What Is The Meaning of Life? A Guide to Discovering Your Purpose

The meaning of life is one of those sought after quests that can never truly be answered. There are just too many opinions and personal definitions for any one meaning to be true for everyone.

Also, there are certain topics in life that can simply never be fully described with mere words, such as true love and true self.

Some will say that discovering the meaning behind true love and your true self is the meaning of life. What do you think?

Discovering Your Purpose

While you might feel a bit confused, you can start to find meaning in your life by discovering your true purpose. For some, this comes easily but for others it may take some deep soul searching. Your true purpose is not necessarily a job or something concrete, although it could be. There are no rules to follow, just the rules set out by your heart.

Try some of the following activities when searching for your true purpose:

1. Brainstorm. Find a time and place where you can have some quiet self-reflection. Just start writing down ideas on what you think your true purpose might be. You may not arrive at it at first, but you’ll eventually come across something that hits the nail on the head.

2. Activities and hobbies. Reflect on your favorite activities and hobbies. Can you turn any of them into a life’s purpose? Some people feel that if they take their hobbies further it’ll start to feel like any old job. This won’t be the case if you’ve truly found your purpose.

3. Skills and intelligence. If there are certain skills and abilities that you’re good at, perhaps you should try pursuing those, even if you didn’t think you wanted to before.

4. Also, you might want to look into a theory called Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner. Gardner describes how everyone has a type of intelligence and it might not always be what is typically accepted as intelligence, such as a high IQ.

5. Happiness. Ask yourself whether or not you’re happy in your current life situation. If you are, perhaps you’ve already found your life’s purpose or you’re on the correct path to it. If you’re unhappy, see if you can isolate the reasons why. Once you know why, you can take action to correct the imbalance.

6. Regrets. Make an effort to let go of your regrets. These never serve a positive purpose in your life. However, if you identify your regrets, perhaps you can use them to help you discover your purpose. Perhaps there’s something you regret that you can correct. Often times, it’s not too late to make a positive change!

7. For example, if you’re in your 50s and you always wanted to go to college, you shouldn’t let anything stand in the way between you and your dream.

8. Religion. If you’re a religious person, it’s likely that your religion discusses life and meaning. Search through religious books or seek out a spiritual advisor to learn more about the meaning of life.

Follow Your Bliss

To put it quite simply, if you’re following your bliss, you’re on the road to discovering your true purpose. You’ll also be discovering your personal definition for the meaning of life.

Remember, you’ll always have outside influences when it comes to finding life’s meaning, but following your heart is the only true answer.

Self Employed? How to Effectively Increase Your Hourly Rate

If you work for yourself, your income naturally depends on your hourly rate. Of course, you’d love to make a better hourly wage. But how do you know if you’re being fairly paid?

Here are some tips on when you should (and shouldn’t!) raise your rate.

When You Should Raise Your Rates

1. Your skills or service have improved. If you can provide more value, raising your rates to reflect that is reasonable.

2. Supply and demand have changed for your service. If you’re booking yourself solid and turning away new clients, then you’re in an excellent position to charge more. Simply raise your rate until you’re getting the number of clients you want without having to decline new business.

3. You’re testing a new rate to gain information. Just be sure you have a plan if the higher fees don’t pan out.

4. If you want to reposition yourself. There’s nothing wrong with positioning yourself as a high-end consultant, but be sure you can deliver that type of service. You won’t last long if the quality of your work doesn’t match the prices you’re charging.

When Not to Raise Your Rates

There should always be a legitimate business reason for raising your rates. You might just want to earn more money, but that’s usually not justification for charging your clients more. Before making any rate changes, always look at your skills as well as supply and demand.

Frequently Made Mistakes

1. Never raising your rates. If you never raise your rates, then you’ll eventually be undercharging. Over time, that’s a lot of money that’s not making its way into your pocket.
   

2. Not testing. New clients are the best place to try out new rates. Keep your old clients at the old rates while you’re testing; you can always bump them up later. If the new hourly charge doesn’t work out, you’ll still have your old clients to fall back on.
   

3. Raising rates beyond what’s reasonable. If you’re just starting out, you can’t expect to charge the same as an expert. You’ll generally be more effective if you start at the lower end with your price until your client base is sufficient. Then you can start testing higher rates.
   

4. Changing too frequently. Your clients can’t plan your services into their budget if you’re always changing your rates around.

How to Increase Your Rates

1. Improve your services. You should constantly be trying to add value without significantly increasing your costs. The better your service, the more you should be able to charge.
   

2. Always over-deliver. Not only do you get great word-of-mouth advertising, you’ll have a much easier time raising your rates when the time comes.
   

3. Get testimonials. Anytime a client is obviously happy, ask for a testimonial. Put those testimonials on your marketing materials.
   

4. Truly care about your clients. When your clients can tell how much you care, you’re much more likely to keep their business and get referrals. Their referrals can bring plenty of new clients to test out your new rates.

Ultimately, rates are determined by the marketplace. Your job is to position yourself appropriately within that marketplace and then test higher rates when the time is right.

However, within what the marketplace will bear, the sky is the limit when setting your own rates. This is one of the best parts about working for yourself. Use these tips to raise your income as your expertise becomes more valuable. You deserve it!

Letting Go Of The Past Opens My Eyes To New Possibilities

The past is gone, so I focus on what is to come. I see my road map clearly when I shift my view to the road ahead of me.

When relationships end, it is sometimes sad, but I know that everything happens for a reason. Instead of sulking about the loss, I reassure myself that goodness is to come.

I believe that letting go of someone from the past makes room for a new relationship that is nurturing and fulfilling. Knowing this enables me to peacefully lay the past to rest. Anything that is meant for me is already on its way.

Changing jobs is difficult when I share a bond with my former employers. Part of me feels inclined to hold onto that bond, but I push myself to let go.

By choosing to close one chapter of my life, I open myself to new bonds with great potential. I see new opportunities clearly when I commit to wiping the slate clean and looking forward.

Although there are lessons to learn from past experiences, I avoid using them as the standard with which to measure future prospects. I keep an open mind.

Today, I believe that letting go of the past is the answer to finding something newer and more fulfilling. I release the familiar and bravely reach out for new experiences ahead.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. What are some of the lessons that I take from past professional opportunities?

2. How do I know when something in front of me is worth my time?

3. How do I know when it is time to move on from a current situation?