At the age of 32, Bucky was in a deep depression after losing his job. He was wandering through life with no clear direction. He had been expelled from college twice and had drifted from one meaningless job to the next. With no income for his family, debt was piling up.
Bucky started drinking heavily and wandered aimlessly through the streets of Chicago. On one such walk he arrived at the shore of Lake Michigan. He stared out at the water and seriously considered swimming out until he was too exhausted to swim anymore. With his life insurance policy, he thought, he was worth more dead than alive.
As he stood there, something happened that changed his life forever: He said he heard a voice declaring, “You do not have the right to eliminate yourself. You do not belong to you. You belong to the Universe. Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experiences to the highest advantage of others.”
After this experience, Bucky chose to embark on “an experiment, to find what a single individual [could] contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity.”
And so it was that Buckminster Fuller—one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th Century—found his purpose and fully came alive. He became an architect, systems theorist, designer, inventor, and the author of more than 30 books, and was hailed as “one of the greatest minds of our times.”
Principle: Having a Clear Purpose Unleashes Your Greatness
As we learn from Bucky’s story, what keeps us stuck in life is a lack of purpose. Having a clear purpose unleashes the best in us and enables us to escape aimlessness, boredom, and mediocrity.
5 Day Weekenders are men and women of purpose. They know who they are and what they stand for. They know what they’re trying to make happen and how they will measure success. They stay focused on their purpose—they may change their plans, but their goals remain clear and fixed. Having five more days doesn’t mean watching more TV. It means contributing more and having a great impact.
Never lose the insatiable hunger in life. Those who remain hungry will dominate life at every turn. If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.
In my next post, I continue to expand on Freedom from Stuck – Creating Purpose, with a list of “Seven Ways to Live on Purpose.” In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you. What are you hungry for in life? What do you prioritize? Thank you for sharing.
Secure your copy of the “5 Day Weekend” book. 5 Day Weekend: Freedom to Make Your Life and Work Rich with Purpose [Nik Halik & Garrett Gunderson]
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