In Horsham, United Kingdom, I met a young Nigerian being introduced to market research. He appeared very disinterested, so I asked him why. He said it wasn’t his passion, and that he was only there just to make a living since he couldn’t find another job.

His countenance and murmuring were irritating to me because, in my own thinking, I felt he could build a career in the profession if he decides to take it to another level. In the course of our interaction, he made a heartrending statement; he said: “My problem is that I don’t know who I am. I need to know who I am.”

As he said that, I took a deep breath and looked closely at him; he had no clue what went through my mind. A couple of weeks before that discussion, I woke up in the deadness of the night to do a soul search. In that soul search, I made a decision to be honest with myself. I asked myself a couple of questions such as “Why am I here?” and “What am I doing on earth?” I went further to ask the reason for my creation?

After the self evaluation, I made a decision to work and walk in line with my inner hunger and desire rather than living another man’s life. In the course of searching for who I am, and what I was created to be, I realised that every man was created to fulfil an assignment on earth; every position, product, service etc was made to answer a specific question on earth. That answer is the intention for creation; that intention is called purpose.

The man who designed the computer had one thing in mind: a system that will have a memory and capacity to operate in dimensions that will alleviate the problems of man. This one thing he had in mind is called purpose. Today, the computer does exactly what its original intention was. In the same vein, when the telephone was discovered, the designer also had one thing in mind: to make calls. In spite of the number of decades that have passed, the telephone still fulfils its primary assignment. That primary assignment once again is called purpose.

When job vacancies are published in newspapers or magazines, the recruiters usually include job descriptions. These job descriptions spell out the responsibilities of whoever will be hired for the position. So, the reason for wanting to fill a vacancy in an organisation has a purpose: the job description. No employer with a business or entrepreneurial mentality will offer a position to someone, and then begin to look for what the person will do. If there was no intention before hiring, there may never be an intention after hiring!

What is purpose? Purpose is an aim, goal, intention, or the reason for which something exists or is done. People usually say that where there is no purpose, abuse is inevitable. So, are you a purpose driven person?

Please keep a date next fortnight – Wednesday, October 9, 2013 – for more on this. Till then. God bless you.

•SUCCESS FACTOR appears fortnightly on Wednesdays. The Columnist, Kenneth Nkemnacho, is a popular London-based motivational writer and YAHOO Contributor. He can be reached via kenneth@kennethvisionmedia.com or publisher@newsexpressngr.com

Update news