We are living in a day and age where everything is moving so quickly; change is inevitable and more so today, change is rapid. Towards the later part of 2020, I completed the “Leadershift” mastermind (based on the book) which came at such a crucial point in my career. I was so impacted by the teachings that coming into 2021, I signed up for the Salt Inc - Mentoring Community and committed 12 weeks to draw from the lessons in John Maxwell’s book, Intentional Living.
The Intentional Living book talks about, starting small but believing big. In the book, John asks the reader, What do you want to be remembered by at your funeral and reminds us that we were created to live a life of purpose and to leave a legacy by leaving in others what we give. John encourages us all to become the main character or the hero in our own stories, live each day with significance and look for opportunities to help others.
I remember my siblings and I being told when we were younger, to “Dream Big” or “You can become whatever you want to be”. We were raised to recognize that each of us possess the power to choose how we wish to live our lives. Then, life happens, we experience setbacks and somewhere in the process our so-called big dreams appear a bit overwhelming to pursue and even more, impossible to achieve.
Intentional Living reminded me not to discredit where I am now or the path of the journey thus far. Being a person of faith, it reaffirmed my belief that God will make all that work together for the good. All the success and failures in our journey will shape our destiny and THAT each of our stories will be great.
John writes about receiving a gift, a book titled “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. He was shocked to discover that the pages were blank. John was supposed to fill the blank pages with his dreams, stories, experiences and write HIS OWN greatest story. How profound is that?
I can look back at my own life and identify countless times where I failed, even though my intentions were in the right place. I learnt that good intentions are simply not enough and the bridge to living a life that matters is living a life of intentionality.
This notion of “finding my why” has greatly influenced my thought process and perspective. I literally make every decision now through the lens of having a sense of purpose, meaning, if it serves my why, I will accept it, if it doesn’t I can kindly & might I even add, now confidently, make the decision to decline. Knowing your why, helps determine who you need to connect with (like-minded people) and those that you need to partner with (like-valued people).
Once we discover our why, we use this as our gift to help others. We live to make each day a masterpiece and operate from the significance cycle of:
Anticipation – by being proactive in the things that we hope for
Action – by actively engaging and consistently applying ourselves to do that which is required
Abundance - by anticipating positivity and shift from a mindset of maintaining to creating
At such a time as this, I believe a little kindness or simple act of generosity can go a long way.
Unlike others, at this point in my life, I have to keep on searching until I find my why. This was probably the gist of the book for me. I have not quite put my finger on it yet, but I believe these few questions have helped me to be well on my journey to discovering my why. What would be one word that best describes you? What do you sing about? What makes you cry? What are your dreams?
As I conclude, I leave you with a few thoughts:
In all that you are doing, what or who is it that you are becoming?
Does it serve your why?
If not, what will it take for that to change?
Personally, there is still so much I am still drawing from the book itself. Therefore, I for one, will remain a student of the Intentional Living book for some time, or at least until I discover my why.
I hope that my reflections, in some way, will help with your journey to living a life of significance and purpose.
Reflections by Alena Vakaloloma
SALT Mentoring Community
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