answer them.
What Were You Born To
Do?
The first question is, 'what were you born to
do?’ This speaks to your purpose. If you do
not know the purpose for which you were
born, then life becomes an experiment and
the truth about experiments is that they
can go any direction.
Without a purpose you are vulnerable.
The greatest danger of this is that you will
become an opportunity driven person and
not a purpose driven person. The reality is
that people who are purpose driven are not
easily derailed. The strong sense of purpose
somehow helps them to always find a way.
Someone might ask, 'Wale is there
anything wrong with being an opportunity
driven person?' Oh yes. There is a lot wrong
with it. Without a sense of purpose you
are not able to sift through opportunities.
Most people will jump at the higher
paying opportunity and this might come
at the cost of many other things. An
understanding of what you were born to
do therefore becomes the most important
pillar in a person’s life.
I remember a mentor of mine who had
done so well in life and was by every
measurable standard very successful.
When he turned 60 he was confronted
with the question of purpose and he finally
understood the reason for which he was
born. At almost 90 years old today, he says
that the discovery of purpose helped him
know what to focus on for the rest of his
life. Purpose gives direction to success and
shows which way to go.
Where Are You Going To?
The second of the big 4 questions is, 'where
are you going to?' This speaks of your vision.
How will you know if you have succeeded?
Vision gives you clarity with regards to the
end picture. If you have answered the first
question correctly then your vision should
align with your purpose. What a disaster it
will be if you have a vision that is running
contrary to the reason for which you were
born.
I was born to transform the thinking of
Africans. My purpose is to transform
Africa one mind at a time. Every vision
I have is measured against this purpose.
When I write in Marketing Africa, in
My North Star statement
is to live a life
pleasing to God, to
have a family guided
by love, and to
live a life that impacts
my world and
gives me a name and
the financial capacity
to live on my own
terms. This simple
statement serves as a
filter for every seeming
opportunity that
randomly pops up
my way.
the newspaper or write books or do TV
interviews or even running the Street
University, the vision is the same; that
anyone who comes in contact with me
must have a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ story
with regards to how they think and see
the world and Africa specifically.
What Is Your North Star
Statement?
The third question is one that I have
rarely heard people talk about. At
least there is some semblance of talk
concerning purpose and vision, but I
do not hear people talking about their
North Star. The North Star represents
the non-negotiables of life. Without this
understanding, people have latched on to
any opportunity that seems to be taking
them towards their vision yet, it might be
the very reason that other things suffer in
their lives.
My North Star statement is to live a life
pleasing to God, to have a family guided
by love, and to live a life that impacts
my world and gives me a name and the
financial capacity to live on my own
terms. This simple statement serves as a
filter for every seeming opportunity that
randomly pops up my way.
Will it be pleasing to God? Will it
contribute to my family harmony? Will it
give me a platform to impact the world?
Will it give me a good name? Will it
boost my financial capacity and finally
will it give me freedom to live my life on
my own terms?
Without a North Star, it will be easy to
make decisions just based on financial
implications of the opportunity but now
with a North Star, I need to take the
opportunity through a vetting process.
This will save you from a lot of trouble
and regrets later on in life.
The greatest regrets in later life are regrets
as a result of small missteps in a person’s
earlier years. These missteps may not
appear to be a big deal initially but the
effect on a person’s later life can sometimes
even lead to an early foray to the grave.
Why Do You Do What You
Do?
Finally the last question in the big 4 is,
'why are you doing what you are doing?'
This speaks to motive. Adversity will
undoubtedly show its face and stumbling
blocks will emerge forcing you to consider
whether to abandon ship. The one thing
that always overrides logic is motive. The
thief that goes to steal knows that if he is
caught, he will end up in a lot of trouble.
However the motive overrides logic.
Motive gives a level of boldness like few
things do. Boldness is what happens when
you have found reasons greater than your
fears and this is what motive does to
people. It is what will keep you going even
when it looks like there is no reason to
keep going. It is the 'why" of the things
you do. I defined my why in very simple
terms. I do what I do because if I don’t, my
life will have been a failed life and I will
have to give account to God.
I trust that this has given you something
to work with. Now go ahead and work
on the strategy for your personal life. No
casualty should be able to terminate a life
on course with Purpose, Vision North
Star and a strong Motive!
Dr. Wale Akinyemi is the Chief
Transformation Officer, PowerTalks
Corporate & Personal Development
Consultants. He is a seasoned coach,
mentor and writer. You can commune
with him on this or related matters via
email at: [email protected].