Few writers approach the topic of life purpose with the clarity of Dan Millman, whose prior book The Life You Were Born to Live has reached more than a million readers worldwide. In The Four Purposes of Life, Millman distills decades of exploration and experience into a concise map of what we’re here to accomplish on our life’s journey.
This book is for anyone seeking deeper insight into themselves and their lives, but especially for those at a crossroads, facing a challenge or change, when past approaches no longer work.
These four purposes — learning life’s lessons, finding your career and calling, discovering your life path, and attending to this arising moment — will bring your life into sharper focus by revealing:
* the value of everyday challenges in relationships, health, work, and money
* how to make wiser decisions in career and relationships
* our twelve required courses in the school of life
* a mysterious system that clarifies your hidden calling
* keys to mastering the most important purpose of all
The Four Purposes of Life can generate a quantum leap in self-knowledge, insight, and wisdom. The seeds planted will bear fruit for years to come.
For many of us, life is a puzzle with pieces missing, a journey without a plan. We improvise, learning life's lessons even as we flit, impulsively changing direction. Dan Millman's The Four Purposes of Life was born from the author's own quest to find an underlying purpose in life. Decades of exploration and introspection taught him to find and clarify his calling and life path. A useful reflective work for all those at crossroads and transitions.
Prologue: Living on Purpose 1
The First Purpose: Learning Life's Lessons
Smarten Up
Grow Up
Wake Up 9
Voluntary Adversity 16
The School Rules 17
Humanity's Curriculum 18
Required Courses 19
The Second Purpose: Finding Your Career and Calling
Choose Satisfying Work
Earn a Good Living
Provide a Useful Service 31
The Essence of Career and Calling 34
Stories of Career and Calling 36
Self-Knowledge and Career Decisions 48
Talents, Interests, and Values 52
Career Criteria: The Trinity of Needs 61
Career Decisions: Analysis and Imagination 67
Time Travel with Your Subconscious Mind 71
Deciding to Decide 74
Career Notes: From Entry Level to Leadership 75
How Will You Spend Your Life? 81
The Third Purpose: Discovering Your Life Path
Understand Your Hidden Calling
Follow Your Higher Potential 89
Hidden Calling, Higher Potential 92
Determining Your Birth Number 96
Your Birth Number and the Third Purpose 97
The Nine Life Paths 98
Putting It Together 106
Individual Differences, Shared Patterns 109
Fundamentals on Your Life Path 110
Life Paths, Career Paths 112
Insight Isn't Enough 115
Keeping the Faith: Your Promise and Potential 117
The Fourth Purpose: Attending to This Arising Moment
Pay Close Attention
Make Each Moment Count 119
The Man Who Had No Purpose 122
What Snood Taught Me about Life 124
Life as a Series of Moments 126
There's No Such Thing as a Future Decision 127
We Cannot Grasp the Now 129
The Challenge of Attending to the Present 130
The Gift of Life: A Matter of Perspective 132
The Highest Practice of All 134
Epilogue: Our Spiritual Purpose 139
Acknowledgments 145
Further Resources: Source Material 147
Appendix: Determining Your Life-Path Number by Doing the Math 151
About the Author 153
Overview
Few writers approach the topic of life purpose with the clarity of Dan Millman, whose prior book The Life You Were Born to Live has reached more than a million readers worldwide. In The Four Purposes of Life, Millman distills decades of exploration and experience into a concise map of what we’re here to accomplish on our life’s journey.
This book is for anyone seeking deeper insight into themselves and their lives, but especially for those at a...