3952: What is a Purpose? The Ultimate Life Hack for the Lifehacker by Michael Mehlberg on Finding Purpose

0:00Score more with the college branded Venmo debit card and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash. Got paid back? With the Venmo debit card, you can instantly access your balance and spend on what you want, like game day snacks, gear, tickets, and more. The more you do, the more cash back you can earn. Plus, there's no monthly fear minimum balance. Sign up now at Venmo.com slash college card. The Venmo master card is issued by the Bankport Bank NA, select schools available. Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo.me slash stash terms. Max $100 cash back per month. This is Optimal Living Daily. What is a purpose? The ultimate life hack for the life hacker by Michael Melberg of MichaelMelberg.com. The average American spends 11 hours a day consuming media, 11 hours every single day.

1:21Two hours in 22 minutes of that time are spent on social media. The rest is spent in front of a TV or online reading, listening, or interacting with content. According to my iPhone, I'm better than average, but it's hardly worth celebrating. I spent two hours and 14 minutes using Instagram, nearly four hours in email, and three and a half hours playing in my new Oculus Quest, which is next thing level incredible over the past seven days. I got it on watch Netflix on my phone, tracking that would have easily added 14 more hours to the mix. That's 24 hours this week to put it bluntly, being around with things that really ultimately in the end don't matter, which is why life hacks are so great. That's why life hacks are so great, right? Like life hacks from Robert Allen about not keeping a zero inbox, or the one from James Altature about not reading the news, or the advice from Nicholas Goek about being vulnerable and handing out a trust advance. These life hacks are little morsels of advice to help you focus on the things that matter.

2:24Their quality recommendations that will absolutely save you time and lead you to a better life or at least prevent you from the bolt activities that might take you away from it. What's more, each of these hacks is related by an underlying fundamental hack, a single hack all three have in common, one root hack to rule them all. One hack forged in the depths of mount, sorry, I'll get to the point. One hack to rule them all. Simon Sinek had it right when he wrote his book, Find Your Why, a Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team. Rick Warren put a point on it with his book, The Purpose Driven Life, What on Earth am I here for? These books discuss the importance of having one fundamental driving force to guide your every decision, your every action. That driving force is purpose, and purpose, however small and obscure you think it is, is the ultimate life hack. Really? God, isn't that a little new age woo-woo? I'll admit purpose sounds a little woo-woo, a little new age, but there's a reason it's

3:27not only an obvious life hack, but the ultimate one. When driven by purpose, you experience dozens of immediate, practical, life-changing benefits that make all other hacks irrelevant. James Altiger's suggestion of not reading the news is based on the principle of purpose. Why not read the news? Because doing so won't positively affect the main goals in your life. Robert Allen's suggestion of not keeping a zero inbox is also. Why not worry about having zero unread emails? Because spending time responding to other people's both requests takes time away from that matters to you. In other words, reading the news and keeping up on your emails is neither relevant nor helpful to doing that which you were put on this earth to do. What is a purpose? Purpose gives you clarity. With one fundamental driving force in your life, there's no question whether the tasks you're working on will help or hurt. Purpose gives you focus. We have a single guiding light to follow, everything else lies on the fringe.

4:31It's easy to eliminate distractions and remains single-mindedly focused on that which matters. Purpose gives your life meaning. When you know your destination, everything you do to help you get there is meaningful and fulfilling. Speaking of which, purpose fulfills you. Loading your day with meaningful activities that align with your reason for being fills you up with energy, happiness, and satisfaction. Purpose gives you drive. We have somewhere to go and something to do, there's no youth sitting around. Your purpose will sit at the forefront of every activity or nonactivity, beckoning you to take action, inspiring you to grow. Purpose redefines success on your terms. When the ultimate objective in your life is something only you can do, there's no use following the rules and limitations others have constructed. You get to define how you achieve success. You get to choose how you succeed. Finally, purpose makes you grateful. When you live up to and for your purpose, there are no regrets, no second guesses.

