21st Century Choice, Purposeful Or Purposeless?

Which way should you go in the 21st Century,
the purposeful way or the purposeless way?

Best selling author Rick Warren asks in his book,
“The Purpose Driven Life,” this question: “What
on earth am I here for?”

Do you ever wonder about that, too? Can you
you answer Warren’s question simply and directly?

Over 20 million people wanted to know, since
Warren’s book topped all records for a non-fiction
book published in the United States, selling
20 million copies.

However, searching for our purpose or meaning in life
is not new. It has been a characteristic of Western
Civilization for thousands of years.

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, 350 B.C,
placed heavy emphasis on finding your life’s purpose in his “Nichomachean Ethics.”

Aristotle believed that everything had a purposeand
that values and life choices were very important.

Domincan priest Thomas Aquinas (1225 to 1270 A.D.)
wrote the “Summa Theologica,” a synthesis of
Aristotelean ethics and philosophy blended with
Christian doctrine.

Aquinas focused on the nature of God, proofs of God’s
existence, and the logically-derived natural law.

Years after the Reformation, the Roman Catholic
Church declared in 1879 that the “Summa
Theologica” was official Catholic doctrine.

The search for meaning and finding one’s purpose
continues to this day-and not only in Rick Warren’s
writings.

Author James O’Toole takes a fresh look at Aristotle’s
ideas in his book, “Creating The Good Life: Applying
Aristotle’s Wisdom To Find Meaning and Happiness.”

O’Toole uses Rudi Guiliani, Bill Gates and Michael
Jordan as great examples of those finding and
maximizing their purposes. O’Toole asks five
questions:

1. How do I find meaning and satisfaction?

2. How much money is needed to be happy?

3. What is the balance of work, family and leisure?

4. What are the responsibilities to my community?

5. How can I create a good society in my company?

Clearly, there has been a strong desire for people to
find meaning and purpose in their lives from 350 B.C.
to the present.

The abrupt, radical, often painful transition
from the 20th Century and its Industrial Revolution
to the 21st Century world with its globalism, Internet communications, “icon toppling” of companies with
broken business models that cannot be fixed, and the
huge global shift to self-employment-all these factors
place new emphasis on Warren’s “what on earth am I here
for?” question.

But even when you find out “what you’re here for,”
you also must learn how to accomplish it in the
entirely new and totally different business
environment–the 21st Century. What worked
in the previous century is largely irrelevant now.

Advice on how to succeed in the 21st Century is the
responsibility of progressive thought leaders-business
authors, academic visionaries, savvy self-help and personal development gurus, futurists, preachers and professional speakers.

Unfortunately, many experts “don’t get it” when it comes to letting go of the the 20th Century and its business realities.

Their 20th Century “wisdom,” now outdated, is an expensive exercise in nostalgia.

If followed by you, it could take you nowhere fast.
Don’t be left behind by taking advice for your future
from anyone living in the past.

The 21st Century–and your future–include a world of
widespread self-employment, rapidly increasing globalism, worldwide network marketing, China and India (along with the USA) as superpowers, and disappearing lifelong employment combined with increasing and intense employee dissension.

The 21st Century isn’t scary. It’s thrilling. Incredible
possibilities never before imaginable exist. You
can operate a global business from your home using
your computer and the Internet, earning money
four times faster than in the last Century.

What on earth are you here for? If you know your purpose,
do you know how to achieve it in the 21st Century?

Which way will you turn in the 21st Century–back to
the deceptive “comfort zone” of the 20th Century or
fast forward into the 21st Century?

The choice is yours. Your choice is either to be
puposeful or purposeless. Choose wisely.

John J. Alquist is owner/operator of Alquist Enterprises,
a firm which advances self-employment in many ways. Visit
John online at his website, http://www.tell-it-well.com or email
him at john@tell-it-well.com

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