The Course of 10000 Days

Discovering Your Life Purpose Before It’s Too Late

Several few months ago, I had an intriguing conversation with a good friend named Roger who confided he was tired of the rat race. He had worked for the same energy company for 24 years and decided his work was no longer fulfilling. He told me he was going to make some major changes in his life.

What struck me was Roger is a methodical planner and analytical thinker. He does not make irrational or snap decisions. He’s 56 years old, a former Army officer, unmarried and has an advanced degree in engineering. Given Roger’s management position with his company, I’m sure he earned $250,000 per year or more. I could tell something profound was stirring inside my friend.

Then, last week, Roger sent me another email announcing he had quit his job, sold his spacious home near Houston and moved to northern Colorado where works as a project manager for a non-profit organization that helps disabled veterans get their lives back on track. Despite the low-paying job, cold weather and one bedroom apartment, Roger couldn’t be happier.

In my email response to Roger, I had to ask, “What made you do it? Why did you toss everything aside and change direction in your life?” His answer was profound.

Roger told me he had attended a company-sponsored workshop on how to re-discover one’s passion for life and work. Roger attended the program as a way to get re-energized and motivated since his company was considering him for a major promotion since it was expanding its business. For several months prior to the workshop, Roger was bored at work and felt he was slipping into a velvet rut of contentment without any sense of personal satisfaction or growth.

But, during the workshop, the facilitator asked attendees to think about their legacy and how they would like to be remembered. “It was a haunting question,” Roger told me, “because I never really gave it much thought. I realized I was 55 years old and could spend the rest of my life leading a project team and having a nice retirement and a gold watch to show for it. Somehow, that just wasn’t enough. I knew if I had any doubts about how I would spend the next ten years, now was the time to make some changes. And, that’s what I did!”

Roger’s decision to quit his job and seek a new direction is not uncommon. In fact, every month -- at seminars and workshops I conduct on Finding Your Passion in the Workplace -- I am meeting dozens of people who tell me they are unfulfilled. They either hate their jobs or don’t think their lives have much significance. That’s not to suggest they’re unhappy or miserable. But, they are unfulfilled. They want something more out of life and they just need a good reason or hard shove to get off the dime and make the same changes that Roger made in his life.

Andrea DeBell, an author who writes on happiness and bliss in life, uses a beautiful analogy about footprints in the sand. She writes, “We all leave footprints in the sand; the question is, will we be a big heal, or a great soul?” It’s a powerful question because it captures the essence of our life purpose. And, sooner or later, it’s a question we must all answer. Even by ignoring the question, we answer it.

In my new book, 10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life, I challenge readers to consider their legacy and how they want to be remembered? Frankly, it’s not that long a time when you consider that 10,000 days equals 27 years and 145 days. The average person only lives about 30,000 days or 82 years. So, the clock is ticking for all of us!

The Course of 10,000 Days suggests that our lives are divided into three segments -- our Discovery Years, our Fulfillment Years and our Legacy Years. Each portion lasts ten thousand days. As we transition from our Fulfillment Years into our Legacy Years -- our final 10,000 days -- we begin to ask ourselves those haunting questions about our life purpose and how will we be remembered? It’s a natural part of life. But, it can cause major problems if you don’t have good answers. This is what my friend, Roger, experienced. He didn’t have any satisfactory answers so he decided to revisit his goals and dreams. That’s what triggered his major changes. Now, according to his own definition of success, his life has meaning and purpose. He has found his bliss.

While this period of self-reflection and introspection can occur as early as your mid 40s, typically it hits us as we enter our 50s. Some of us might think we are experiencing a mid-life crisis when, in fact, it’s simply our Inner Spirit challenging us to do something meaningful and memorable with our life. But, because our ego controls most of our emotional responses, our Inner Spirit (that third dimension of our Being that guides us through life towards our higher purpose) does its job by repeatedly posing those haunting questions and demanding truthful answers.

And so, like Roger, we begin to think about our footprint on the sands of life. Are we leaving a profound imprint that will not be washed away by the sands of time, or will our footprint disappear quickly because our life lacks meaning and purpose?
By examining your life through the questions and exercises of The Course of 10,000 Days you can leave a lasting imprint on the people you love and the planet where you live. But, it requires you to take that all-important first step and answer the question: How do I live a life worth remembering?

About the Author: Tom Hinton is one of America’s most respected authors and speakers on Personal Development, Professional Growth and Human Potential. He is the author of four books including:10,000 Days: The Secret to Finding Purpose, Peace and Passion for the Rest of Your Life, which will be published in 2011. For information, email him at: tom@tomhinton.com