CHAPTER 1

Lean Forward into Your Life

Lean forward into your life. Indeed. Often I embrace this instruction and put myshoulder to the moment. But certainly not always. There are times when, if Iwere to lean forward, all I would do is fall over. The roots of the word"despair" can be found in old French—a pairing of "down from" and "to hope": tofall down from hope. When I am not leaning forward into my life that is why.Because I am busy falling down from hope. Sometimes the ship of life is pitchingso viciously that the best action I can muster is to just sit down and hang on.The storm subsides. I stand up. I look around. I lean forward a little.

My chiropractor, Dr. Colleen McDonough, was helping me recover from a moment inwhich I had rapidly leaned backward. I'd stepped backward, while walking my dog,into a recessed planting area in the sidewalk. I snapped something in my back.My doctor was being attentive to the details of my life while working to correctthe problem. "Now how's that writing going?" she asked. "That book you'reworking on—what's it called? Fall Forward into Life?"

I laughed so hard. The irony of my chiropractor getting the title of my book sowrong and yet so right, struck me as howlingly funny. When I stopped laughing Itold her the correct title. She observed that I more frequently seem to leapforward into my life. A running leap, she modified. With your dog along on aleash. Leap. Lean. It's just one letter difference.

A pilot would tell you that a seemingly insignificant lean of a wing willdramatically alter the direction of the plane. Perhaps if a bird could speak itwould share that, with the right wind, a little ruffle of a feather may changethe way of its flight.

There are many reasons you lean forward on any given day. They are all perfectmetaphors for this book. When you're trying to see something better, you leantoward it. When you are listening to someone and can barely hear, you lean in.When the really exciting part of a basketball game comes, you lean forward inyour seat. When you're trying to catch, to see, to listen to the best bits—youlean forward.

Lean forward into your life ... catch the best bits and the finest wind. Justtip your feathers in flight a wee bit and see how dramatically that small leancan change your life.

Begin Each Day as if It Were on Purpose

go to the self help section of the library. Or bookstore. There you will findprotocols, guides, methods. Ten steps to this. Easy solutions to that. Thirtyways to hop, skip, and jump to a more successful, thinner, efficient,purposeful, happier life.

This is not that.

This book is an invitation. A reflection. A mirror. A set of prompts to help youremember the questions you want to ask yourself. An intimate portrait of some ofmy processes that have allowed me to separate life as it happens to me and lifeas I choose it. They are such very different things.

So often people discuss purpose as if it were a far off mountain, difficult tosee and even more difficult to climb. Purpose is discussed as if it were the onething that we are to ultimately achieve in our life.

Jan Johnson, my publisher, has said well that things are not only "done onpurpose, but with a purpose." I awaken with my purpose. I bring my purpose toevery party. I have the choice of applying my purpose to every set of events andenthusiasms of my life. My purpose. The unique intention that only I bring.

You know that feeling of being completely energized, which occurs when you aredoing something you absolutely love? That thing that might make others tired,weary, but you could do for hours, and then get up the next day and do it allover again? That thing probably has a lot to teach you about your purpose. Whenpeople speak of being "in sync," when things are flowing or a part of a groove.What they could say, instead, is "I am acting in complete accordance to mypurpose and it makes everything sing."

Life is the biggest schoolroom there is. Show up. Take notes. Notice the detailsso you gain mastery over the skills, talents, and abilities that all compriseyour special purpose. Writing notes to yourself is one of the finest ways tocome to a deeper understanding of your purpose. Here are some suggestions.

Write to make sense of life experiences. Write to learn as much as you can fromall the challenges and the joys. Write because words and ideas are fascinating.Write because exploring concepts is play. Write to synthesize explorations andmake them practical. Write to become the best version of yourself. Write toinspire, motivate, comfort, facilitate, discover, communicate. In the process ofseeking empowerment, empower others. In this scratching, this making marks,encourage others to make their own mark. Write to discover everything you(already deeply) know about your purpose. It's waiting for you.

Uncovering Your Purposeful Beginnings

in the classes I teach, Writing Places and Wordshops, I often ask participantsto write the story of their mythological creation. Nearly every tribe andcivilization that we can name has their own set of creation myths. It explainstheir unique presence. The terrain. The history of the tribe. Creating your ownpersonal myth is a remarkable journey. It's digging into your purpose. Let...