Living on Purpose for Purpose

The decision to leave my job may seem rash to some but I assure you, it wasn’t. It was several weeks of praying, listening, and seeking. If you are thinking about leaving your job I would encourage you to do the same. People have commented on my faith and courage but to be honest no one is more surprised than me. Six months ago if someone would have told me that I would quit my job with nowhere to go I would have hit them with a side glance and gone back to my regularly scheduled programming. But here I am.

I believe everyone has a destiny and was created for a purpose. Fulfilling that purpose should be our reason for getting out of bed in the morning. That purpose should be the driving force of our lives. So I asked myself, what was the driving force of my life? Why did I get out of bed in the morning? Like most of you, the answer was to go to work so I could keep a roof over my head, food on the table, and not have to name my first child Sallie Mae. Then I began to think, what was God thinking when He made me? (Enter dream sequence)…  I’m going to create a female. Her name will be Colette. She will be petite, brown, and beautiful. She will have long curly locs and I will send her to earth to PAY BILLS!  (Sits back and gives reassuring nod).

I’m no theologian but I’m pretty sure that is not how it went down. So why was I living my life that way? Why was the majority of my time spend working on a job just to make sure I could pay my bills? Don’t get me wrong paying bills is necessary but it shouldn’t be top priority for your life. Money is important but so are purpose, passion, honesty, integrity, kindness, and love. What would life look like if we made these the driving force instead? I’m not sure what my purpose is but now my motivation for getting out of bed is to find it. Maybe the destination is the journey. Who knows? Only one way to find out. Maybe my greatness lies in inspiring others to achieve their greatness. Like the guy that evangelized to Billy Graham. When people thank me for something my typical response is “I do what I can when I can.” That usually results in a chuckle from the other person but my response is far from a joke. It’s how I aspire live. You don’t have to solve world hunger or win a Nobel Prize to make a difference. Just do what you can when you can. The little things matter. A single drop into a lake will still create ripples.

So what’s next for me? This week and next week I’ll be volunteering at my church helping out with the many summer programs we have going on. After that I’d like to get a job at a restaurant in the kitchen. I’ve always wanted to go to culinary school  but I decided to get a job first. Culinary school would be money going out and right now I need money coming in. This route will also allow me to get some experience and I may decide not to go to culinary school. Formal training isn’t always necessary to be a great chef. I’ve worked in restaurants before but never back of the house. I understand I won’t be making nearly as much money as I was as an engineer but I’m okay with that. I’m sure I’ll have to get multiple jobs but if I’m doing what I love I’m okay with that too. My ultimate goal is to be in movies but I’ll work on my skills in the kitchen until I get my big break.

The morning after I officially left my job I realized that I don’t know how to introduce myself anymore. When you meet someone new the conversation usually consists of your name, where you’re from, and what you do. The typical answer to the “What do you do question” is usually the person’s job title. I had a revelation, I’m not an engineer anymore. I’m just a person with an engineering degree. The more I think about it the thought of not being defined my a job title is oddly liberating. Now I can answer that question in many different ways.  I blog, I write, I read, I cook, I work with teens, I work with kids, I pray, I praise, I chase dreams, I aspire to inspire, I live on purpose for purpose.