Know your purpose in life, build a brand and market the hell out of it.

‘’Last week I was in the zone, in the mood. I had these three ideas I wanted to do as a purpose in life. They were not meant to get me money nor they were part of my ideals of what my purpose in life is. But I had them in mind so deep, I wanted to do them. This week I am already bored of one, and I have picked new one. My life is full of picking and dropping ideas. In fact, I have witnessed some people picking up the craps I dropped and turned them into tangible. When shall this madness stop and real contribution of mine takes place?’’

Here I need to share what I have learnt the ways to identify your purpose in life, build a brand around it and make yourself useful out of it.

Keep working on your purpose in life in this cluttered world

Years before, life was similar for almost all. The American dream, and many other dreams that are not defined with two words. The life principle of our parents was to ‘’get schooled, follow rules, get decent job and serve the company until retirement and get pension for the rest of your life.’’ This system was not in fact a bad deal for most. You know they say ‘’in the land of the blind, one eyed man is a king/queen.’’ (excuse my quote.)

They would not have known a better life than the one that paid the mortgage. They had to survive on whatever they were given. For authors like Seth Godin, this life is no more appealing for the ‘computer generation’. Jobs could be created in a snap of finger and gone in same snap of finger. Your purpose in life in the previous world is to stick in and work hard, not stick out and be unique. This kept you safe in the group.

Ridicule and criticism is not for these who sticks in but these that stick out.

They say ‘’stay in the group, walk together and you will be fine.’’ It’s like being in a class and you don’t know the answer. And the teacher points at you while you are contemplating and praying they wouldn’t pick you. You try not to make sudden move, no eye contact, stay similar to others. But you are picked. No matter how much you try to stick in, there is probability that you will be picked as other will be picked.

Today, there are thousands of medias, thousands of newspapers and thousands of books. Mediums are not scarce as were years before. You no more only follow BBC because there are hundreds of BBCs in the world that can give you same level of quality news. The question in this era, as some said, is not ‘’who is speaking, but who is heard.’’

Information overload is the new disease. Lack of knowledge and information limited the life of our parents and information overload limited our lives.

Today, purpose in life is mistakenly judged in three main ways.

1-Money:

everyone in this age is talking about the money. Money money…Don’t get me wrong, money great motivation. But this can’t be your entire purpose in life. I say, this even should not motivate you to live your purpose. In fact, most people that made change in history were poor and they lived a life fulfilled and poured out to us even to this day.

Jesus was poor. Even his disciples have written, they would not love him on first sight as he was weak and not graceful. Buddha left comfort of his house and left in to wilderness to follow his heart and his purpose in life. Marx was so poor he didn’t have money to feed his children at some point. His family members passed away in starvation while many average minds live in comfort at the time. Money is not the purpose, it is something that drives you to your purpose in life, if you need it.

2-Kardasians:

Are the Kardashian living their purpose in life? Who knows. There are many families that are dreaming the Kardashian, their nude bottom, their glittering life, their fake appearance and dysfunctional relations. Millions are hooked on their shows. These figures become an example for the purpose fulfilled, diminishing smart minds and day dreamers.

This life was once, unfulfilled for our ancestors, in fact it was life despised. The recent music in raps, hip-hop and even other genres became a voice of the trash, addition, prostitution, gang, destroying own body, misogyny and more. Yet, we our life with these figures and they are our role model. I have to quote it again, ‘in the land of the blind, one eyed man is…’

(Hope you won’t hate me by this time. I am telling the truth.)

3-  The third superficial measure of fulfilment of life is marketing.

This is a world that everything is exaggerated. Godin talks about the reality of marketing in this age, saying ‘This is a product x, it has this average use; it is used by average people…’ Would you buy it?’’ He asks.  He replies ‘’no, no one would buy it. NO one likes average.’’

Therefore, a simple hair cream is advertised with models with long hair who have never tried the product before; cars are advertised with handsome men without flaws but are poor and living in their mother’s basement; burgers are advertised with big chested and tiny waisted women who never eat burgers. Looks and actions are deceiving and are exaggerated. You would be mistaken if you judge people’s purpose in life based on what you see. You should learn to look beyond the superficial, beyond what they wear, beyond the dialog.

If you understand how to not measure others and yourself in this age, then here is the secret in today’s age to live a fulfilled purposeful life.

1-Wobbling mind

The author of ‘the way of superior man’, writes, the purpose in life is different from the ideas that fly in your mind picking and dropping each day. These are not your purpose in life. The real purpose is what makes you urge more. This is what stick all time. This is you yourself. You can’t find this type of your purpose by reading a book or reading this article. This, you only can find it, sitting with yourself and thinking it through. What was it that you wanted to be when you were a child, or before you lost your identity. What is it the ticks you or what is that one or two things that everyone talks about you. Of course, I am following that humanistic path to purpose in life. But that answering these questions should give you your heart’s urge.

2-Once you find that, stick to it.

Develop it. Do it once a day, at least after work. Or if you have the money quit what you are doing and work on your purpose in life, if you are a writer, write the word of your dreams and products of your mind and share it. Keep doing it until it seems you are obsessed. Don’t listen to what people say, don’t fear the criticism. As Godin says life without criticism is for the ones that stick in and once you stick out and standout be sure criticism is on the way. For him life is like art and you are an artist. You have the option to keep in dark away from criticism or show your work and receive criticism. It’s up to you.

3-Then the next process it to create your brand.

I call it manifestation. Think of how to turn the idea, the abstract into material. For example. Think how your business personality could be manifested in your clothing, in your thinking, in your speech…Then be it. Live it. Wear it. Don’t wear suit, because someone else does. Wear what fits your brand. With this you create your brand, your image. This is what people talks of you.

John the Baptist of the bible, used to live in desert, eating grasshopper and desert honey. And that was what was what was written of him when he went to town to baptize people. Now you can imagine what his hair would look like, what his clothing would look like and what his social life would look like. His looks, designed or not, fit the purpose and no other was in town that looked like him.

4-Next step is to market it.

It seems cheating like the hair cream ads. But you should follow the 80-20 rule here. Work the 20 percent and advertise 80 percent of the time. Believe me the others are advertising themselves every time with the fake books and human hair and bad personality even on TV. They are showing off their extravagance, degrading women, talking trash. And  the ignorant majority admire them. If they did it 100 percent of the time, paying millions, why can’t you do it by marketing your 20 percent achievement by the 80 percent of your time? You should market your work, your life, your deeds.

Now pick your pen and write your thought on your purpose in life as much as you can. Cross out the clutter after a little thought. Look back the list after few days. Repeat the process until you find one or two things that you can manage, and work on it few months and even few years. In the process manifest the idea of your purpose to the world. Create your lifestyle and live it.

Finally, it is not about who is talking but who is being listened to. You don’t need money to advertise yourself but you have your uniqueness. And your uniqueness tells a story itself. And this image is real, earned, and it is a story told from the heart. Only your purpose in life makes you the legend in the life that you are day dreaming of.