Connecting with our archetypes can inform us about what may be most fulfilling to us. They may remind us about what we’ve forgotten. They can give us strength to power us forward when we don’t know what energy to use.

Caroline Myss has taken up the mantle that Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell built. Here’s an exhaustive list which you can browse to discover your personal archetypes. Simply read them and notice which ones truly resonate with who you are, who you’ve always been, NOT who you wish you were. Wishing for another archetype, like Midas, is to diminish and judge your own energy as less-than. You’ve incarnated in this life for a new journey. Enjoy it! Notice where an archetype really fits, and if you don’t like it, notice how you can harness what is good about it. For example, if you’ve got the queen, how can you harness her energy to become a benevolent queen that can make the tough decisions for your people. Share this exercise with friends and ask them if what you’ve listed matches who you are.

Write down your archetypes and ponder how they may point towards your destiny.

http://www.myss.com/library/contracts/three_archs.asp

We all know the old phrase, "work smarter, not harder." First, what’s working "smarter"? Well, a better way to say that might be to work more "efficiently", more "effectively". If my goal is to build a beautiful home, I’ve got to use the right tools and the right people, the right resources for the job. I’ll be most effective when I use the best tool for the job, a tool that’s designed for the optimal outcome. For example, using a saw to pound in a nail will not only take a long time, it would probably be quite frustrating. That wouldn’t be working smart.

When we know the "purpose" for the tool, we can apply it in the appropriate area and get great results. We work more effectively. We work "smart". It’s smart to use a hammer on a nail! When we pick the right tool, then skill is involved in getting the job done. You can have all the skill, practice, hard work in the world, but using a saw to hammer a nail isn’t going to get very good results. Notice how using something for it’s purpose makes life easier. It takes less effort, sometimes it’s even fun, when we use something for its purpose.

Now think of that beautiful house as your dreams, your vision of a joyous life of abundance. How the project going? Is it time to call the contractor and have a meeting? You are the #1 tool in your own life, the #1 worker. Are you working efficiently, effectively, working for the purpose you were designed? Are you living deliberately and intentionally? Are you living "on purpose"? You’ll achieve results easier and quicker when you are doing what serves your purpose on earth.

So what is your "purpose"? That’s a big question, isn’t it? There are many ways to find your purpose, many beliefs about purpose. What I find useful with my clients is to look for that thread running through every experience, especially those that are challenging to us.

When I was going through my darkest hour years ago, battling what is often called "depression", I kept asking myself "why is this happening to me?" Not a very useful question and one that keeps us stuck. Then I shifted to "How is this useful?" "What am I learning here?" And the BIG one: "how is this something I asked for to serve my purpose on earth?" For me, it became clear as day, my purpose is to awaken people to their gifts and making rapid changes in their lives. I was just in training for my purpose!

Purpose is a wonderful subject with great depth. Just being aware that you have a purpose opens the door to magic. Is it "true" that we all have a purpose? Who knows? My question, "Is it useful?" What you believe determines your reality. Ask someone you know that’s really deeply happy, living the life they imagine, and you’ll find they have a purpose. Model the best people, their beliefs, and you’ll get the same results.

Living on purpose takes less effort, life seems easier, and things seem to flow. Live your purpose and change your life forever!

An Exercise

There are many elements to uncovering your purpose. Start with the idea that you are unique, as unique as your finger print. There never has been or will ever be anyone on earth with the same finger print. The same is true of your voice pattern, retina, even rhythm of heart beat. Advanced electronic security systems are based on this fact. So how could it be that you are just a body meant to consume products off television? You are unique. Own it!

Here’s one tool: List every job you’ve ever had. Look for the commonality between all of them. What did you do in every job, no matter how small or odd. That common thread is a hint at your purpose, what you are meant to do.

I know someone that was bar tending then got into personal financial consulting. He realized that the bartending was training to meet strangers rapidly, make them comfortable, find their needs, and listen to them.

Look at your jobs from the perspective that they chose you, not that you chose them. Perspective is everything in life.

Try the new "Day Tracker" hand-out on my resources page. See where your day is going and why you may not be enjoying the life you desire.

Using your Inherent Excellence

Inherent Excellence was founded on the deep belief that each of us has a unique purpose. It’s in-here-nt, it’s "in here"! The seeds of our excellence, our best, our dreams for a joyous and abundant life are inside of us, not outside.

Look inside for the answers. Those are the best answers for you. Combine your true purpose with the magic of your mind and there truly is no limit to what you can do.

Roger Banister is the first human to beat the 4 minute mile. It was considered impossible for two thousand years. He trained his mind to "believe" it was possible. That is how he broke the record. The next year over 30 people broke the record. Belief is EVERYTHING!