When seeking to live in alignment with the third pillar of purpose, your "Project," there are three fundamental questions you must ask yourself:
- What do I want?
- Am I doing what I want?
- If so, how do I do it better? If not, how do I start?
What Do You Want?
To answer the question "What do I want?" simply ask yourself, "If you could do anything you wanted in life, what would you do?" If you can't answer, "I'm doing it right now," or you haven't taken sincere action towards the answer, my personal belief is that you're selling yourself and your purpose short.
Here are some answers to this question I've received from close friends:
- Run daily operations at the #1 gym in the world
- Be an athlete for a living
- Be a professional runner and host retreats with running and fitness challenges
Am I Doing What I Want?
If you're not taking action towards doing what you love, you're leaving your potential on the table and losing precious time. Your project should be something you're passionate about and that makes you jump out of bed in the morning. Ask yourself, "Do I love what I do?" If the answer is no, you may consider making changes. Life is short, and you will feel the most purpose when doing things you love.
If Not, How Do I Start? / If So, How Do I Do It Better?
Don't overcomplicate it - take simple daily actions. Simple daily actions compounded over years create a journey towards an outcome. Starting is simply building the foundation and compounding on it. If you want to be an athlete for a living, start by training daily and building credibility by giving yourself tests. If you want to run daily operations at the #1 gym in the world, start by working at a gym, gaining mentors, and learning as much as you can.
To do it better, remember, you're the engine. Without you, the outcome doesn't happen. Keep doing what you were doing when you started but do it better. If you want to be an athlete for a living, be willing to quit your job for less money and start finding sponsorships or create inspiring content on social media. If you want to run daily operations at the #1 gym in the world, start writing programs for athletes for free and have them test your programs, or test it on yourself and share the results.
The simple, but ambiguous truth is that you already know what you need to do; just start doing it.