5:36Only clear, focused, meaningful, and fulfilling action driving you to success on your terms. And that's something to be grateful for. I have goals, isn't that enough? Goals are great, goals are helpful and practical and useful. People who set goals have been shown in study after study to be more likely to achieve them, but no, goals aren't enough. A goal alone sets you on a path that one day will end. It'll either end in failure at which point you're left wondering how to recover or in success, at which point you're left wondering what to do next. Purpose is the one thing that will guide you through failure, help you recover from it, and keep you moving on to bigger and better things after you succeed. Beyond that though, the wrong goal can be detrimental to your success. If your purpose in life is to become a marathon runner and you set a goal to complete the swim to Alcatraz, you'll swim to prison, but die on the road. Goals, when not aligned with your purpose, will distract you from doing what's necessary

6:36to live a life of meaning. It's the very reason so many fine financial success, but aren't happy. They're winning at money, but failing at life. All because they're not aligned with their purpose. Or maybe because they haven't found it. How to find your purpose. So now I've convinced you that finding your reason for being is the ultimate life hack. Now you want to know what you were put on this earth to do. I'm afraid to say that's far beyond the scope of this article, but so as not to leave you hanging, I've put together a few fine your purpose worksheets that aim to do just that. You can download them in this article and discover your guiding light, your driving force, and your one true calling using questions I've uncovered from dozens of books and even a few Tony Robbins exercises. These worksheets will help, but finding your purpose won't be easy. Once you find it though, everything will change for the better. Purpose changes everything. Let it. Let it change everything. In a National Institute of Health study performed in 1998, researchers found that people with

7:39purpose lived up to seven years longer than people without. Imagine what you could do with seven extra years. Find your purpose and change how long you can possibly live. In a 2013 Gallup Healthway study, having a purpose has also been shown to double the likelihood that you'll learn something new every day. This is the same study by the way that showed you'll increase your likelihood of being engaged at work by 400%. Find your purpose and become a rock star at work every day. In speaking of work, purpose can change your business too. Multiple Nilsis studies have shown that customers will pay more for a product with a purpose and are more likely to select a product with a purpose over one without. Not to mention seven out of ten millennials want to work for a company with a purpose. Define your company purpose to increase sales and attract top talent from a new generation. Find your purpose. Let it change you. Let it change your business. Transform yourself from the average person spending 11 hours consuming content and over

8:41two hours on social media into someone who spends every waking moment sprinting toward a better life, a life of purpose. You just listen to the post titled, What is a Purpose, the ultimate life hack for the life hacker by Michael Melberg of michaelmelberg.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. A thoughtfully built wardrobe comes down to pieces that mix well and last. That's where quince shines, premium fabrics, consider design and everyday essentials that feel effortless to wear and dependable even as the seasons change. Quince cuts out the middlemen and works directly with top factories so you're paying for a quality clothing not brand markup or fancy retail stores. The cashmere is 100% Mongolian and the cotton is long staple so it stays soft. And speaking of cashmere, I got their cashmere polo. It's super nice and has become my favorite piece of clothing. I wear it way more than I thought I would. Looks good, feels expensive, yet actually affordable.

9:45Right now, go to quince.com slash OLD for free shipping and 365 day returns. That's a full year to build your wardrobe and love it. Mind you will. Now available in Canada too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. Go to qunce.com slash OLD for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash OLD. Spring starts at the Home Depot and we are bringing the heat to your backyard this season. Fire up the flavor with our wide variety of grills for under $300. Like the next grill for burner gas grill that's perfect for hosting your spring cookout. Then set the scene and turn your outdoor space into the go to spot the patio sets for every budget. Bring it this season with grills that deliver flavor and patios that set the vibe from the Home Depot. Start your spring with low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot. Exclusive supplies at home Depot.com slash price match for details. Make it a Michael. That statistic about the average American spending 11 hours a day consuming media is

10:47pretty staggering. I mean, you're doing it right now technically, but at least it's positive in nature. 11 hours still though, that's a lot. Sounds kind of impossible until you actually look at your own screen time reports. I like the distinction he made between goals and purpose. Goals have a finish line. You either pass or fail. The purpose is pretty much what guides you through the failure or keeps you moving after the success. Reminds me of a specific exercise from Steve Pavlina that I narrated is about finding your life's purpose. You take a piece of paper, write what is my true purpose in life at the top, and just start writing answers. The first few are usually superficial, but the instruction is to keep writing until you find the answer that makes you cry. So maybe try that exercise today or ask yourself why you're doing what you're doing. It might just save you seven years of your life.

11:48So good stuff to try today. Thank you for being here and listening. Have a great rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow as usual where you're optimal life. That way it's...