Without a Job

Raz — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:24:09 +0000

Purpose, a feeling of belonging, “doing what you’re destined to be doing.”

It’s interesting in that, the current economic environment, while making I expect all of us more content with the blessings we have, has also prompted a question about the meaning and purpose behind what we’re doing.

Is it meaningful? Making an impact? Of value? Contributing to a greater good?

This article is a great reminder of the feeling that WE ALL have about the importance of belonging to something. And, that something, is another reason why I love this industry. It’s not the only way to make an impact, but it is an amazing way to contribute. Perhaps a little unconventional? Yeah. Often misunderstood? Definitely. But totally aligned to drive the destiny of some to greater heights? Unquestionably.

Find something you love, find a place you can make an impact, and as the Nike guys say: “just do it.”

Candidates for city office usually scrape by with traditional sorts of volunteers: college students, retirees, the occasional neighborhood activist.

But this year, a different crowd is landing on their doorsteps: bankers, lawyers, accountants, real estate brokers and other highly credentialed professionals, all of whom have been laid off. They are flooding the offices of even the most obscure campaigns, looking for purpose and fighting off the despondency and isolation that come with being unemployed.

“I was getting into kind of a depression, so to be a volunteer for Eduardo is like a medicine for me,” said Maria Guillen of Queens, who lost her $100,000-a-year job as a loan officer in December and is volunteering for the City Council candidate Eduardo Giraldo.

Click here to read the full story.

Yet Another Way to Live Longer

Raz — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:03:00 +0000

When you do a Google search for images related to the word “purpose” I don’t understand why the results pull up esoteric whispy trees in the middle of green fields, or that of a person paddling a canoe in the reflective moonlight in the middle of a widespread ocean with nary a sign of life in sight (and, really, should someone be in a canoe that far offshore?).

Yet, it seems these are the images that conjure up purpose–so the one above represents the prototypical “Successory-style” purposeful image; what that image actually means I have no idea, but it’s a placeholder for an article in this blog posting that actually is pretty insightful.

The below article from HealthDay News was a great reminder about the importance of a holisitic view on life–and that your longevity isn’t just dependent upon the foods you eat and the way you treat your body–but, also, the way in which you focus your energy and life’s work:

Your purpose.

Victor Frankl wrote about this at length in “Man’s Search for Meaning” based on his observations of life during prison camp–and the life altering, and defeating, result that occurred when you took away a part of a humans destination and, ultimately, meaning.

So here’s an interesting study that highlights for those who rank higher on identifying a purpose also enjoyed a longer life. Most would agree that regardless of the years it can add to your life, having purpose will make the years on earth all the richer–but it’s all the more interesting if there’s a benefit in longevity as well.

If you have a purpose in life — lofty or not — you’ll live longer, a new study shows.

It doesn’t seem to matter much what the purpose is, or whether the purpose involves a goal that’s ambitious or modest.

“It can be anything — from wanting to accomplish a goal in life, to achieving something in a volunteer organization, to as little as reading a series of books,” said study author Dr. Patricia Boyle, a neuropsychologist at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and an assistant professor of behavioral sciences at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Click here to read the full story.

Razflections » Volunteer

Without a Job

Yet Another Way to Live Longer