Living Your Created Purpose with Michael Woodward

Have you found what you were created to do or do you feel unfulfilled and stuck?  Do you feel like you are tapping into your destiny or that you live without purpose?  If you have then you found your ‘created purpose’.  If you haven’t then it’s time that you start finding it!

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for any extended period of time you most likely have heard me mention created purpose.  But what does that mean and how can you tap into it?  

Over the past few years I bump into people who say something like ‘I feel like I’m doing what I was created to do’, ‘I found my passion’, or ‘I’m walking in my destiny.’   They always seam to be joy filled, passion driven, and completely walking in their zone of genius (another term you often hear).  Now zone of genius is pretty easy to define and it’s a great place to start the discussion around Created Purpose, but they aren’t the same.

Now the zone of genius is the mental state in which you will actually thrive.  This whole concept comes from Gay Hendricks’s book ‘The Big Leap’ where he outlines four different zones of function.

1. The zone of incompetence: In this zone, you are engaging in something you inherently do not understand or are not skilled at.

2. The zone of competence: In this zone, you are doing what you are efficient at, but recognize that many people are likewise efficient at it, thus not distinguishing your capabilities in any significant way.

3. The zone of excellence: In this zone, you are doing something you are tremendously skilled at. Often, the zone of excellence is cultivated, it's practiced and established over time.

4. The zone of genius: In this zone, you capitalize on your natural abilities which are innate, rather than learned. This is the state in which you get into "flow," find ceaseless inspiration, and seem to not only come up with work that is distinguished and unique, but also do so in a way that excels far and beyond what anyone else is doing.

Zone of genius is a great starting place but it’s not the fullness of Created Purpose.  Let’s break it down.  Created which steams from the word create.  

Create can be defined as 1) to bring (something) into existence. 2) cause (something) to happen as a result of one’s actions. 3) (of an actor) originate (a role) by playing a character for the first time. 4) invest (someone) with a new rank or title.

Purpose:  1) the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. 2) have as one's intention or objective.

When you put the words together you get something like this…  Created Purpose is to bring something into existence with reason and intention.  

So how do you find your created purpose?

Step One: Slow down
Step Two: Seek God and listen
Step Three:  Evaluate your life and giftings
Step Four: Be intentional
Step Five: Face fear and make your move
Step Six: Play big but for the long game