I have a great, fabulous, profound, simple and easy to understand answer (but you knew that, right?).

The first thing you need to do is get clear of your compulsion for acquisition. You are NOT a Ferengi, and acquiring mountains of stuff is certainly not the be all and end all.

Okay, so what is, right?

HERE’S THE DIVINE COSMIC ANSWER:  Do what you love. Yeah, I know. But just hear me out.

I titled this post series “Inspired living, authentic living” on purpose. I chose the words carefully, because words have power. Here’s why these words were chosen.

INSPIRE:

Origin of the word: mid-14c., from O.Fr. enspirer (12c.), from L. inspirare (see inspiration), a loan-translation of Gk. pnein in the Bible. General sense of “influence or animate with an idea or purpose” is from late 14c.

1. 1. To affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence.
2. 2. To fill with enlivening or exalting emotion

AUTHENTIC:

Origin: 1300–50; < LL authenticus < Gk authentikós original, primary, at first hand, equiv. to authént(ēs) one who does things himself (aut- aut- + -hentēs doer) + -ikos -ic; r. ME autentik (< AF) < ML autenticus

‘Nuff said.

LIVING:

Origin: bef. 900; (adj.) ME lyvyng(e); r. earlier liviende, OE lifgende  live (see live¹, -ing²); (n.) ME living(e) (see -ing¹)

1. 1.having life; being alive; not dead: living persons.
2. 2.in actual existence or use; extant: living languages.
3. 3.active or thriving; vigorous; strong: a living faith.
4. 4.burning or glowing, as a coal.
5. 5.flowing freely, as water.

So follow me here, the answer to the Cosmic Question “What do I NOW?” is this:

Take action, yourself, with purpose.

And now the torrent of questions comes… -what- action? What purpose? What do you mean, myself?

Obviously, you must personally take purposeful action, deliberate steps in the direction of the divine. But how do you distinguish the right path from just another time waster? Well, for that you need to get clear about why you’re here and what you’re meant to do. You need to know your Life Purpose.

When you know your Life Purpose, decision making becomes easier. Your goals and dreams, talents, gifts and affinities all come into harmonious focus. From that place of clarity,  purposeful living, inspired living, authentic living naturally springs, along with an unlimited source of natural motivation.

Sounds good, right?

Now your question is, “How do I find out my unique Life Purpose?”

Lucky for you, I’ve created a sure fire method for uncovering your unique Life Purpose quickly and reliably.  As a matter of fact, it’s never failed to deliver meaningful results to those for whom I’ve done this.

It’s SO good that I’ve taught other people how to do it, after they’d gone through it for themselves and saw the fast results and experienced the benefits of Purpose clarity. They now use it in their practices and report stunning results, as well.

On the right hand side of this page is a box that says, “Life Purpose Discovery method explained”. When you click on that box, I’ll send you a pdf that contains a complete overview of this amazing technology so you can see for yourself how simple and straightforward it is.

Some of you will be able to use this overview and get a pretty clear sense of your own Life Purpose. Bravo! Now find some true allies (mentors, coaches, friends) to tell  your Purpose to and help keep you make a plan, plus stay on track and you’re good to go!

Others of you will shrug and never try it. That is what it is. It’s all good.

For the rest of you who can see how this simple and dynamic process might get you the answers you seek, but want to take advantage of my expertise as the creator of this method to obtain a clear DEFINITE answer and fast results, contact me for a private session. I can safely promise that you’ll have a definitive answer and your Life Purpose statement in your own words of power in between 2-3 hours, guaranteed.

CALL 415 IMQ MLLY (467 6559) or email mburke@lifepurposeworks.com to schedule your private session and get clear QUICK!

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Even before I begin, I am made of win!”

So many people I encounter on a daily basis are living lives of quiet desperation.

They had thought their jobs would fulfill them, that making a living was the best way to make a life for themselves. That maintaining a lifestyle matters more than living a full, rich, satisfying life. And after accumulating enough stuff to fill a house, garage, and all their closets, they’re still miserable.

