Finding our purpose in life, creating a strategy to move toward its fulfillment and planning our activities in a manner that will support that movement are all vital parts of living life by design rather than by default.
You will find that the sources below can be a dramatic help in focusing your thoughts and actions and in shortening the time required for that process.
Purpose / Strategy / Planning
(Note: You can click on the name or the picture of any book to find out more about it or to purchase it.)
In I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
by Dawna Markova
In I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, one of the most charismatic teachers and thinkers of today speaks from her heart. Twenty years ago, faced with a life-threatening illness, Dawna Markova began a journey of rediscovery. This book follows her path to finding deeper meaning in life. As she points out, people can continue to feel powerless and live habitual lives - or they can make the choice to follow their passion. "In a similar way to A Gift from the Sea, the readers of this book are invited to accompany me on a journey to come to know more intimately the value and purpose of their lives." - Dawna Markova
NOTE: To read the first chapter of this book online now,click here.
Life Purpose Course
from Higher Awareness
Why are you here? What is your life purpose? Few of us can answer these questions clearly. Yet, if we know what questions to ask ourselves and we watch how our lives unfold, we can begin to discover our life purpose. Knowing our life purpose and fully living it brings much meaning and fulfillment into our lives. When we consciously align with our deepest reasons for being, we tap into rich reserves of energy, personal power and passion. Our lives begin to flow in new and delightful ways. Explore what brings meaning and passion to your life with our Life Purpose workbook and 30 days of email support.
I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It
by Barbara Sher
This is an excellent book for new college graduates or anyone sick and tired of languishing in a dead-end job or relationship--yet reluctant to make drastic life changes due to uncertainty about what would actually inspire them. Ms. Sher reveals how to "recapture long lost goals, overcome the blocks that inhibit your success, decide what you want to be, and live your dreams."
Dream-Minder:
Software That Frees Your Mind and Lifts Your Spirit
How often do you find yourself saying: "I wish I had clarity, focus and a clear sense of direction and purpose in my life ?" Have you ever wondered why some people realize their Life's Dreams and goals yet others don't? How you can find your passions and have more time to do what you love? "The Dream-Minder gives such an inspirational boost - it's the only software I've ever found that makes me want to consider the quality of my Dreams and goals - but from such a unique perspective. I love the images and music!"
Learn how you can change your life, using a unique tool, at:
Dream-Minder
Finding Your Passion (Audio)
by Cheryl Richardson
As you listen, Cheryl gives hands-on exercises to help you reconnect with yourself, to help you find out what things get you excited. She prods you to find what you are passionate about and bring it into your life in a balanced way. Cheryl gives hands-on exercises to help you reconnect with yourself, to help you find out what things get you excited, and to move toward your bliss by clearing away the clutter of life's demands.
The On-Purpose Person: Making Your Life Make Sense: A Modern Parable
by Kevin W. McCarthy
Tap into your highest potential and add more fullness and meaning to life by discovering your purpose and living it out seven days a week! With The On-Purpose Person, you'll be on your way to discovering your life's purpose within half an hour of picking up the book! Presented in an entertaining story format, its principles are clear and easy to apply. You'll find yourself translating them into practice immediately-whether you're still in your teens or are well into retirement.
The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work
by Richard J. Leider
As we enter the new millennium, most of us are searching for deeper meaning in our lives-some reliable compass point to guide us ahead. The Power of Purpose teaches you to embrace the complex questions life is asking you. Find your 'why' and your 'what' and your 'how' will become clear. The Power of Purpose is a down-to-earth guide for people struggling to find their true professional callings. Developed through the author's considerable personal experience and extensive interviews conducted over the past 20 years, it's a guide for those who want to combine their "own unique gifts" with "the needs of the world" to carve out a vocational niche that's both individualized and highly rewarding.
Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters
by Phillip C. McGraw
"Dr. Phil" (a psychologist who describes himself as a strategist) is determined to make sure that his readers are the creators of their lives, not created by their lives. By accepting that you are personally accountable for every element of your life, you can erase the negative "epidemic behaviors" in your life and reach your goals. He describes in depth all 10 "Life Laws"--the rules by which the world plays--that he learned the hard way. Learn and abide by the Life Laws and go on to create a Life Strategy, and you will also know how to reach any goal you set for yourself.
Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor Emil Frankl
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is among the most influential works on mankind's nature. The book offers a deeply moving personal essay about Frankl's imprisonment in Auschwitz and other concentration camps for five years, and his struggle during this time to find reasons to live. The second part of the book, describes Frankl's belief that man's deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose. At times, Frankl's personal and professional discourses merge into a style of tremendous power. This is a fascinating, sophisticated, and very human book.
Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed
by Brian Tracy
In Maximum Achievement, Brian Tracy gives you a powerful, proven system -- based on twenty-five years of research and practice -- that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area of your life. You learn ideas, concepts, and methods used by high-achieving people in every field everywhere. You learn how to unlock your individual potential for personal greatness. The step-by-step blueprint for success and achievement presented in these pages includes proven principles drawn from psychology, religion, philosophy, business, economics, politics, history, and metaphysics that will guide you to greater success than you ever imagined possible.
Unstoppable: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You
by Cynthia Kersey
45 powerful and inspirational stories of ordinary people, just like us, who overcame adversity and discouragement to accomplish wonderful things. Using these stories, Cynthia Kersey shows you how you can change your life by finding your own strengths and greatness within. Complete with a personal action plan to help you reach down inside and bring these qualities out in your life, it is an inspiring book that will touch anyone looking for direction, and anyone who needs the little boost of encouragement to reach for their dreams.
Coach Yourself to Success: 101 Tips for Reaching Your Goals at Work and in Life
by Talane Miedaner
An easy-to-read book filled with 101 practical, useful and tested tips for being all you can be. Talane underscores the lessons with memorable stories of how people's lives changed when they implemented the tip, either at home or work. The book provides a great overview of the value of simplifying your life so you can have time to address what is really important to you. For those working with a coach, the book provides excellent insight into the range of possibilities for which they can use their coach.
Even Eagles Need a Push: Learning to Soar in a Changing World
by David McNally
Published in 1994, this is a timeless book that doesn't draw from current 'techniques' or 'ways of thinking'. Using anecdotes, quotations, and exercises to teach readers how to find meaning and purpose in both their professional and personal lives, it's as relevant today as it was when it was first published.
The Magic of Thinking Big
by David J. Schwartz
Millions of people throughout the world have improved their lives using The Magic of Thinking Big. Dr. David J. Schwartz, long regarded as one of the foremost experts on motivation, gives you useful methods, not empty promises. Schwartz presents a carefully designed program for getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life, and your community that will help you sell better, manage better, earn more money, and -- most important of all -- find greater happiness and peace of mind.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
by Susan Jeffers
Dynamic and inspirational, this book is filled with concrete techniques to turn passivity into assertiveness. It shows readers how to get what they want in spite of their self-sabotaging fears. Dr. Susan Jeffers teaches you how to stop negative thinking patterns and reeducate your mind to think more positively. You will learn: the vital 10-Step Positive Thinking Process; how to risk a little every day; how to turn every decision into a "No-Lose" situation, and much more.
Lead The Field (3 Audio CDs)
by Earl Nightingale
This is the original recording of Earl Nightingale's "Lead The Field" motivational program which was first recorded in the '50's, and remains timeless and powerful today. Earl Nightingale, in clear and understandable terms, exposes the secrets of successful people. An excellent motivator and confidence builder. He shows that you can do it, if you only will.
Awaken the Giant Within
by Anthony Robbins
The creator of acclaimed personal achievement programs and the author of the bestselling Unlimited Power reveals the proven steps to self-mastery. Robbins shares the secrets of his exclusive "Date with Destiny" seminars, describing how unconscious beliefs control our behavior and how we can make immediate changes to accomplish our goals.
The Psychology of Achievement (Audio)
by Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy -- America's "success mentor" -- offers an inside look at the thinking that leads to great achievement. Drawing on the work of leading psychologists and behavioral researchers, he demonstrates the attitude, deep self-knowledge and pin-pointed goals that are important factors in achieving great success. He'll help you identify your own "area of excellence" and master the tools that make each achiever tick.
The Art of Exceptional Living (audio)
by Jim Rohn
There's an art to success. You don't have to be a super-achiever or unusually creative. You don't have to endure great obstacles. You don't even have to do exceptional things. You just have to do ordinary things exceptionally well. Jim Rohn shows you how to begin living life according to your own rules. You will learn the importance of self-education, developing new skills, and how to start your own personal success library filled with information that will make you more knowledgeable as well as more employable. You owe it to yourself to experience the wisdom of Jim Rohn.
Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
by Brian Tracy
Everyone is busier than they have ever been, and overwhelmed with tasks of all sizes. This enjoyable book offers practical, proven, effective techniques that every person can use to focus on their most important tasks, and stop procrastinating. Eat That Frog! will help you to plan and organize your day, set priorities, get more done in less time, feel less stress, feel more in control and more positive and happy about your life.
A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative
by Roger Von Oech
Roger von Oech takes a very creative look at the 10 mental locks that keep us from being creative, making this a book that deserves some time. A Whack on the Side of the Head uses a combination of explanation, puzzles, and irreverent artwork to help you reawaken the imaginative thinking process most people abandoned in their childhood.
