“You are given a life to grow a soul.” This was the marquee screensaver that I had on my laptop in 1998 to help me stay positive and relaxed when I got discouraged or frustrated. One day, while employed by MarketBridge, a strategy consulting firm, I found myself in a client meeting onsite at IBM with Tim Furey, CEO of MarketBridge.

I was creating a financial model during a meeting and my laptop was being projected onto the conference room wall. We took a break and my screensaver marquee “You are given a life to grow a soul” started moving across the wall. Tim said, “Hey, I like that!” which surprised me because he wasn’t comfortable with the word “spiritual” and I thought this would be too woo-woo for him.

I soon learned that all of us are seeking a deeper meaning for our lives. Many of us look to the Corporate Cubeworld for that meaning and come up feeling empty, depressed, and powerless.

Here are my top 3 reasons for being:
1. Evolve into a spiritually enlightened being who is mindful of the present moment and speaks and acts from a space of love and peace.
2. Experience joy.
3. Create something that makes the world a better place.

I believe that I am here to grow a soul and evolve spiritually. I evaluate my experiences and opportunities based upon whether they are in alignment with this quest.

I believe that I am here to learn to live from a space of love. Ron Rathbun, my meditation teacher, defines love as “complete self-acceptance”. Once you completely accept yourself, you will be able to accept others just as they are and this is the love we are all seeking. One of my desires in this physical life is to completely accept myself which allows me to completely accept others and situations just as they are.

I also believe that I am here in this physical life to experience joy. Plain and simple. If something that I am doing doesn’t lead to joy, I must ask myself “Why am I doing this?”. And then I try to align my thinking and actions with joy. I believe that when we are in joy, we are aligned with our inner self (some call it higher self, soul, or spirit). I believe that when we are not experiencing joy, then our inner self is guiding us to change our thinking or actions.

I want to leave the world a better place. And I think there are infinite ways to do this. Does it really matter what job you have? Yes and No. If you experience joy and are able to contribute to the world then that is all that matters. You can do this styling hair, cleaning cars, landscaping, designing websites, doing motivational speaking. You can do this any way you choose. There is no right or wrong. There is only what works for you.

Many of us search outside of ourselves to find the “Meaning of Life”. Or we look to our jobs to give our lives meaning. This is a futile exercise.

Each of us creates our own meaning. It is based upon what we value. Each of us values different things. To live a meaningful life, you need to be clear on what YOU value. I do believe it is extremely important to align our work with what is meaningful to us.

Find out how to break free from the corporate world. Debra Lea Thorsen helps individuals create real wealth and happiness without 9 to 5 jobs. Visit Fearless Guides for free tips on career change, wealth building, and living without fear.

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