Lucky people live life driven by purpose.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any path will do.” Lewis Carroll

If you have read Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”, you will probably recognise the quote above and the following excerpt from the book:

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

Lucky, fortunate people usually have a clear purpose in life and they look for signs steering them in the right direction. Unlucky people on the other hand, often complain about not getting anywhere in life. They respond in a similar way to confused young Alice when asked about where they actually want to be or go.

How clear are you about the following questions:
What is your purpose? Who are you? Where are you going? How are you planning on getting there?

Having a clear sense of purpose may serve to attract more luck into your life. If you know where you are heading, it will be a lot easier for life to present the signposts that will help you get there.

Inner Drives, Passion & Dreams
If you are uncertain about your purpose in life, pay attention to the things that inspire you; notice the things you love; be aware of what gives you joy in life; what evokes your passion for life? What motivates and drives you? What do you value in life? What are your dreams?

For example, do you value freedom or security? If you value freedom rather than security, life may support you in travelling around the world independently but your plans to buy a house, on the other hand, may not be so successful. Some things may fall into your lap easily and effortlessly and others fail to materialise despite your hardest efforts and struggles. Perhaps the former are in alignment with your values and the latter, on the other hand, conflict with your highest values. For example if you value truth more than success, you will fail to get the job or stay for long in a job that compromises your integrity. It may seem a stroke of “bad luck” that you didn’t get the job or you got made redundant, but in fact, life is supporting your true values even though you may not be fully aware of them.

Your dreams must be your own dreams and not the dreams of your loved ones, which is one of the reasons that our most cherished dreams fail to materialise. We have to learn to create our own dreams. A mustard seed will never grow up to be an oak tree, regardless of how well it is nourished or how many years it has grown. Lives are often wasted trying to be someone else; living someone else’s dream and comparing our lives with the lives of others when there is no real comparison to be made.

How do you know that your dreams are your own? Who do you compare your inner life with? How does this help or hinder your own journey through life?

Some of your goals and ambitions will naturally be inspired by external circumstances and the environment in which you have lived. If your parents lived in poverty, you may be driven by the need to have a better standard of living and you may define your purpose in life to establish a life of comfort for your children.

One of the differences between lucky, successful people and those who consider themselves to be unlucky or unfortunate is the capacity to think and plan ahead. Those who invest in their own education, clearly have a different strategy for expressing their purpose in life.

What do you hope to achieve in your lifetime?
How will you be remembered?
What legacy do you intend to leave?
How will you uncover your deepest purpose, passion and driving force in life?

By living a life driven by purpose, like lucky people do, you will increase your chances of finding the signposts guiding and directing you to where you believe your destiny to be.

(This is part of a book called "You’re So Lucky!" by Jesvir Mahil. To read more, subscribe to the free Success Newsletter )

Ms Jesvir Mahil
www.jesvir.com
December 2009, London, UK