Abilene Public Library - Become Who You Were Born to Be

Do you ever feel burned out, beat up, or just plain bored, wondering, "Is this all there is?" Do you ever feel trapped in a stressful job that leaves you unhappy and unsatisfied? Do you ever question if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing- if you're fulfilling your life's purpose?

If so, you are not alone.

Like millions of Americans, Brian Souza found himself in this precarious position a few years back. Despite attending dozens of motivational seminars and devouring the best the self-help industry had to offer, Souza was left wanting more. The turning point came when he finally realized it wasn't artificial motivation he was after; he was really searching for a legitimate reason to be motivated. Thousands of hours of research and countless interviews later, Souza finally uncovered the secrets he was looking for all along: Just as musicians must make music, poets must write, and artists must paint, we all have a unique gift designed for a specific vocation that will bring both meaning and purpose to our lives. True joy and happiness will continue to elude us until we use that gift to become who we were born to be.

To illustrate his life-changing philosophy, Souza relates true stories of everyday people and world-famous celebrities - including Lance Armstrong, Amy Tan, Sylvester Stallone, Garth Brooks, and Oprah Winfrey - who became heroes by overcoming adversity and squeezing every ounce of opportunity from their gifts.

1 The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.

Benjamin Disraeli How This Book Can Change Your Life

As Americans, we live in the wealthiest society in the history of the planet. Yet today clinical depression rates are ten times what they were in 1945 during World War II. Living standards in the United States have skyrocketed sixfold in the past century. Yet today a greater percentage of Americans commit suicide than they did in 1900. We work twenty fewer hours a week than our great-grandparents did and enjoy three times as many leisure hours as they had. Yet today upward of 80 percent of American workers list job stress as a major problem.

In contrast, seven out of ten Nigerians live on less than a dollar a day, and the average person doesn't live to see his or her fifty-second birthday. Yet today a greater percentage of Nigerians than Ameri- cans consider themselves "very happy." Paradoxical? Yes. Alarming? Absolutely. But surprising? Not really. Not when you look closely at the data and consider how far and how fast we've evolved as a society.

The economic problem

From the Stone Age, some hundred thousand years ago, until the industrial age of the nineteenth century, attempting to solve the "economic problem" provided both meaning and purpose to people's lives. In the Stone Age, a constant struggle to provide sufficient food, clothing, and shelter gave people a reason to wake up each morning and face yet another difficult day. Back then, the primary purpose of human existence was to beat the odds and just survive. Fortunately, for the majority of Americans today, this is no longer the case.

For the first time in history, the biggest menace facing the Western world is not the ravages of a great famine, the outbreak of a horrible disease, or even the death toll of a massive war. The biggest threats facing this generation are the commercially created values of instant gratification, maniacal self-absorption, and perpetual discontent. We want what we want when we want it. And even when we get it, we still aren't happy and will probably want more. Pessimists believe that our country's best days are behind us. They speculate that America's immense wealth and insatiable greed will inevitably lead to its own undoing, as happened with the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Spaniards.

But I believe in the character of the American people. I know our best days are ahead of us. I believe that we will finally come to realize that the highest level of living can only be achieved through giving. And I believe that we, as a collective society, will pull together and use our tremendous wealth and influence to bring peace and prosperity not only to ourselves, but also to those in need throughout the world. Well-known economist John Maynard Keynes was on to something when he predicted that once "the economic problem is solved, mankind will be deprived of its traditional purpose." But perhaps he failed to consider that there might be another, greater purpose to justify human existence. Perhaps our highest need as human beings is not just to survive but to thrive by using our God-given gifts in pursuit of our life's purpose.

This process begins with discovering our own unique gifts, talents, or abilities and applying the other principles introduced throughout this book. When we discover our gifts, we uncover our passion. When we uncover our passion, we find our purpose. When we find our purpose, we fulfill our destiny.

My Story

"I had finally come to the realization that meaning was more important than money, that purpose was more important than power, and that giving was...

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