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Nightingale-Conant presents Bob Proctor

Are You Following a Broken Compass?

It doesn't matter how you think you arrived here on this planet or under whose direction — the fact remains that each of us has specific talents and gifts that are uniquely coded within our DNA.

What's in you cannot be found in another living human being. In fact, it's quite possible that what you bring to the table hasn't been duplicated — ever — since time began.

As you go through life, you don't just pick up things you like doing by chance. You discover what you're good at for a reason — just as you were meant to figure out how your fingers and elbows worked. Your unique gifts are hardwired into your system just as surely as your lungs are given their blueprint to breathe.

It is these unique gifts that determine your purpose in life — the reason why you're here. If you fail to determine your definite purpose, everything in life seems to be off course. It's like working with a broken compass — you may think you're going north, but you're not. You're not sure which direction you're heading, so, you're just wandering aimlessly through life. How do you get back on track?

Fall in Love with an Idea

The psychologist Alfred Adler once said, "I am grateful for the idea that has used me." When you fall in love with an idea, it guides you — you don't guide it anymore.

It will push you out of bed in the morning long before your alarm clock considers doing the same. When you land on your purpose and truly start doing what you love, it's like being 12 years old again, waking up to your first glorious day of summer vacation.

It's as if you're working with a new compass again — you know if you're going north. And, as you move in the direction of your purpose, everything falls into place.

Give serious attention to what comes naturally to you. What gets YOU juiced? What gets YOU moving at the start of each day? Nobody knows your gifts better than you — it's an innate sense you have. I don't care what your parents, guardians, teachers, bosses, and best friends have said in the past — neither should you. Don't entertain ANY negatives about yourself, past or present, real or imagined.

Understand that negative images have been crowding your mind since your first week on this planet. Even your first school papers were marked in red slashes when you were "wrong." That red mark drew your entire conscious attention, even if it was the only mark on the entire page.

It shifted your energy completely; you might have brooded over it for days; it might have made you fearful of the next mistake you'd make.

In many cases it's this ongoing conscious attention on negativity and failure that keeps people from making any kind of different directional move in their lives. That and conformity. The masses are obsessed with conformity rather than creativity. We have all had a great deal of input from well-meaning people who would rather see us stick to the status quo — even if we're miserable. In their eyes, the status quo is safer, less invasive, more comfortable, and it doesn't push them into thinking about their lives.

But, you're not on this planet to live out someone else's dreams. When you believe you've found your purpose, do not allow yourself to be dissuaded by others' opinions — don't allow them to tell you in which direction to go. But, be willing to change directions if you get off track.

U-Turn: Authorized Use Only!

Imagine that you're in Chicago and your goal is to go to Detroit. Away you go in a rush. You're driving and driving, you stop and grab a coffee, you get back in the car and keep driving, and all of a sudden ... you see a sign up ahead that says "Nashville, 186 miles."

You think, "What the heck? I'm going to Detroit. Nashville is in the opposite direction."

You're concerned now and even a little worried. You might even be a bit miffed. But you keep driving in the same direction. An hour goes by and you see another sign ... Nashville, 102 miles. At this point, you're downright annoyed. "How in the world could this be happening?" you ask yourself. But you keep driving. Sounds crazy doesn't it?

After all, if this were a real-life happenstance, you wouldn't keep driving. As soon as you came across the FIRST indication that you were traveling in the wrong direction, you'd do a U-turn right there on the highway. You'd bump across the dirt median between the two highways, and you wouldn't even care if a sign stood right there telling you that this median was reserved for "official use only."

"This IS official use!" you'd grumble to yourself as you swing across and merge with the oncoming traffic. "I've been going in the wrong direction for an HOUR!"

That makes more sense — to immediately change your direction if you're traveling down the wrong road. Yet, people will spend their whole lives driving in the wrong direction with all the signs — the results in their lives — telling them they're going the wrong way. They just keep on driving and never make the U-turn to get themselves back on track.

If you get off course, don't waste time ... make the changes you need to get back on course, immediately!

Don't Quit Your Day Job ... Yet

Most people have difficulty getting focused on their purpose because of what they're already doing day in and day out. They are afraid or reluctant to make a move because they just can't see how their purpose will pay the bills.

On the other hand — there are people who land on their purpose and, throwing all caution to the wind, stop everything they're doing — including their paying jobs — to seek out this higher end for their lives.

While I have some admiration for this attitude and believe that people who take this action are eventually going to land on their feet, drastic action such as waking up and quitting your job tomorrow morning is not something I'd recommend. It's difficult to pursue your purpose if your basic needs of life are not met. Over the years, I've seen a number of people quit their full-time jobs because they want to devote more time and energy to building their master plan — the dream in their mind. Within weeks, when they begin to see that their needs are not taken care of, they immediately begin to worry about "making ends meet" and abandon their dreams.

However, when your needs are taken care of, you're free to move; you're free to take action. It is absolutely essential then, that before you take any drastic action, you first sit down and decide what your true needs are. What do you need to survive — to pay rent, to buy food, to keep the lights on and the water running? What do you need — not want — in order to ensure freedom in your mind and in your reality? Come up with a figure.

When you have that figure, give yourself a mental break for a few hours, and then come back to that figure and whittle it still further. What can you cut from the first figure you came up with? What can you honestly live without for a period of time? I have found that when people take a first run at what they need, it's usually more than what they need. We're talking only absolute essentials here so that you're free from worry.

Next, find a way to get these financial needs met. Can you go to a parttime basis with your existing company? Can you switch to another position within your company that allows that part-time basis? Can you find a new job completely that still gives you the freedom and flexibility to work a few hours, each and every day, on what your true purpose is?

You don't need to leap carelessly, but you do need to take that first step.

You Can't Get to the Top of the Ladder Unless You Leave the Bottom

What would you sacrifice in order to move into a new life ... in order to obtain your dream ... in order to do every day what you love to do? The fact is, no matter how easily your purpose comes to you, you'll be asked to make sacrifices in order to fully bring it into your life. For example, you might give up something you enjoy as a pastime or hobby in order to devote more time to creating your dream life. You might be willing to endure a temporary cash crunch in order to get a brilliant idea up and running. You might be willing to give up one or two nights a week in order to receive the education, training, or certification you need to get yourself one step closer to your goal.

Finally, how ambitious are you in reaching this stated desire? Ambition is the expression of your desire — it's the thing that drives you. Ambition is the talent agent that puts you in the spotlight on the stage of life. It's the fuel that pushes you forward. It gives you confidence. Arnold Palmer says that confidence is a mix of concentration and pure hunger.

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