Did you ever wonder why some people just love what they do, while others are constantly asking, "What should I do with my life?". The experts say that waiting around to find your purpose will actually make you feel lost for longer.
Luckily, an executive coach named Joe Hudson, who helps the leaders of huge companies like Apple and Google, shared a five-step roadmap to help people change how they think about finding their life’s purpose. This roadmap is all about experimenting and knowing that purpose isn't something you find far off in the future.
Here is a simple breakdown of the five key steps:
Step 1: Conduct a Purpose Audit (Figure out if you’re lost)
The first step is to be honest and recognize if you are not currently living your purpose.
A good way to tell if you are not living your purpose is if you are always living for a reward in the future—something that will pay off later and tell you "now it was worth it". Life, when you live on purpose, should be like enjoying the music, not just waiting for the song's ending.
To check your current situation, the experts suggest asking yourself three audit questions:
The Billion Dollar Question: Would you sell everything you are currently doing for a billion dollars? If you would, you are probably not living your purpose. If you wouldn't, you likely are.
The Future Reward: Are you working primarily for some reward that will only happen in the future?.
The "Should" Factor: Do you feel like you should be doing this work, or is there a lot of pressure from family or society? If you feel a "should" behind it, it is unlikely to be your true purpose.
If you feel those "Sunday scaries" or just a grumpy feeling about going to work, that is a reasonable sign that you are not living your purpose.
Step 2: Think Creatively About the Money Problem (Don’t let cash stop you)
A huge roadblock for many people is money. Someone might say, "I hate my job, but I love the paycheck".
The experts say that thinking, "I can only make money this one way," is often delusional. There is an infinite number of ways to make money in the world. If someone feels like they must keep their current job because of money, this is often "binary thinking" (it’s either this way or that way), which means the mind is making decisions based on fear.
Instead of quitting right away, you should do what you need to do to pay the bills as you find another way to make money. It's crucial not to beat yourself up just because you aren't living your purpose, as that won't help you find it faster.
Step 3: Experiment with Authenticity (Try being 100% you)
Before blowing up your life and quitting your job to "find yourself," there is a really important thing you can try first: Experiment with authenticity.
For the next 30 days, try being completely 100% authentic and you in your current environment. Ask yourself: If I were living my purpose right now, how would I show up? How would I listen? How would I speak?. This helps figure out if the problem is what you are doing or how you are doing it.
If you start acting from your purpose, even for just 20 seconds a few times a day, the search for purpose can completely flip.
The amazing thing is that when you show up authentically, the world starts rearranging itself to support you. The people who like what you are doing will come toward you, and the opportunities will follow. If you are hiding who you are, people will only value the act, not the real you.
Step 4: Cut the Self-Criticism (Stop being mean to yourself)
Many people who start searching for their purpose fall into a trap: self-abuse. They think, "Why haven't I found it yet?" or "I should be living my purpose!".
This search often creates a "tyranny of purpose," where people replace the pressure of a traditional career path with the equally stressful idea that they must find their "one true purpose" or else they are a failure. The experts stress that this self-criticism is not actually helpful for finding purpose.
Step 5: Find Purpose in the Present (Stop looking ahead)
The final step confirms the central idea of the roadmap: Purpose is found right now, in this moment, not in the future.
Finding purpose isn't about finding one single job or career path. Instead, it is a series of experimentations and wandering.
Your purpose is expressed in how you do things, not necessarily in what you are specifically doing. For example, a person’s purpose might be broadly "helping people achieve financial health." There are dozens of ways they could do that, not just by being an accountant.
If you follow your natural interests, explore your curiosity, and say "yes" to the things that excite you, you will end up crafting your life’s purpose without even realizing you are doing it.
Analogy for Clarity: Finding your life's purpose is not like looking for a hidden treasure chest buried on a map of the future. It’s more like being a chef: you don't find your "one true recipe" in advance. You just start playing with ingredients (your interests and strengths), testing different flavors (experimenting with authenticity), and eventually, the delicious dish (your purpose) emerges from the constant process of tasting and trying.
