Class of 2013 (And Everyone Else, too)

Today, the LPHS Class of 2013 takes their final bow. It's such an exciting time for them, and I was thinking what I wish I would have been told when I was in their shoes. Today's post will be my advice to them and to all of you, and yes, I did hear this quote from Oprah.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman

The world doesn't need people who are concerned about doing what they feel others want them to do. That is helping no one. The world needs people who honor and embrace their purpose in life. It is your purpose that makes you come alive and ignites every ounce of you. It is then when you function as your best and highest self. You work harder, you smile bigger, you think more, and you imagine ideas that can make a change. Finding your purpose constantly challenges you to grow as a person and keeps you out of the "rut" of life. Finding your purpose makes the alarm clock bearable and, in fact, welcomed because there is much to be accomplished. Finding what ignites you and chasing after it takes courage, but the reward is well worth it. 

Besides the individual perks that finding your purpose brings, you are helping the world. That may seem exaggerated to some, but it is true. Living an inspired life frees others. It encourages others to go after what ignites them because they see the happiness it brings. It creates a ripple effect that knows no end. Imagine a majority of the world doing what they were put here to do. That's what the world needs. The world needs inspired people who are working not just for a paycheck but because they are passionate about what they are doing. 

Ask yourself, "What makes me come alive?" You owe it to yourself to at least try. It may not become a profession. It could just be a hobby. It has to be a part of you though. You were put here for a specific reason, and it is your job to figure it out. If you're passionate about photography, pick up a camera. If you are inspired when you're writing curriculum or developing plans for kids, work your way to it. It's not about what the world needs because, if you're doing what you're supposed to and doing what makes you come alive, you're already doing exactly is needed. 

Go find your purpose,

BT