Let’s face it, in the great big scheme of things, “stuff” is the booby prize. No one on their deathbed ever said, “I should have spent more time at work making money and acquiring stuff and less time doing what I love with the people I love”. That’s because the “dying” have a much clearer sense of what is really important than most of us who are “living”.

So, what’s important? It varies from person to person, but there are some consistent themes that appear when they are asked. Here are some of the most common:

• Love
• Meaningful work
• Making a difference
• Service
• Health
• Family
• Connection
• Spirit

What I have come to know is that, in order to live a rich fulfilling life, we must dare to take action on the things that are most important to us at the core of our being.

This is risky. There’s not a lot of buy-in from our society around authentic living. There IS a lot of buy-in around looking good, accumulating possessions, getting ahead, and there’s a LOT of buy-in around scarcity and competition.

It is a radical act to live according to one’s inner guidance. It is risky to act on your dreams when the easy money only requires that you sell yourself out.

So, what to do, what to do?

Well, if you’re at all like me and so many others, you come to realize that the trappings of success as measured by our culture is not the way you wish to measure your own life.

Then the question becomes, “what the heck do I do NOW?”

I’ve got an answer, it’ll be in the next blogpost.

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Even before I begin, I am made of win!”

VITALITY

Which we have already ascertained is cool for being a peculiarity, amongst other things. Now let’s talk about vitality and Life Purpose.

The daily practice of Purpose driven living encourages you to expand your present relationship with the peculiar quality of vitality that is yours alone. Through the discovery and use of your unique Life Purpose, your experience and expression of vitality is enhanced and deepened. You’ll find this increases your satisfaction in every aspect of your life, from your work to your love relationships to your spirituality to your playtime.

You’ll also become more keenly aware of all the things in your life that you have to be grateful for, and you’ll become better able to express that gratitude with ease and joy. This effectively engages the Law of Attraction on your behalf, creating ever expanding opportunities to be grateful.

You’lll notice that one of the synonyms for vitality is strength. I posit that this is because vitality bespeaks a kind of inner resilience and solidity borne of an acute awareness of one’s own Life Force. Further, it is this solidity that translates into the other synonym for vitality, stability. To possess an abundance of vitality naturally implies the stability that is indeed synonymous with reliable strength, both with vigor of body as well as of spirit.

An increase in vitality is one of the effects of knowing your Life Purpose, and of living it. When you do what you’re meant to be doing, you’ll experience an increase in overall happiness, satisfaction, and vitality just by doing it.

Abundant vitality, now that’s MY kind of peculiar.

Do you fully experience YOUR vitality?

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence and you can, too!”

—————————

This is the second in the series, “Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money”, about the phenomenon of male mid life crisis. In the first part, I talked about how a lot of men tend to look outside themselves for the causes of their discontent, and asserted that the root causes of their dissatisfaction are, in fact, internal.  Their circumstances are certainly symptomatic of not living a purposeful life.
If they knew to look inside themselves first, to engage in rigorous self examination, they’d be much more likely to come to the realization that they are the source of everything in their lives. They’d realize that in order to empower themselves they must evolve, examine and re-evaluate their core perceptions as well as their present practices, goals and behaviors. Always, it’s an inside job, first. Many men leave great lives they’ve built based on some significant and worthy core values before they realize that they can empower themselves right within the life they already have. They lack critical discernment.

Likewise, some men stay in situations far too long that are clearly toxic because they feel trapped by their circumstances, lack of meaningful direction and sense of feeling purposeless; and that comes from not going within, as well. It’s always an inside job. First and foremost, an inside job. Always always always.

Here’s what’s worse: as a society we neither support nor encourage men to take time for personal growth, vision quest, goal reassessment, life path correction, any of that. We fail to support our men in living rich lives, mistaking the attainment of financial gain or social reputation for true wealth. We sell them, and in turn ourselves, short by not empowering them to live purposefully. We pigeon hole them, limit them, dishonor them, assigning to them artificial values and inappropriate expectations that hamstring their abilities to truly excell. We fail to afford them either the time or adequate opportunities to do the essential soul searching that is critical for their ultimate fulfillment in work, in love, in Purpose.

A man without a sense of purpose is a sad thing indeed.
—————————

In the next installment, I’ll be wrapping up this article series with some solutions and recommendations to hopefully mitigate the worst effects of male mid life crisis. Come back.

