What Color Is Your Parachute?

the three places that look the most interesting to the two of you. If there is only a partial overlap between your dream factors and the places your friends and acquaintances suggested, make sure the overlap is in the factors that matter the most to the two of you, i.e., the ones that are at the top of your list in Column 7. Now you have some names of places that you will want to find out more about, until you are sure which is the absolute favorite place to live for both of you, and then your second, and third, as backups.

Put the names of the top three places, and/or your top five geographical factors, on the Flower Diagram, on the Where petal.

Conclusion: Was all of this too much work? Then do what one family did: they put a map of the U.S. up on a corkboard, and then they each threw a dart at the map from across the room, and when they were done they asked themselves where the most darts landed. It turned out to be around “Denver.” So, Denver it was!

Step 6: What Goals or Purposes Would You Most Enjoy Setting Your Energies To?

WHAT DID YOU COME INTO THE WORLD TO DO?

There is a name for this moment in your life; in fact, there are several names.

We call it “at last going after your dreams.”

We call it “finding more purpose and meaning for your life.”

We call it “making a career-change.”

We call it “deciding to try something new.”

We call it “setting out in a different direction in your life.”

We call it “getting out of the rat race.”

We call it “going after your dream job.”

We call it “finding your mission in life, at last.”

But what you call it doesn’t really matter. It is instantly recognizable as that moment when you decide that this time you’re not going to do just a traditional job-hunt; you’re going to do a life- changing job-hunt or career-change: one that begins with you and what it is that you want out of life.

This time it’s all about: Your agenda. Your wishes. Your dreams. Your mission in life, given you by the Great God, our Creator.

Not a Selfish Activity

You may think that this is a selfish activity—because it deals with You, you, you. But it is not. It is concerned with what the world most needs from you. That world currently is filled with workers whose weeklong question is, When is the weekend going to be here? And, then, Thank God It’s Friday! Their work puts bread on the table but … they are bored out of their minds. They’ve never taken the time to think out what they uniquely can do, and what they uniquely have to offer to the world.

You’ve got talent, no doubt about that. You have special gifts, and skills. The question is: what do you want to accomplish with that talent, those skills, and those gifts? What values do you want your life, ultimately, to serve?

That is the question with which you must begin. Even before you inventory your skills. They can be made to serve any goal or value you choose. By way of example, the movie credits that roll at the end of a movie show us how many talents and skills it took to produce that movie. You will see such talents listed as: researcher (especially for movies set in another historical period), travel expert (to scout locations) , interior designer (to design sets), carpenter (ditto), painter (ditto), costume designer, hair stylist, makeup artist, lighting technician, sound editor and sound mixer, computer graphics people, singer, conductor, musicians, composer, sound recordist, stunt artists, animal trainer, talent coordinator, camera operator and cinematographer, special effects people, continuity editor, director, art director, casting director, actor, actress, producer, accountant, personal assistants, drivers, first aid people, secretaries, publicists, and many others, depending on the type of movie it is.

The point is: if what you most want to do is to make movies, it doesn’t matter what your skills are, because almost any skills you have can be put to use there.

And so it is, with all goals, fields, and values.

Figure out what cause, what problem, what values, you want your life to serve. Then, almost any talent, skill, or gift you later discover you have, or already know you have, can be put into its service.

The word “values” can refer to almost anything. Do you value chocolate over broccoli? Or do you value broccoli over chocolate? That’s a matter of your values.

But “values” in the sense I’m using it here, refers to the broad outcome of your life. What kind of footprint do you want to leave on this Earth, after your journey here is done? Figure that out, and you’re well on your way to finding a life that has purpose and meaning.

I will list nine broad outcomes here; all of them are important, in this life; the question is, which one (or ones) grips you the most?

1. Mind. Is the human mind your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be more knowledge, truth, or clarity in the world, because you were here? If so, knowledge, truth, or clarity concerning what, in particular?

2. Body. Is the human body your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be more wholeness, fitness, or health in the world, more binding up of the body’s wounds and strength, more feeding of the hungry, and clothing of the poor, because you were here? If so, what issue in particular— concerning the human body—do you want to work on?

3. Eyes and Other Senses. Are the human senses your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be more beauty in the world, because you were here? If so, what kind of beauty entrances you? Is it art, music, flowers, photography, painting, staging, crafts, clothing, jewelry, or what—that you want your life to contribute toward?

4. Heart. Is the human heart your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be more love and compassion in the world, because you were here? If so, love or compassion for whom? Or for what?

5. The Will or Conscience. Is the human will or conscience your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be more morality, more justice, more righteousness, more honesty in the world, because you were here? If so, in what areas of human life or history, in particular? And in what geographical area?

6. The Human Spirit. Is the human spirit your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be more spirituality in the world, more faith, more compassion, more forgiveness, more love for God, and the human family in all its diversity, because you were here? If so, with what ages, people, or with what parts of human life?

7. Entertainment. When you are gone, do you want there to be more lightening of people’s loads, more giving them perspective, more helping them to forget their cares for a spell, do you want there to be more laughter in the world, and joy, because you were here? If so, what particular kind of entertainment do you want to contribute to the world?

8. Possessions. Is the often false love of possessions your major concern? When you are gone, do you want there to be better stewardship of what we possess—as individuals, as a community, as a