Book Review: Life on Purpose
I was asked to review Dr. Brad Swift’s book, Life on Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life, as part of his “blog book tour”. Swift was a former veterinarian who looked outwardly successful but was burned out. This book as a culmination of his personal experience of self-discovery and delineation of his own life purpose.
Swift described his six passages as follows: Preparing for the Journey, Starting on the Purposeful Path, Uncovering What has been Shaping Your Life, Clarifying and Polishing Your True, Divinely Inspired Purpose, Learning the Tools for Living on Purpose, and Mastering the Tools for Living on Purpose. Besides serving as a self-help guide for the reader, these six passages form a system through which Swift and his coaches help their clients through the process.
Given the number of blog reviewers along this tour (20 total, including myself), you can find the comprehensive list of bloggers who have reviewed this book on Swift’s website. Many reviewers are quite thorough in describing the content of the book, others have conducted “interviews” with Swift to help you learn more about the author. Overall, the reviews have been very positive.
Rather than rehashing the general content, which you can get through other reviewers, I’d like to present to you who may benefit from this book, and should you be in the group who may benefit, how I think you may best use this book.
Before I start, a little background on my perspective. I’m basing my position as someone who has worked with numerous coaches in the past to specifically delineate my “purpose”, although in many cases our work may not use the word “purpose”. I have also provided coaching for those who desires to uncover their purpose, and again in many cases our work did not always use the word “purpose”. I have personally been a long time seeker of “purpose”, and as part of my seeking process, have read various books that I hoped would give me clues about my life purpose.
This book is helpful for someone who is beginning to ask the question, “Is what I am doing now what I really want my life to be about?” or “What do I really want from my life?” or, naturally, “What is the purpose of my life?” If you are a beginning seeker, this book provides a step-wise process to ask yourself some questions you may not have ever asked – or dared to ask – in your life. Those of you who use writing as a means of self-expression and introspection will enjoy the many exercises throughout the book. Those of you who do not – well – don’t overlook these exercises or procrastinate doing them.
If you are an intermediate seeker, you may have read many books in search for clues to life meaning and purpose. You may have worked with coaches to help you in your journey. You may have an idea – however vague – of what your life work is about. If you are an intermediate seeker, this book may provide additional confirmation of whether you are indeed on the right track. You may even have already done many of the exercises in this book, or similar variations of the exercises in this book. I found that I had done versions of many of the exercises in this book that led me to the same answers. Gaining confirmation for the life work you have already done can be reassuring. You may also gain additional information or insight to what you already know.
For those of you advanced seekers, you are really no longer seeking. At this point, your evolutionary process may no longer consist of a “coach / client” relationship. You begin to direct your own growth and in essence, “write” your own evolutionary curriculum. If you are at this stage of your growth, and find that part of your calling consists of helping others uncover their purpose, this book may be assessed as a potential tool to help you serve. If you want to serve as a coach, and you work with a client who may be a beginner seeker or intermediate seeker, this book may be a possible “tool” to get them started or give them further clarification. If you are working with someone who is no longer seeking, but is at an evolutionary point where a peer-to-peer dialog exists, this book may provide some interesting discussion topics, including a debate on the concept of “purpose” itself.
If you are like me, you need something more than working from a book – you need to interact with another person or within a group. No matter how much effort the author puts into making the book “as interactive as possible”, for some, a book must serve as a supplemental dimension to the person’s growth process. For others, working through a book works best, and this book provides enough exercises for one to fill up an entire notebook. No matter where you are on your growth process, your understanding of how you best learn and move along your journey is crucial.
In conclusion, I always welcome having more options and more possible ways to explore than not having enough. I may never find “the” answer in any one book or from any one teacher, but each book and each teacher have given me precious clues to the ultimate answer that I already hold within myself. Those of you who choose to use this book as a way to find your own clues, I wish you a fruitful journey.
Financial disclosure and conflict of interest: Besides receiving a review (free) copy of this book, Jane is not compensated by the author or his publicist for the review, and was not directed or guided by the author or his publicist for the content or tone of this review. The Amazon link to this book contains a referral code, through which Jane will receive a % commission should you order through this link.
