Stacey Demarco - The No Excuses Guide to Uncovering Your Purpose: Finding It, Living It, Loving It

Contents

Acknowledgements

Jade

To my co-author Stacey, thank you for being such an inspiration, friend, and fellow companion on lifes spiritual journey. We have so many similar things that we believe in and so many that are different and thats what makes our connection so special.

I would like to thank all of my family and friends for understanding and putting up with my crazy schedule and work life. My purpose sometimes takes me to different places but my heart and soul are always with you.

To Richard Martin thanks for helping me with my work and purpose, your insight and advice is always so very helpful.

To Lisa Hanrahan and all the team at Rockpool Publishing, thank you for all of your professionalism and support in making this book.

And last but not the least, to my Spirit Guides, thank you for all that you do.

Stacey

Working with people who are living their purpose is a joyful thing and it is always a joy to work with Jade-Sky, my co-author in the No Excuses series. Again, thank you Jade for the ease in which we work and for your insight and knowledge.

Following the Witches Way has been key to the discovery and ongoing fulfilment of my purpose and so I wish to express my gratitude to those that assisted me in my path finding, including the Goddess in all Her many faces.

Special mentions of thanks to Adam Rehak, Richard Martin, Lucienne Howard and my parents.

Introduction

When we were small, one of the most common questions we were asked was What are you going to be when you grow up?

And generally we had no problems stating what we wanted in reply.

Our little selves would say what we wanted to be without doubt. We smiled excitedly and said that we wanted to be a fireman or a vet. Or a teacher or a singer, we would answer. Or a doctor or a builder, or both! It was easy to express, what ever we decided.

There was no embarrassment. No hesitation. Just the natural freedom of confidence of just knowing. And what about the delight of wanting to be not just one thing but a few! A doctor and a builder! A champion surfer and a scientist! A mother and an artist! We could interchange it we could decide to be many things and not feel fear or shame. A true expression of our natural preferences was a reflection our own self-discovery and curiosity that was perfectly natural.

Our natural preference(s) were being exposed and expressed. (A fireman mmm, what was it in us that lit up and saw that we wanted to be of service, to be a hero perhaps, to protect, when we first saw the concept of a fireman? What natural preference was brightly engaged when we first became very conscious of surfers riding the waves at the beach or when we first entered a library?)

And then, we get a little older. Then someone asks again. Maybe we still want to be those things. Sometimes, those ideas have changed somewhat because we had more experience of the world. We may have been to school by this time and learned a little more about what we needed to become these things. So desire to be a fireman may have changed simply because we found something else that seemed more exciting. Perhaps though, our call to be a doctor was muted by the discovery (or just being told) that we have to be super good at math and physics and well, that was super hard. Super hard doesnt sound like fun and so, there must be something else ...

We begin to edit our preferences and our natural purpose.

And then later again, perhaps more seriously this time, we are asked, What do you want to do?

By this time we are thinking about money, status, responsibilities, exams, parental and peer expectations, and through this filter we make decisions that set us on the path for our future working life. Do we still hold to our natural preferences? Do we still intend to participate in what we love? For many of us, no, and it wasnt even a conscious decision!

This book is a simple one. Like our other books in the No Excuses series, it is not going to give you loads of fluff and complex jargon. Instead its going to be full of practical action and techniques for you to try.

Its full of stories of people who have successfully uncovered their purpose and are living and breathing it. It is going to get you thinking about what the difference between work and purpose is (yes there is a difference and its an important one). We are going to give you tips and tricks and great physical, mental and spiritual ways to get out of your own way and get back on-purpose.

We are compassionate, but we want to get you well and truly moving forward towards where YOU WANT TO GO.

If you are reading this, we presume that you probably are not completely content with your working life. Perhaps you are in the middle of yet another bad job (and yes, it feels like Groundhog Day in hell) and you want to get out of there. You may be experiencing pain about not having the career that you imagined you would. Perhaps you are feeling confused, unclear about what your purpose really is. Maybe you know what you want to do, but just cant find a way to do it without huge unacceptable risk. Commonly, you may feel a bit hopeless and stuck in a rut.

The good news is these are prime indicators that you are not only ready to change but you are in the perfect place to do just that! We are excited for you! But more about that later.

We ask one thing here, right at the start, that you participate. Reading isnt enough. You must do take action participate in your own change. Yes, you may be fearful, tired, grumpy and resistant; but you have asked for change have you not? Isnt it worse to stay where you are, keeping the status quo and so, continually getting what you are getting? So we invite you to just give it a go. Participate in the exercises in this book which by the way, are mostly extremely pleasurable and see where it takes you. We suspect it will take you back to the real you and what your soul is most delighted with.

Lets go

Jade and Stacey

Part 1: What do we mean by Purpose?

What is this thing called purpose?

Your purpose could be defined a number of ways, but could include:

• Why you know you are here
• What your core competency or life theme is
• What excites you, makes your heart sing, makes you feel focused and on-purpose
• How you are of service to the whole of life, not just the company you work for
• Sometimes there is no monetary reward
• Sometimes there is no job title and instead, a very strong driving theme.

What do We Mean by Work?

• Work is the action involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or get a particular result.