How Personal Tragedy Led Me to My Purpose
Over the course of my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve found that I’m wired a little bit differently from everyone else. I have been able to master myself and my emotions.
There is a great quote from Mark Twain, one that I’ve found to be true: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” No matter what your calling may be – whether it’s selling real estate or solving world hunger – you must find your purpose and become the master of your fate.
Finding Your Purpose in Life
Every morning, I head to the office around 6 AM and see the odd car driving past me. It makes me wonder, “Why would someone be up so early and where are they going?”
I know many people who lack goals or direction. So, how does one find their purpose?
Unfortunately, that’s an answer I can’t provide. However, from my own experience, I can tell you this: Once you find your purpose, there will be no more snooze button. You will feel less pain, less hunger, and less fear, just as I do. You’ll become determined and content to perform any given task at any given moment of any given day.
If you have not yet found your purpose, don’t dwell on it. Have faith, keep moving forward, and don’t stop searching for it. Money in itself is not a strong enough driver to push you to the point of achieving your utmost potential. If it were, you’d have no problem waking up to your alarm and heading to your day job.
How I Found My Purpose
April 2013 was one of the most difficult and trying times of my life. I had business deals in both Australia and the U.S. that went sour, I ended a long-term relationship, and my mother was diagnosed with cancer. To make things even more unbearable, my grandmother had just passed away. As I’m sure you can imagine, I felt like the whole world was caving in on me.
The life-changing moment came when I was hit with the news of my grandma’s passing. I collapsed to the ground and sobbed. My mind was going through severe pain and suffering, but as I was on the ground, I experienced a sudden moment of clarity. I told myself that I really had nothing more to lose except the clothes on my back. It was clear to me that my purpose and “why” in life was to never again feel the way I did at that moment.
Today, my purpose and my “why” c
It Could Be Anything
Your life-changing moment – when you really find out who you are and why you were placed on this earth – may arise at the absolute lowest point in your life. Until then (hopefully it doesn’t get that far), just keep searching and don’t stop.
Finding your purpose is a very powerful feeling. Everything just starts to make sense.
Maybe your purpose is your kids, or your family, a social cause, or even the urge to leave something behind. Maybe your purposes is all of these things combined.
Whatever the case, when you find that purpose, your hindsight truly becomes 20/20 – and it just feels great.
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Versions of this article originally appeared on BusinessCollective and the BiggerPockets blog.
Engelo Rumora, “The Real Estate Dingo,” is a successful property investor, motivational speaker, and soon-to-be author who quit school at the age of 14, played professional soccer at the age of 18, is known for buying “Australia’s cheapest house,” and is now running a multimillion-dollar real estate investment company called Ohio Cashflow. To get in contact with Engelo, please click here.