The identification and pursuit of purpose in life is far more than a cliché—it’s a real “thing,” as the kids are saying now. Regrettably, there are many people who live their entire lives without finding their purpose. Then there are those who are fortunate enough to find it early in life. Either way it goes, we all have a purpose in life and should we be fortunate enough to find it and operate in it, then by all means we should do it, and if we don’t, then we should not stop pursuing it.
An acquaintance of mine knew at the age of 16 that she wanted to be an actress or director or in some way be involved in theater. While still in high school, she auditioned for two roles for the annual school play, and was told outright she could not be selected because the role called for a White actress. It happened to a couple friends as well. She knew at that time that theater would be her mission.
She would go into theater and when she did, she was all in. That was about 60 years ago, and a string of awards, accolades and recognition from her peers within the theater industry later, she has the distinction of being the only woman in the country to direct all 10 plays in the August Wilson Century Cycle.
And she is nowhere near done. She’s also mapped out a strategy for continuing the pursuit of her heart’s call well after retiring. And because she never stopped, there is no way to count the lives that have been impacted, whether they are audience members or performers. Both enriched by the power of the art and theater, and my friend, too, for staying true to the call she heard at age 16. Pursuit is everything; it’s the fuel of life and keeps the blood flowing.
I went to a funeral a few weeks ago. And these days I rarely attend funerals; only if it is blood relative, or if I feel there will be a takeaway for me that I don’t want to miss. The takeaway from this funeral was startling at best, but it affirmed what I was planning on sharing in this column, which is, giving up is NOT an option; that no matter what, staying the course, pushing past obstacles in pursuit of our passion and/or purpose is key to a life well-lived. As seasoned citizens, the greatest gift we can give ourselves is to NOT GIVE UP the pursuit of the passion that burns within. It is a gift that keeps on giving—it gives to us and to the folks who benefit from it. My friend, who passed away, was 81 years old and had lived all his life in the service of others. He was driven by helping others achieve—most specifically veterans and would-be business owners. Every word spoken about him during the service was positive, not in the way that people talk about the deceased, but each person who spoke had literally been personally elevated by him—including the minister who gave the eulogy. My friend gave of his time in the pursuit of his purpose every day of his life. He led organizations that were designed to help people live better lives, he directed a program that was specifically created to give returning veterans a leg up on their lives. He committed himself to his life’s calling and NOTHING kept him from that mission.
Around 16 years ago he was met with a tremendous health crisis. It was one that could have put the brakes on everything. He was early in his own entrepreneurship endeavor, and he was still operating his veteran’s activities. Folks tried to tell him to shut down everything, to stop working, but he would not hear any of it. He kept pressing, and eventually he overcame the illness. His business continued to grow and he was able to keep on changing lives.
And even as he was recently on the decline and in a weakened state health-wise, he never stopped trying to implement ways to help others or bring change.
There was nothing special about my two friends above, they were just regular people living their lives from day to day. They were not particularly wealthy or with unlimited resources, they didn’t have extraordinarily high academic degrees and were not prodigies by any stretch of the imagination. But what they did have that set them apart was the “burn” for what they did, and the inborn commitment to it.
And that commitment set the stage for their mentality—the “don’t quit mentality.” Many of us start but we don’t finish. It’s the “don’t quit” mentality that makes a difference—with it you persevere, without it you don’t get very far past the starting gate, and if you do not get past the starting gate, you’ll never cross the finish line. In the words of a famous general who gave a three-word speech to his troops before sending them out to battle, “Persist, Persist, Persist!”
