Par 2: How I Found My Life Purpose

Extract from autobiography: Anesu Daka – In Pursuit of a Life of Significance written by Anesu Daka.

I am a teacher, hence, I was born to teach, nurture and empower others. The question is when and how was I enlightened on my purpose?

I developed my life purpose using several activities interchangeably over a long time. The process was difficult and elusive, what has helped me is my restlessness and burning passion to live a life of significance. The following four activities helped me clarify my purpose:

a) Self-Awareness and Reflection: I enjoy reflecting on my past and explaining the philosophy behind my actions and my feelings, which was very critical in finding my purpose.

At elementary school, teachers would task me to assist my fellow classmates to read. I was always eager to contribute and demonstrate difficult concepts during class. This continued at secondary school, where I would sometimes be assigned a class of an absent teacher. At varsity, I became a tutor from first year and I voluntarily joined the university facilitators of learning program run by the Education Faculty. In my final year I was the tutor for applied financial accounting for the same Honours class I was in. I learnt to supplement my income through private tutorials.

A teacher must learn more than his/her students, and I love learning. I caught the reading bug early on and I can immerse myself in books and concepts for long hours. I learnt that many people are not independent learners, hence, I could learn and simplify complex concepts for others to understand easily. I had dreams of building a “school of excellence” when I was a kid. A school that focuses on individual talents, business, sport, music, etc. This dream is still so strong and a vision I wish to accomplish.

Self-reflections allowed me to identify my affinity for teaching others, but I was still not sure. I validated my purpose by taking both free and paid for online self-awareness tests, e.g., career, life purpose and entrepreneurship tests. My gift for teaching was strongly confirmed, even by my parents, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. I also learnt of my other attributes, both positive and negative from these tests. I have since learnt to seek others to compliment my weaknesses, whilst I concentrate on my strengths.

b) Reading and listening to audio books: When I was young, I came across a statement that says; “Every Leader is a Reader” and naturally I love to learn so I read widely. I call my car a “university on wheels” so I listen to audio books when driving. As part of finding my purpose I read books on how to find and clarify one’s purpose. I also read and follow stories of man and women who lived their purpose. “The Purpose Driven Life” written by Rick Warren helped me to develop my purpose statement. I read and listened to material from Robin Sharma, Zig Ziglar, Andrew Carnegie, amongst many writers. Mark Miller introduced me to the principles of “Think Others First” in his book “The Heart of Leadership’, and I live this principle every day. Reading helped me to figure out my life purpose and it is the source of my inspiration and personal growth.

c) Watching inspirational movies: I like watching movies of substance, movies that move one’s spirit and leave one with a desire to act. Some of the inspiring movies I watched so many times are Coach Carter, Braveheart, The Last Samurai, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Invictus, Robin Hood, Ip Man, 300 (Three Hundred) and many more. Many of these movies taught me to service others over self and a pursuit for a mission bigger than oneself. The movies inspire me and embolden my spirit and love to serve humanity.

d) Attending Workshops and Networking: I still remember so vividly one workshop I attended during a university break, where the facilitators where helping us to write our purpose statements. To this day, I believe this was a critical point in finding and clarifying my purpose. I diligently participated and wrote what I thought was my purpose. I learnt that what was important was to write something down: those first thoughts and then expand it further.

I attended physical and virtual workshops and I networked with man and women of purpose. One special friend, Ralph Speirs, introduced me to the MAP FOR LIFE (MAP4LIFE”) philosophy in 2003. He introduced me to Glen McQuirk, the proprietor. Glen is a Civil Engineer by profession, but he devoted his life to map the world by developing tools that enable others to live their purpose every day in a balanced way. MAP4Life has been my secret to live a life of my design and my purpose every day. [not selling but true]

My journey taught me to aspire for “wisdom to fulfil God’s purpose through my words and actions every day”. I thrive to “live fully”, to “change lives”, to 'live a life of significance' and I wish to “die accomplished”. I set out to be a father and a leader always, to care for family, friends, and community. I memorised my purpose and can recite it anytime and use it as my guiding principle in my decision making.

Watch out for the next part on how I live a purpose driven life and the tools I use to guide me. Do you think you can live a life of your design, or you leave it to chance and destiny? Could mapping your life help you in your 2023 resolutions?