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence and you can, too!”

———————

I’ve been corresponding with a middle aged male friend, and we got to talking about mid life crises, and how men in particular handle it. Since the majority of my private practice is comprised mainly of men from 30-50 years old, I’ve gained some insight from these smart, insightful, honest and candid men.

I had joked that most of what I see less introspective and self aware men doing when they reach that mid life stage can be easily summed up in this key phrase, “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic“.

My friend replied, “I think the key phrase is ‘faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money” If you can afford these indulgences, I do not think you are attending a life purpose workshop.”

Here is my reply:

Au contraire, many’s the man who has come to me precisely -because- “faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money” turned out to be not as fulfilling a reality as they had hoped it would be.

“Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money” is what I call “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”. This is a gender peculiar thing. A significant percentage of men, when they hit their mid life crisis, look around and say, “Crap, this isn’t what I want. I’m not happy.” So (here’s the cliche in action) some of them set about to changing things: they trade in the wife and kids for a trophy chick, get a sports car and hair plugs, and otherwise engage in ultimately futile behaviors that do not ultimately address their lack of fulfillment.

They vigorously pursue transient pleasures, trying to soothe their ever increasing sense of dissatisfaction. Those are the guys who fail to examine themselves first. Because of this critically missed first step, they lose the chance to do some significant introspection before they engage in major life upheaval. They mistakenly think that by concentrating on changing their circumstances they will achieve the sought for inner satisfaction that they are now all too aware of lacking.

They throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Come back for the next two parts of this series about men and their mid-life crises.

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence and you can, too!”

In Part One of this short series, I talked about my passion for perseverance in Purpose. And, I left you, gentle readers, hanging. Wait no longer. Here then, as promised, is the conclusion of “Quitting before the miracle”.

————————

HERE’S THE COOL PART:

This self awareness is not peculiar to me. Over and over I see confused, uncertain people leave their Life Purpose session or one of my Life Purpose Discovery seminars lit up, transformed by the natural clarity of Purpose.

Some are awe-struck by the scope and splendor of their unique Life Purpose. Some get giddy. Some grow thoughtful and deeply introspective. Others express a sense of “I always suspected it was something like this, but now I know for sure”.

It’s this inner knowing that confers for some people the first feelings of true courage they’ve ever really felt. And I dare anyone to witness these realizations in person without being deeply moved. When I see what this knowing does for people, I want to bring that level of confidence and surety to everyone. It’s one of the best things ever.

It takes courage to be true to yourself and to what you know is right. It takes courage to claim one’s birthright, brilliance, gifts, talents, mad skills. It takes courage to admit when you’re wrong, when you’ve erred, when you’ve failed to do as you said. It takes great courage to stay your course when those around you doubt. Confidence is born of adherence to one’s own inner clarity and sense of direction. This kind of confidence is born of Purpose.

What is the source of your confidence?

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence and you can, too!”

Some months ago I was talking to my one of my best friends, who was expressing dismay at my dogged determination to try yet again, to put myself out there and potentially risk my home and security in the process. Impassioned, I exclaimed, “I don’t want to live a safe little life. I HAD a safe little life, it damn near killed me. I don’t want to quit before the miracle. All around me people quit before their miracles and end up wondering, ‘what if?’. Not me, not me. I just can’t live like that anymore. I just can’t.” Tears poured down my face.

It’s true. I just can’t give up on my dreams for me, and for you all. A lit up world full of purpose-filled people is my dream, and I know that, despite how things might look right now, it’s all gonna work out better than fine for all of us. I know it in my bones.

It’s that “in the bones” knowing that spurs me on, that prods me off the couch and into the office, that gets me on the phone making the formerly tough calls (it gets easier). The knowing makes me edit this book I’m trying to finish, to stretch myself, to be uncomfortable but wildly fulfilled.

A Purpose driven life is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage and clarity and faith in oneself. It takes confidence.

Now how the hell do you get those, fercrissakes? Courage and faith and clarity, that is. I get mine every day from knowing my own personal Life Purpose. It may sound corny (and I frankly don’t care if it does, corny suits me), but knowing why I’m here and what I’m about makes all the difference for me. It’s given me access to inner resources I didn’t know I had.

