It sounds pretty heavy doesn’t it? How to live a life of meaning and purpose to some sounds like a pipe dream.

It’s for this reason that many will never take the time to even think about what it would take to live like this. The simple fact is that often who we think we are and what we think we are capable of achieving is just a result of psychological programing, a combination of our upbringing, our parents and siblings, social norms and values, religion, the media, educational and political institutions to name a few.

This often creates the stuff that either makes or breaks us.

What is that stuff?

It’s our BS! That’s right, our Belief Systems.

But you know what, the truth is there are a bunch of people, alive and dead, that have lived an inspired and purposeful life. One of the easiest and fastest ways to achieve something amazing is to look at those who have already achieved greatness and study them.

There are a number of people who have what I call the ‘X Factors of Success’. I’ve spent over half my life asking myself many questions, one of which is; ‘what are the traits and characteristics of amazing people and how can I get that?’.

From Jesus to John Lennon; Mohammad Ali to Mozart; Rumi to Richard Branson; Nicola Tesla to Oprah, Rosa Parks and Helen Keller, almost every one of them share nine X factors of success.

1.  They all had a dream and would be able to articulate it quite clearly without hesitation or procrastination.

The dream was BIG, grand and almost ‘super human’, something that ‘the average Joe’ would probably laugh at. This dream would be something that would extend FAR beyond just meeting their own needs, but would be something that many people would benefit from. They thought ‘outside the box’. They realised that conventional and safe thinking wasn’t going to cut it.

2.  They all had a very strong sense of self.

They knew who they were, what they were about and what they stood for. They felt like they were on a mission, something that was planted inside them from birth, something they felt compelled to express. They all had a feeling that finding and expressing this mission was exactly what was going to give them the greatest freedom and satisfaction.

3.  All were very introspective and took the time to be alone with their own thoughts in quiet contemplation.

They went within themselves to find their dream, vision, mission and purpose. They knew that what it was they were here to do was to be found inside not outside ‘in the world’. This may involve some sort of prayer, a walk in nature or it could be as simple as concentrating to your breathing.