connected to so many other concepts like gifts, destiny, passion, and so on. I wish I can go on but we'll leave it at this today!