Are you living “on Purpose”?

————-

Come back to read the next part of this series, entitled, “Here’s the Cool Part”

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence, and you can, too!”

I mean how could I,  Queen of Confidence, let something like my wardrobe choices affect my personal confidence level?

In retrospect, I realized some pretty powerful things were at play, potent energies and deep inner wisdom that I had deliberately chosen to ignore.

I had refused to listen to my gut when dealing with Plan B. In my frustration I had decided, “Awwww F*#K it!”, and allowed my doubt and negative mind chatter (instead of my Best Self) to dictate my choice of attire. I actually had Plan A style clothes that I could wear, but I chose to ignore my gut instincts and chose another outfit, one that did not accurately reflect what it was I wanted to put out into the world that day. I felt uneasy as a result, not grounded in my power.

But was it the clothes, really? Nope, the inappropriate clothes were merely a symptom of the underlying problem. The problem was not the clothes, but how I decided. I mistrusted my intuition. Bad idea. Always.

The lesson I learned anew:  it’s not the duds, it’s the gut. When I honor my gut feelings, my intuitive hits, I stay firmly rooted in my power. When I don’t, I feel weak and powerless, buffeted by external events and opinions to my ultimate detriment.  Not exactly the best scenario for the Queen of Confidence.

Needless to say, the solution was easily accomplished: I went home and quickly changed into some grey pinstripes (Plan A). Intuition honored, I proceeded to ROCK that conference, making amazing connections and great new friends. Honoring my inner wisdom made alllllll the difference.

The moral of our little story? Trust your gut over your “better judgment”. It will never, ever steer your wrong.

Question of the day: What would it take for me to really trust my gut?

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence, and you can, too!”

Stand sure. Be gracious, act with commitment to the truth and the highest good.

When you live your life in this way, whether you turn out to be “right or wrong” in the moment or in retrospect, you will retain your honor, regardless of outcome.  Fundamentally speaking, it’s your commitment to goodwill and integrity that strengthens your sense of confidence. This evolved and admirable state of being stems from a deep personal awareness of right action which in turn comes from being crystal clear about your own unique Life Purpose.

“Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live. “- Franklin D Roosevelt

Acting upon your convictions, in accordance with your Life Purpose, is the most powerful thing you can do with your life.  It informs, enlivens, and transforms doubt to courage naturally.

Confidence born of a commitment to honor, truth and grace is profoundly powerful and wields greater influence than the faux-confidence that comes from taking advantage of others. This kind of confidence sustains you through tough times, when your convictions and faith in yourself are tested.

“We must have courage to bet on our ideas, to take the calculated risk, and to act. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.” - Maxwell Maltz

Exactly.

Affirmation: “I, <your name>, act with ever increasing courage and confidence.”

Where in your life could you use more confidence and courage?

For assistance in cutting through the crap with courage and confidence, contact:

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence, and it’s for sale!”

The last of the homemade chicken and rice soup is warming my belly. Got the Blues playing in the background and a peach on a plate near my keyboard.

What has any of this to do with confidence, or life purpose, you might well ask, and rightly so. But lemme splain. At times like this, I get contemplative. Some folks do that when it rains. It’s a good thing.

There is a line in a very famous book that says, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven”. It goes on in poetic and profound depth, explaining the different seasons of life itself. I shall not endeavor to improve on prior perfection; I just have something of my own to add.

Confidence and life purpose are not always best expressed outwardly. Indeed, those things always start as an inside job.

On dark and dreary seeming days, in stormy times of the soul, it is good to take some time to slow down, go within, and see what’s there. Be your own storm watcher. Get the lay of the interior landscape. Become aware of the mind clutter, and release it. Let it be washed away in the restorative rain, swept away in flooding torrents of debris no longer useful.

Do not resist Nature. Let your storm seasons wash you clean. What remains is fresher and revitalized. From that flash flooded place, confidence born of purpose naturally blooms like the desert after the rain, colorful and vibrant.

Ask yourself this question: What part of my life could use a cleansing storm?