Hello,
My name is Lou Redmond and I want to share three signs that are going to help you know that you are on the right path,
That you are living your purpose.
And I wanna talk.
And start by actually Not talking about purpose.
Getting out of this idea of living our purpose.
Because sometimes when we talk about purpose,
There's this sense that we're pursuing our purpose.
And there's a feeling that we're either doing it or we're not doing it.
We're living it or we're not living it.
And there's this sense of it's in the future sometimes.
And the way that I want you to think about purpose is more like an assignment.
That we have been given an assignment from God.
It is a project.
And what I like to think about it as an assignment is that when it's an assignment,
It's not that we have it figured out.
It's not that we finished it.
That as long as we're doing something,
We're working on our assignment.
If you were in school and you had an assignment from your teacher,
The moment you put any energy into it,
The moment you go to the library or read a book,
You started working.
On your assignment.
And it's in the working on the assignment that is the fulfilling part.
And so just by watching this video,
You are working on your assignment from God.
And what I like about that is it shifts us back into right now.
It shifts us away from,
Oh,
I just need to find my purpose in the future.
Then I will be okay.
No,
I'm working on it.
I have an assignment.
I'm working on it right now.
And when we're not working on our assignment,
We feel it.
There's something off.
We can tell,
And that's that sense sometimes people feel when there's something missing,
Or I feel like there's more inside of me.
And the moment we start that process,
We start our project,
We work on it,
We start getting that energy.
The energy starts moving for us.
There's a great line in Khalil Gibran's The Prophet,
Which you can see right behind me.
Where when we work.
.
.
We keep pace with the earth.
And the soul of earth,
When we work on the right things,
We keep pace,
We are in harmony.
And that's what it's like when we get back to working on our assignment.
Okay,
So what are the signs?
And I like assignment because what's in the middle of that word?
Fine.
That there are signs for our assignment.
The first sign is fear.
And uncertainty.
One of my favorite quotes from Joseph Campbell is,
Holds the treasure.
You seek.
That it is through our fears,
That the fears are not something to go around the side.
No,
The fears are there for us to move through,
For us to grow through.
You can't imagine for me,
As someone who is a public speaker,
How terrified I used to be of speaking.
But I knew that this was actually the sign.
This was actually part of my assignment,
Is I needed to move through that fear.
I needed to feel all those things so that I can actually share my gifts with the people that I'm meant to share my gifts with.
And why fear is a sign when I really believe our assignment from God,
Our purpose,
Is helping us cultivate one of the qualities is courage.
That we need to develop our courage and the only way,
Literally the only way to develop courage is to feel fear.
And do the thing anyway.
Now,
What I'm not talking about is if you have a fear of going down some alleyway that just doesn't seem so weird feeling in your gut.
Don't follow that fear.
There's nothing good on the other side of that fear.
So listen to those type of fears.
But when it's a fear and on the other side of it is expansion,
Is growth,
Is you living a life that is more true for you,
That is you making your impact,
I want you to lean into those fears.
And with that fear sometimes comes the uncertainty.
It's I don't know how people are going to act.
I don't know what's going to happen.
I don't know if it's going to work out.
And so we have to really make friends with that.
This is a pathless path,
Meaning that we make it as we walk it.
The second sign that you are living your assignment is that you face suffering.
In adversity.
You've never gone to the movies.
And saw a story where the protagonist is doing well,
Things are going well for them,
And then they get a promotion at their work,
They get a new relationship,
Things are just going really well,
They're having a lot of fun,
They're enjoying themselves,
They go to a vacation,
And then things keep going well,
And all of a sudden,
The movie ends.
That there's no story,
There's no tension.
There's no growth.
There's nothing that's meaningful often in that.
And that's like our lives.
That's why we like to watch stories is because we are all in our own story and it's in the adversity.
It's in the suffering that we learn about ourselves that it all becomes so much more meaningful is when we get to the end of the quote unquote movie and we can look back and say,
Wow,
If I didn't go through that at that time,
I would not have this.
I would not know this.
I would I would not feel the gratitude that I have for where I'm at because I feel like they're happening for you,
Feel like they're happening on you.
God is working on you in those moments of suffering and adversity for you to understand more about what you're capable of.
You signed up for the heart.
I got this mantra from being a new parent and everyone tells you that being parents are going to be hard and I know it was going to be hard but you don't really know it until you're in it.
You don't know what the heart is and I had an experience of having to walk my child and I watch my child for two days of the week while my wife is at work.
And during those days of him not being able to settle down or to just be crying and having no idea what I can be doing and just being so overwhelmed.
And it was this mantra that came to me of,
Oh,
This is the heart.
I knew getting into parenting,
There's going to be hard.
And now I'm in it.
And just the awareness that this is the hard,
It eases everything.
It's like,
Okay,
I'm in it.
And so for you,
If you're on your assignment,
If you're living your purpose and it's getting hard,
Oh,
This is the hard.
Yeah,
This people,
Everyone said there's going to be hard.
This is it.
And I hope that just opens things up for you to to keep stepping forward with with a new resolve and more persistence.
One more note on suffering.
Imagine if you were in school and you had to work on someone else's assignment.
And it was really hard.
And it took a lot out of you.
That might build resentment.
You might not like that because you're not actually receiving the rewards.
And so just know that when you're suffering through your assignment,
That's what's meaningful.
That's how you're going to receive the rewards.
And when you look back,
Know that those will be what I like to call destiny days.
Those days when it's really,
Really hard.
That you will look back at those days and be like,
That was part of my destiny,
Not because it showed me where I was going,
But because when I look back,
I can say,
Wow,
That shaped me into who I am today.
The last sign that you are on your assignment from God.
Is that you feel Peace.
I know that might be counterintuitive to the fear.
Because the fear.
.
.
Is often in the beginning a lot.
But also the fear,
There's also this sense of peace.
There's also this sense of awe.
Yeah,
This is right.
I heard this recently of make peace your project manager.
And so make peace your guide when you're about to go do this or you have an opportunity or should I do this,
Should I go there,
Should I do that?
Where do you feel the peace?
Where does peace come?
And to know that your assignment doesn't need to be rushed.
If you have an idea and you're like,
Oh my gosh,
If I don't do this thing by tomorrow,
I'm going to lose it.
No one's going to,
You know,
You have that urgency.
That's typically not part of your assignment,
That your assignment is slow.
And even if things happen fast,
There's no need to rush.
I don't know if that makes sense.
There's no need to rush.
So connect to peace.
Make peace your project manager.
In our case,
In our metaphor that we've been exploring,
Imagine that peace is like the TA of the class.
It's there to check in with.
It's there to know and support you,
To help you discern what assignment is actually right for you.
And if you don't feel peace,
Pause.
Peace or pause.
So I hope these three signs are helpful and simple ways to just connect with and say,
Hey,
Am I doing things that I'm afraid of?
Am I facing suffering and adversity?
Probably.
Am I feeling peace in this process?
And if those three things are there,
You're probably working on your assignment.
And just know that I am rooting for you so,
So hard as you work on whatever assignment,
Whatever your purpose,
Whatever you feel your mission is.
And I'm sending you so much love and I'd love to hear what you thought of this video.
Please feel free to leave a comment and I will connect with you very soon.
