Evan Carmichael says purpose isn't something you find, it's how you choose to live. Start with what you love and what helps others, then say yes to new things. He met his wife at a salsa class and later invested in a salsa business, both from following that approach.
How do you find your purpose? I'm going to answer that question in today's episode of Ask Evan. So I recently got asked a question from one of my YouTube viewers, love you guys, Melvin Johnson, who wrote in to say, "I struggle with finding my purpose. How do I gain success without that? What direction or steps should I take to reach the next level?" This is a fantastic question, Melvin, and finding your purpose is one of the biggest questions that you can ever ask yourself and one of the most important because it'll help you lead a life that is intentional and on purpose instead of reactionary and just reacting to what people are throwing at you. It'll help you live your version of your life instead of somebody else's version of your life. So I'm going to share with you 3 ways on how to help find your purpose. Number 1 is you are wired to help people. I believe that most people are wired to help others. You feel good when you help somebody else out, right? Whatever skill you have, whatever ability you have, when you apply it to help somebody else out in any way, even just holding the door for a stranger and they say thank you, makes you feel good. Most people. And so your purpose is just a greater extension of that. It's how can I do that on a bigger scale. So what you want to do is start looking at the things that you do that help people, that make you feel good, that make you come alive, and then try to apply that to how can you do this to more and more and more and more people. Number 2 is do what you love and what helps people. So the way you're going to be able to have that huge impact is combining something that you really love doing, something you're passionate about, something that makes you come alive with what can help add value to other people's lives. Because if you are passionate about something but it doesn't help other people, then it's just going to be something for yourself, and that's not what I believe to be your purpose. Where if you're helping other people but you're not passionate about it, then you won't really help them in a big meaningful way because you're kind of forcing yourself to do it, right? Yes, you're helping them, but it's not something that you love doing. Where the greatest intersection will be something that you love doing and that has a big impact on helping other people and improving their lives. And notice I didn't say what you're good at, because what you're good at may be something that you're not passionate about or not passionate about anymore. And it's way more important to focus on what you're passionate about and want to learn, because when you have that passion and excitement, you can pick up any skill, right? What you're good at is just a skill, and when you are excited to learn something, you'll pick it up way faster than if you're being forced to learn it by somebody else. So think about that intersection again of what you really love doing with what can add a lot of value to people's lives. Number 3 is just say yes. So hopefully points 1 and 2 got you thinking of what might be your purpose and things to explore. But if you still have no idea, like, Evan, I need more help, how do I find it? Just start saying yes to things. Start to explore. Be willing to try new things out at least once to see if it's for you or not. You know, if I didn't say yes when the YMCA asked me to come and speak to their group of entrepreneurs, I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing right now with this YouTube channel and finding my passion for entrepreneurs. If I didn't say yes to one day going to a salsa club or salsa class to learn the basic steps, even though, you know, I'm too tall and never heard the music before, then I wouldn't have met my wife and I wouldn't have become an investor in a salsa dancing business, right? It's had a huge impact on my life. And I say yes to a lot of things. That doesn't mean that I continue on a lot of things. You know, I'll try almost anything once, and then if I don't like it, I move on. But by saying yes and by trying things, you'll eventually find something that you are passionate about and could lead to your purpose. By sitting in your house all day and not saying yes and not opening up yourself, then you're just going to continue to sit there and think and think and think and get more and more depressed. So start saying yes. And as Steve Jobs likes to say, in one of his videos, you'll know when you find it. And so when you fall in love with something, you want to keep doing it, and it's having a big impact in helping other people, you'll know that that's your purpose. You'll find it and you want to keep going with it. So remember, you're wired to help people. Do what you love and what helps others, and just say yes. Believe. Thank you for the great question, Melvin. I hope that helped. And for those of you watching, I'd love to know what your purpose is or how you found it so that I can help other people as well. Leave it in the comments below. I'm going to join the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.
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