I have just completed The Element by Sir Ken Robinson. I love books, which is the reason I started a book club. We have read a number of books and while each one is exciting, some of the books force you to address unfounded notions and make you undergo a paradigm shift. This was one such books, challenging the way we and our children are educated and introducing the idea of ‘the element’. He defined ‘The element’ as “the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together”. He went on to show using numerous examples how finding and living in your element is the place we all want to be. Like I said, if you have children and haven’t read the book yet, get it and read it.

The book made it to our reading list because the theme for my MAP workshop this year is “Maximise Me”. It’s a combination of 2 of my hashtags - #LiveFull and #LiveOut and a desire to help you find and live out your purpose. As you can imagine, being just a few days away, plans are in their advanced stages and my notes for the day have been compiled.

My preparation involved me unpacking 4 words: Passion – Vocation – Mission – Vision, and how they impact on us in the realisation of our dreams. First let’s start with definitions –

1. Passion defines the things you love to do. It would be the sort of tasks that you can do, even if you are not being paid. I am passionate about teaching and I will do anything to have the opportunity to pass on knowledge or teach. It’s helped me a lot with my academic journey because organising tutorials is the driver for me to read and understand my subject
2. Vocation is your job; what you do to earn a living. Sadly, most people hate their vocation but feel compelled to persist with it as we all need an income to survive. Thankfully I love my vocation, being a sales director with Mary Kay
3. Mission is defined as the reason I believe I am here on earth. Some might call it a ‘God assignment’, a specific task they have been put on earth to address. Personally I believe my mission is to help women discover who they are, why they are here and equip them with practical tools to live their best life.
4. Vision is a picture of what is to come for your life. It is a snapshot of what you expect for yourself in 5/10 years and is the major driver for your goals.

As I study these four words, my hypothesis is that they are the four quadrants that influence our thinking and our possibility of success. My research also shows that these quadrants vary in size and importance depending on what season of life we are in. Lastly I found that periodically evaluating these quadrants and realigning oneself based on the findings is what amounts to successful living.
At the 2018 MAP workshop, I will elaborate on the interplay of these 4 quadrants. In the meantime, why not grab a pen and spend some time asking and answering these questions

1. What am I passionate about?
2. What is my vocation and do I like it?
3. What is my mission of earth and lastly
4. What is my vision for my life?

Till next time,

Doyin