Why I Care So Much About Life Purpose

I opened the garage and there was my dad, home way too early from work…

Again.

Immediately, my heart sank and my stomach welled with fear. Before he even walked in the house, I knew what had happened.

Growing up, I watched my dad get laid off from multiple jobs, and each time it created a sinking pit in my stomach, as I knew what was coming next.

He would start the job hunt again, my parents’ stress levels would skyrocket as the financial concerns mounted, the arguments would increase and get louder…

…and I’d stay in my room, continue my school and sports, and try not to get caught in the cross-fire.

My dad never liked what he did for a living.

In fact, he pretty much hated it.

Work was never something to enjoy. It was always something to complain about.

Most nights at the dinner table growing up I would hear my dad complaining about his bosses, his coworkers, company changes, his commute, and even the software he was an expert in (he was in IT back then).

He was never happy with his work.

Years later, when I became an adult and my dad was in his mid-sixties, he told me one of his biggest regrets in life is that he never figured out what he really wanted to do with his life.

Instead, he just did whatever everyone else did. They all went to college and got boring jobs they hated.

Back then, when he was growing up, no one talked about doing what you love for a living.

NO ONE.

It wasn’t even mentioned.

And the thought never crossed his mind, either.

So he spent decades doing work he didn’t like in environments he despised.

He eventually met my mom, they got married, and they started a family.

I was born an only child, and my dad continued to do work he didn’t like, but he was taking care of his family.

Eventually, he got a job opportunity working for a company in America, and my parents decided to take it.

When I was just 5 years old, we left all of our family and friends and moved from South Africa to America in the hopes of giving me a better life. A safer life with more opportunity.

And that’s what happened.

I had an amazing upbringing.

I grew up in an apartment complex in the Bay Area (California) surrounded by other immigrants from all over the world. I got a multicultural upbringing in the heart of Silicon Valley.

These people became our family in America and remain so until this day, more than 20 years later.

But, through all of this time, my dad was still stuck in the rat race.

And he wasn’t getting compensated that well either.

For as long as I can remember, my mom worked, as well, mostly as a teacher’s assistant in elementary school special needs classrooms.

It was honest work. But it was tough and didn’t offer much pay.

So my parents made a lower-middle class income in jobs that produced a high amount of stress and energy-drain, while living in one of the most expensive areas in the world.

And it all came to a climax whenever my dad got laid off…

Not from a job he loved.

Not from a job that paid very well.

But from a job he hated and paid just enough to live a comfortable life.

Don’t get me wrong, we were always taken care of. My dad always found work eventually.

Yet…

Financial stress and work dissatisfaction ran rampant in my household.

And it made a strong impression on me.

After that last layoff, my dad eventually switched careers to one that was slightly more aligned with his interests.

But only slightly.

He was always interested in emergency services, so he became a dispatcher.

But he became a dispatcher for a security company that worked with a larger tech company.

And, once again, it sucked.

At dinner, it was the same old story. Complaining about his bosses, his coworkers, the commute, everything.

The one good thing about this job is that he finally found some job security, and he stayed with them for 10 years.

But, eventually, they laid him off as well. Not because he was a bad employee, but because of corporate politics.

For my dad, this was the last straw.

He was pissed off at corporate America. He was resentful at how he was treated and let go.

And he harbored that resentment for a year and half after leaving.

Until, one day, as I was ironically driving home from a job I hated…

I got a phone call:

“Mike, you might want to pull over.”

“Why? What’s up?”

Something inside me knew what was coming…

“I went to the doctor, and I’ve been diagnosed with colon cancer.”

My heart sank, once again. And I was speechless.

Decades of stress, doing work he hated, not getting paid well enough, getting harshly laid off, and feeling powerless to do anything about it finally culminated in a bodily response of dis-ease.

Even back then, before I went through my own healing journey, I knew why my dad had gotten cancer:

I knew it was the work.

I knew it was the stress.

I knew it was the decades of dissatisfaction.

And I knew it was the resentment and anger he harbored because of it.

And more importantly, I knew this wasn’t the life I wanted for me.

If you made it this far, by now I’m sure you agree with me.

Now a new journey began, a journey filled with more fear, stress, and chemotherapy.

He got surgery and went through chemotherapy.

It was the most difficult 6 months of his life, but I’m very happy to say my dad’s cancer was relatively mild, and he lived.

He had no cancer left after that, and it has not come back.

The cancer was his body letting him know that, just like he had enough of corporate America and doing work he hated, his body had enough of the stress, anger, resentment, and hate itself.

It was time to let go of what happened, and start creating a new, bright, happy, and healthy future.

It was time for a fresh start.

THIS is why I care so much about purpose.

I care so much about living a life I love in ALL areas because I saw firsthand what can happen when you don’t.

I saw firsthand what decades of stress, dissatisfaction, fear, and resentment from doing work that sucks just for the money can do to someone.

It affects every area of your life.

And those effects can be very serious.

Even though my dad is cancer-free, anyone who has been through chemotherapy, or knows someone who has, knows that there are side effects.

Years later, my dad is still dealing with the side effects of that chemotherapy on a daily basis – a constant reminder that if different decisions had been made, maybe he’d be in a different situation.

I made a decision a long time ago, that no matter what it took, I would build a life I love in every way.

I would not let that happen to me.

And I would help others who want to do the same.

Because it can literally save your life.

So…

If you relate to this story at all, and are ready to stop doing work that you hate and are ready to embark on a journey to experience truly fulfilling work, then leave a comment on this article with:

“No matter what it takes, I will build a life I love. I will do what I love to do, with people I love, and I will not settle for anything less than what I truly desire in life. And I know, deep in my heart and soul, that I can do it, and that I deserve it.”

Then read this aloud to yourself once a day as a reminder that you can do what you want to do in life, you can find your purpose, and you are worthy of it.

Thank you so much for being on this journey and for reading this story.

As I’m writing this, my dad is sitting next to me, as we both work on our dreams together.

So it means a lot to me.

Remember, I am here supporting you every step of the way.

So get started, keep going, and never stop.

And you will transform your life from this moment forward.