4 out of 4 stars
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It’s instinctive for humans to ask themselves questions such as "Who am I?" or "What am I doing here?" It’s usually through times of struggle when one has been stripped away of everything that they ponder deeply over what their purpose in life is. This is when Bruce Francois, the author of the book My Purpose, formulated this question to himself with great despair. After the 2007 financial crisis, virtually half of his net worth came crashing down drastically. Even though he still had his dream job at Disney as a technology professional, he felt unhappy and was battling depression. He started to believe he had mistaken his purpose in life as he felt empty and unfulfilled. These inner struggles were the stepping stones that lead him on a long personal expedition in search of his purpose.
Bruce has happily returned from his self-discovery journey knowing his purpose and he wants to help others find theirs too. His interactive self-help book consists of 10 chapters where 10 key steps are explained in detail. At the end of each chapter are two small sections, one summarizing the main points of the chapter and the other serving as a reflection activity. I thought this was a brilliant idea as one can go back to a particular chapter, give it a quick glance, and be reminded of the contents of the chapters. Additionally, a reflection workbook comes along with this book to further guide one into organizing their feelings, thoughts, and ideas on paper for deeper introspective of oneself. The author’s approach is interesting because it combines spirituality with science. You can see extensive research has been done on the subject as a diversity of sources are mentioned and links to them are found at the end of the book.
What I like most about this book is that it's opened my eyes to many things that I wasn't aware of, and I can now see things from a different perspective, focusing on the bigger picture. I feel like it has also helped me learn more about myself, and therefore I can understand why I react to certain situations the way I do. I found that It not only helped me find my purpose in life, but It’s given me the motivation and inspiration to pursue it.
I encountered some slightly technical areas, but as I continued to read, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the author used metaphors to further explain, and I was able to understand with much clarity. An example of such being “My emotions became my dashboard for noticing what was taking place inside me." Also, I really appreciated how the author used his own personal life experiences and thoughts as examples to demonstrate how to carry out the important keys.
Even though the author is a Christian and at times refers to Bible quotes to explain his purpose, he respects other's religious or spiritual beliefs as he recognizes that everyone is on their own individual path searching for their truth. As a result, I believe this book is suitable for anyone, despite their personal religious beliefs. It is professionally edited since I’ve not run into a single error. There is no profanity whatsoever. There is absolutely nothing I dislike about the book. I find it very valuable and I want to keep it on my bookshelf so I can go back to refer to it. I am happy to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
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My Purpose
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