Dr. Brad Swift on Following Your Purpose and Passion in Life

Following the Breadcrumbs of Passion by W. Bradford Swift.


At Life On Purpose Institute we believe everyone should follow their purpose and passioin in life and that doing so will never lead you astray even when you aren’t completely clear where it will lead you. I call it “following the breadcrumbs of your passion” and it’s actually how Life On Purpose Institute began.


I first got the idea of starting a organization that was a reflection of my own purpose of living a life of service, simplicity and spiritual serenity from a pet writing project:

Project Purpose: To write and publish articles about people and insitutions whose lives and missions are dedicated to a bold and inspired purpose or vision.

After interviewing and spending time with dozens of these purposeful people, I began to recognize certain common elements they shared; one of which was that almost all of them were expressing their own life purpose through some organized structure -- a for profit business, a non-profit, etc. I was in the midst of pondering what such an organization would look like for me when I received an assignment from Yoga Journal to write a feature article on simple living in a complex world. They wanted, as part of the article, a sidebar listing resources about living simply.

Well, I thought, Life On Purpose Institute could be in that sidebar, except there wasn’t a Life On Purpose Institute yet. At first I dismissed the idea as being premature, but as I continued writing the article I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. Finally, I ran it by my coach who replied, “Why not include it and see what happens?” So, I did.

I didn’t think much more about it until 2 to 3 months later when the article appeared as the cover story for the August, 1996 issue of Yoga Journal with a cartoon illustration by Gahan Wilson. A few days after the magazine hit the newstands, my phone rang. “Hello, Brad Swift,” I answer in my customary fashion.

“Is this Life On Purpose?” An excited voice on the other end of the line asked.

I paused, momentarily dazed and looked around my office. I had forgotten about listing my dream in the sidebar. Gathering my wits about me, I replied, “Yes, how may I serve you?”

That was almost 10 years ago. Today Life On Purpose Institute is a flourishing, spiritually based enterprise. Hundreds of people have clarified their life purpose by working individually with our Life On Purpose Certified Coaches, and thousands of others have done the same through our group programs.

We have had close to a hundred purposeful and passionate people who have gone through our Coach Development Programs as far away as Germany and Australia. While our mission to deeply and profoundly touch and contribute to at least 1% of the world’s population (around 60-70 million people), is far from complete, we’re building momentum to have it accomplished during my life time.

This “meta purpose project” continues to transform my life and that of my wife, Ann, who is also Life On Purpose’s CFO and program registrar. Only in my wildest dreams did I ever think I could live such a satisfying and fulfilling life as I’m living now, but then again, isn’t that where such realities begin — in our dreams. Perhaps Goethe said it best:

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it: boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

For all of you reading this who are just starting out, I encourage you to take the time to identify your true purpose in life, for it will guide you to that wellspring of passion and enthusiasm that can serve as the fuel to keep you moving forward even in the most challenging of times.

At Life On Purpose Institute, we continue to follow our purposeful path of passionate breadcrumbs. You can count on it. To read the landmark article, Simple Living in a Complex World that launched LOPI into the world, go to: http://lifeonpurpose.com/index.php?page=62

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Since founding Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. in 1996 Dr. Brad Swift has become the country’s foremost authority on personal life purpose, authoring the book, Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life (http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/books) — the first and only how-to book that guides people from confusion to clarity about the most important question: “Who am I and why am I here?” To learn how on or off purpose your life is, take the fun and engaging Self Test at http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/selftest .

Lessons from "A Raisin In The Sun"

Last night on ABC was the airing of the much-hyped TV movie, A Raisin in The Sun. The small-screen production was originally a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The story is based upon a family's own experiences growing up in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood (my hometown!).

The strong performances of the cast members, which included Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan, and the ubiquitous Sean "Diddy" Combs, inspired a couple of thoughts.

1. Diddy is a perfect example of why it's so important to be considered great or an expert at one thing first. Back in the early 1990's he built a reputation (brand) for being a shrewd music mogul with a strong sense of style, a hit-making producer, and for having discovered many musical acts, such as Mary J. Blige, who went on to super stardom.

He focused all of his energy on being the best record executive he could be before he opened a restaurant, started a clothing line, and became a television star. Do you see the process? He became the standard in his respective industry then created spin-off businesses that were just natural extensions of himself and his brand. And now, there's a strong possibility that he'll be nominated for an award for his role as "Walter Lee Younger".

There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of ideas. Just don’t pursue them all at once. Keep a journal and write them down. Then, after you’ve established yourself, take a look at your list. You might find that you have some viable ideas that may work.

2. We all want opportunities to live our dreams. But, will you be prepared when the chance comes? Diddy's character, Walter Lee Younger, wanted so badly to get out of his situation as a low-wage driver who received even less respect. He begged his mother to give him $10,000 that she was getting as an insurance settlement. Then, when he finally got $6500 to go into business as a liquor store owner, he lost it to his "business partner" who ran off with the money.

Anyone can get conned out of money. However Walter Lee was so overly excited about he business that I wonder if he would've gotten duped had he done more research - on the business and his "partner".

One of my favorite quotes comes from Muhammad Ali: "I'd either won or lost the fight before I got in the ring." What Ali meant was that if he trained properly, put in the time, gave attention to details, bled and sweat, he knew that he was ready.

Have you put in the necessary time and preparation to be ready when your shot comes?

10 Qualities To Help You Reach Your Dreams

Looking at successful people, like actor Harrison Ford, author Maya Angelou, singer Gloria Estefan, and cyclist Lance Armstrong, we wonder: How did they do it? How did they achieve their phenomenal success? It starts with a dream, a deep-seated, heartfelt desire. Then, if you can steadfastly hold onto any of these 10 qualities, you will be on your way.

Harrison Ford wanted to be an actor so badly that even a short-sighted studio producer could not discourage him. After Ford’s film debut playing a bellboy with one line to say (“Paging Mr. Jones, paging Mr. Jones,”) the producer took him aside to tell him he didn’t have what it takes to be a true actor. “You ain’t got it, kid!”

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