Finding my purpose would not have been possible without writing a book—without journals and letters that allowed me to retrace the steps, find the clues to purpose, and consciously figure out how I arrived where I am today. The understanding that we don’t figure out this thing called life until we make the decision to examine it does not start until you write. When you write, the clues appear before you as your life unfolds one page at a time. You start to understand what event led to the next event, how your feelings changed through these experiences, and how life became “more.”

Writing a book gave birth to a new me: one with more clarity and focus about what led me to the place I am at now, a conscious choice to follow my heart, trust my intuition, and live authentically. At the time, I had no idea that it was the book that had changed my life. Which came first to find purpose in my life—the subject of the book or the book itself? It was the book that gave me my direction.

When you live a life on purpose, the whole world suddenly lights up because it’s not just about you anymore. Is that what opens up the world of love? You hear so much about “being of service,” but are we designed as humans to only function as part of the whole if we actually ARE part of the whole?

If I had found this purpose during my travels, would the colours have been brighter, the memories clearer, the feelings deeper, the experiences richer? Would I have remembered any of what happened during my travels without photos, journals, and letters? Why did I have such a weak vision of those experiences? Why does it feel I am reading about someone else when I read my journals? Did this really happen to me? Am I the only person to circumnavigate the world and not remember very much about it because I wasn’t actually “awake” the whole time?

Writing a book about your journey so far will bring you to life, wake you up, allow you to retrace your steps and the clues of your life, and open up your heart—if you are willing to be vulnerable. It is a journey that will lead to your heart being open and letting love in.

Only when your heart opens to the possibilities will you allow love in. This is the most beautiful thing in the world: opening to love that was always there while you were just not awake enough to see it.

My purpose is to help the world wake up and welcome in love by suggesting you revisit your life and follow the clues to find your purpose through writing your story. It will be a hard, vulnerable journey, but as you become the observer in your life, the clues will lead to your purpose. I often wonder how my own experiences of travelling around the world would have been different with my eyes wide open.

Julie Salisbury is the Founder of Influence Publishing and the author of Around the World in Seven Years: One Woman’s Life-Changing Journey

Salisbury inspires women to publish their life story. She offers a weekend intensive mastermind for a maximum of eight people two to three times a year. The next mastermind is in Vancouver on February 21^st and 22^nd. Influence Publishing will publish the most inspiring stories.

Find more info at www.InfluencePublishing.com or call 604-980-5700 or email admin@influencepublishing.com