The Purpose Path

Key Concepts

“Success” should be self-defined

“It’s always others—coworkers, family members, random onlookers, or even society at large—who seem most concerned with evaluating whether or not you are ‘officially’ successful.” (p. 16)

“You can be successful at the wrong things. You can be successful and at the same time not be an authentic success.” (p. 17)

“I often ask my students and the leaders that I have the opportunity to serve, ‘Will you still do something with your life that’s worthy of applause, even if no applause is given?” (p. 22)

It’s important to form our own identities rather than accepting others’ views

“While these definitions are certainly correct, I consider identity to be one’s own sense of who he or she is. Identity is very deeply who you are—not who someone else thinks you are or wants you to be. Your identity is how you define yourself, while your identification is how others define you.” (p. 30)

“Because if you’re not paying attention to the question of who you are, you will allow yourself to be distracted by how others define who you are—especially if others define you positively.” (p. 45)

Our identities change over time

“In fact, I would argue that one of the things that can cause distress as people mature is the inability to embrace new identities and new expressions of who they are.” (p. 42)

“Identities will change. You will go through different stages in your life, and parts of your identity will evolve. But who you are at the core remains the same. Your why is dictated by your who, and your what is dictated by your why. All of that is rooted in stability of your core identity.” (p. 42)

Finding a vocation is different than pursuing passion

“As you consider your vocation and how it relates to your reason for being, it’s important to understand that your passion is not an integral part of this equation.” (p. 65)

“Purpose is much more than passion.” (p. 66)

Finding and stewarding one’s vocation requires reflection and vigilance

“The ceaseless striving of overprogrammed, overscheduled lives robs us of the patience that’s required to discover vocation.” (p. 116)

“When you find yourself presented with these kinds of choices, it is not so much about finding the courage to align yourself vocationally, but instead finding the courage required to steward your vocation well. The courage comes not only when I ask myself, ‘What am I saying yes to?’ but also when I ask, ‘What am I saying no to?’” (p. 147)

“A vocation is not something that we can set and forget; it requires periodic checks to ensure that the path on which we are walking is still aligned with our calling.” (p. 156)

“Falling out of alignment with your calling doesn’t typically happen all at once. It happens in stages, one small step at a time, until you approach a transition zone—a pivotal time in your career and life.” (p. 163)

“If you’ve ever been unceremoniously dismissed from a job, or you know someone who has, that is an indication that you drove too far and missed your exit. And how does this happen? It happens when you’ve muted your GPS, which was trying to tell you to prepare for your exit. It happens when you’re on autopilot or cruise control, not paying attention to what’s going on down the road.” (p. 169)

 Quotables

“Living what I call ‘an undivided life’ means learning to listen more carefully for the still, small inner voice of vocation, recognizing our deep longing to join soul and role as closely as we can.” (p. IX)

“Vocational courage is the boldness to faithfully pursue the fulfillment of one’s distinctive purpose or life’s work. It is about developing both the clarity and the commitment to make the difficult decisions necessary to align one’s daily work with one’s life’s work. It is the fuel for living and leading on your own Purpose Path.” (p. XVI)

“Without clarity about who you are, you will never know whether what you’re doing is aligned with who you have been made to be.” (p. 49)

“It’s cute when little kids mimic and parrot their parents. While it’s cute when you’re a kid, it could be catastrophic if you’re an adult just mimicking and parroting other adults without clarity around why they’re doing what they’re doing.” (p. 94)

“Vocational courage ultimately comes down to two things: clarity plus commitment—clarity around what your life’s work is, and then a commitment to making whatever decisions are necessary to live it out faithfully.” (p. 79)

“The best time to align your work with your calling is when you become aware that you have been called. And if you have not yet acted, then the time is now.” (p. 139)

“Says Blount, ‘While asking for input and ideas is essential to leadership, you gain even more insight when you reflect deeply on that input.’” (p. 172)