Right now, your Soul's Purpose is searching for you.
I recently read an article by Ponny SH Lam called, "Do You Choose your Soul Purpose, Or Does It Choose You?"
In it, Ponny talks about how, when she was a university Career Advisor, the Universe sparked her soul by way of a chance encounter at a fast-food restaurant with a woman named Jane.
Jane overheard Ponny giving career advice to a new graduate, and decided to ask Ponny if she'd be willing to give her career advice, too.
That encounter turned into a relationship that very quickly led Ponny to a state of awestruck wonder and gratitude because she realized that her soul's purpose was NOT in advising university students and new grads, but in serving millennials, people like Jane, in their 20s and 30s, who often fall through the career advisory cracks.
Wow! Did that story resonate with me!
The journey to my Soul's Purpose
I, too, recently bumped into my Soul's Purpose when, out of the blue, the Universe prompted me to create a card deck that would become The Blog Post Inspiration Deck.
It started in early 2017, when I discovered a card deck that changed the trajectory of my work: the Shine Affirmation Cards by Julie Santiago. I'd never before seen a card deck meant for inspiration instead of play, like Uno or Phase 10.
The Shine cards looked so beautiful on the page, and had positive affirmations on them. Well ... I need positive affirmations! So I ordered.
When they arrived, I was beyond happy! The cards were large, luxurious, gorgeous, with greens, whites, and golds. Even the box said, "high quality."
It was at that moment, running my hands over my new Shine cards, that I knew I wanted to create a card deck, too. I had no idea what the topic would be; I just knew I wanted to give people the same experience I had while opening and using the Shine Affirmation cards.
After a few false starts, I happened to see an ad for .... can you believe it? ... a class called The Card Deck Master Class!
I signed up, and quickly got to work on my card deck, which, at the time, was to be a deck around my unique process for differentiating and creating content for my clients.
I worked with that deck idea for months, turning it this way and that, running it repeatedly by my classmates and card deck mentor. But I couldn't seem to get the idea to work; what I needed to say about the topic was too LARGE to communicate through a simple medium like a card deck.
The path leading to my Soul's Purpose is revealed.
One day, during a class work session via Zoom, I pondered whether I should give up on the card deck idea. I stared at the spreadsheet before me, with rejected iteration after iteration reproaching me. Then, suddenly -- and there is no better way for me to say this -- an idea for a card deck dropped into my mind.
It was for a card deck called "The Blog Post Idea Generator."
Huh.
Within an hour, I had mapped out that card deck -- three suits, 20 cards each -- designed to help people come up with ideas and inspiration for unique blog posts.
My classmates and card deck mentor went wild! They loved the idea!
I wasn't entirely sure. After all, I was a marketing writer, not a blogger. Although ... huh ... I really did like writing blog posts. And I had helped many of my clients create blog content over the years. I had also been a big fan of ProBlogger's Darren Rowse and lots of online entrepreneurs who blogged, like Michael Steltzer of Social Media Examiner, and Seth Godin of ... well ... Seth Godin 🙂
After testing the idea on a few people, I decided to go ahead with the deck, figuring I'd see where the inspiration would lead.
When the first complete deck arrived from the printer, I was amazed! Here it was, less than six months later, and I had a card deck in my hands!
But the story doesn't end there.
My Soul's Purpose would shortly announce itself to me.
Hello, Renae? It's me. Your Soul's Purpose.
As I finalized printing and shipping details, my mentor and classmates also suggested that, as a follow-up to the deck, to create interest for it, I run a free 30-day blogging challenge using the cards as prompts.
I was already a fan of challenges, although I hadn't blogged for 30 days in a row. But what the heck? I was game, so the challenge was on!
I had 25 people in that challenge, with about half participating regularly or somewhat regularly. And in that challenge, my Soul's Purpose revealed itself.
As participants shared their blog posts, I read them and provided editorial feedback and guidance on how to make them more readable, enjoyable, and persuasive -- the very same work I'd done hundreds, probably thousands of times since I started my business back in 2002.
The real shock to my system came when these bloggers, all brilliant and big-hearted, with lots of important things to say, began to thank me profusely for helping them refine their blog posts!
Boy that felt good....
I wish all of my work could be like this, so soul satisfying.
Wait a minute....
BINGO!
I was stunned.
The work I had been doing -- writing content for people -- left me weak and sagging, as if I'd been on a long journey through a desert with a single bottle of water to carry me though. I would consume a ton of content -- their content, competitors' content, industry content. I'd interview people, an exhausting task in itself. I'd research the audience to learn their lingo and pains. And then, over the course of up to two weeks, I'd "birth" the new content, aiming for creating trust and credibility, and for encouraging the reader to take the next step, whatever it might be.
I did that exhausting, soul-depleting "birthing" over and over and over again. It was like giving birth to a child after carrying him in your belly for nine months, and then handing him over to someone else.
And then doing the same thing over and over again.
But this! This work with my challenge participants! This work truly fed my soul, and caused me to rejoice!
I realized that THIS is what I was meant to do -- I was meant to help OTHERS birth their OWN babies rather than having them hire me to do it for them!
Surrogacy was not the answer; midwifery was!
And that's how my Soul's Purpose found me.
My Soul's Purpose is also why I'm creating a new group training and coaching program based off the 30 day blogging challenge I'd completed not long ago.
This new program is called: Jumpstart Your Blog (and Your Writing Confidence) in 45 Days. I plan to start in October, but have created an interest list for those of you who want to know more about the program as it evolves.
So tell me ... do you have a similar Soul Purpose story? Or do you know someone else who does? Leave a note in the comments!
Join my tribe?
Do you sweat the small stuff? Do you want your online presence to inspire trust and confidence? Do you grit your teeth when others don't care enough about YOUR web experience? Are you all about creating an excellent website and excellent content that makes it easy for people to get to know, like, and trust you and buy your stuff?
I think we might be soul mates. And I'd love for you to join my tribe.
When you do, I'll alert you to new blog posts, new programs and products, and new ways for you to create excellent, frictionless, online experiences that lead more people to YES! I promise to be relevant and real, and to send only thoughtful content and advice.
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