Napoleon Hill first promoted the idea of having a Major Definite Purpose in his book ‘Think and Grow Rich’, published in 1937.

When talking of a Major Definite Goal, Hill encouraged us to consider what our central or main mission of our life might be. Why am I here? Am achieving what I want to achieve? What am I going to do with the rest of my life?

Since many of us spend the majority of our lives working, it can often be that our Major Definite Purpose is work or family related.

Identifying your Major Definite Purpose can lead to a sense of fulfilment and achievement in that it leads people to find their true talents, and many start to feel that they are indeed a round peg in a round hole. A sense of coming home and living your life in a way that fulfils you.

There will always be people who know from a very early age what they want to be or to do, but for many of us, things have not been quite so clear and obvious. Often it can take us decades of learning and trying out different roles before we feel truly comfortable and hit upon our true talents and gifts.

Hill tells us that for those who succeed in life, the definitiveness of purpose is the starting point from which one must begin. He recognised too, that definiteness of purpose takes on animation, life and power when backed by a burning desire to translate that purpose into its material equivalent.

Which is exciting as soon as you are clear of your purpose, but how does one find it?

It is most likely to lie between a natural talent, a passion, and an interest. Perhaps you are now challenging the word talent with idea that you are not outstandingly good at anything in particular, I will challenge that idea in turn.

Too often we spend a great deal of focus berating ourselves for what we feel we are not doing well, we look at others and imagine they are feeling confident and are wholly aware of their natural talents. They really are not, they too are focusing invariably on the things they do not do well. All too often we expend our valuable time and energy trying to be what we are not instead of focusing wholeheartedly on the things we are good at, which incidentally will usually be the very things we love, and then honing those skills to make ourselves outstanding perfumers in that area.

So, suppose you have a natural talent in cooking, you look towards that area to expand your knowledge and pursue the dream of working in that industry. Perhaps you have a real feel for strategic planning, you focus a greater amount of time and energy on learning how to be even better, and you will start to become the expert called upon to use these talents more often. You get to be an expert in something you love.

Angela