The sure signs of purpose work

How I recognize writing as a divine assignment

If you’re new here, welcome. This is my online writing temple, which was birthed after a social media shitstorm that I found myself in the middle of last year. This is where I now share more personal stories, thoughtful reflections and long-form essays that are NSFSM (not-safe-for-social-media).

There’s this story I’ve been writing for almost 8 months now. I feel uncomfortably pregnant with it, and frankly, tired after many rounds of drafts. But it’s not ready yet. I am working on capturing a challenging episode in my life, without being overly fixed in the perspective of “me”. This is challenging work. And I know even my best attempt at this will not be perfect, because I’m human.

I choose to put energy into this process because my writing is purpose-work for me. It is not just about describing reality as I see it; it’s also shaping the world by the way I’m sharing. To me, writing is alchemy: thoughts form words, experiences spin sentences, and these narratives can be used to weave new realities.

How do I recognize that writing is a divine assignment for me?
Well, I want to share with you some of the signs. Some of these signs might help you to see purpose-work that’s already moving through you, or give you hints for what to start noticing.

Here are six purpose-positive signs that are true for me, with my writing:

Purpose Positive Sign #1: It started early in my life

Writing is something I’ve been practicing for a long time. But I never thought of it as a “practice” because I did it consistently without needing to use force or discipline to keep going. Compare and contrast that with piano lessons — with that, I hated practicing. I started writing regularly at age 12, when my sixth-grade teacher, Miss Artis, assigned us to write daily journal entries. I started and never stopped. Journaling is something I still do frequently. Writing was a routine that started early, and it continued naturally and effortlessly. 

Purpose Positive Sign #2: It is recognized and received

Writing is recognized by those around me as one of my superpowers. I see evidence of it being well-received in the world, through many forms of positive feedback. I won essay contests in high school. I received scholarships for my writing in university and business school. My first book Regenerative Purpose won several independent publishing awards. My friends and colleagues often ask me to review and edit their writing, whether it is a cover letter, an online dating profile, or a client email.

Purpose Positive Sign #3: It gives me positive energy

When I am in the movement of my writing, I frequently enter a “flow state” where time passes quickly without me noticing. When I am writing, it gives me a positive emotional charge and an energetic boost. I am not struggling or trying hard. The activity and process of writing itself feels light, even if the topic can sometimes be heavy. I can spend a lot of time on writing, and when I finish, I am buzzing. I feel more alive. I feel good in my body. I experience a potent activation energy and I find myself more in tune with reality around me.

Purpose Positive Sign #4: It deeply challenges me

While the act of writing happens with ease, the fact that writing is part of my life brings lots of reasons and opportunities for me to up-level myself as a human being. In the spaces between writing sessions where the rest of life is happening, there are things that writing triggers in me, and there are things that writing requires from me… Writing is constantly pushing me to learn and grow my capacity. I’m not allowed to fall asleep as long as I’m engaged in sharing this part of me.

Purpose Positive Sign #5: It transforms my reality

When I do my purpose-work sincerely and earnestly, there’s a process of alchemy happening within and around me. Writing significantly alters my lived experience of life. It’s not just something that I do… it’s an ongoing process that uses me, and there is a magical quality to it that is not really mine and not really my doing. Both internal and external change is activated — writing transforms me and the world around me.

Purpose Positive Sign #6: It nourishes me financially 

This is happening slowly slowly; it is also the last piece of the puzzle to drop in for me, and it’s the same for many of my friends and coaching clients too. I believe we can thrive by doing our purpose-work. I believe we can get paid for sharing our highest gifts to humanity. I believe that this can be part of the purpose work reality. I believe that we’re getting there, collectively.

As I wrote in Regenerative Purpose, the completion of the purpose flow cycle (in the direction of receiving) requires systemic change to become a common reality. Receiving regeneratively, is something that no one can change on their own — it depends on the ecosystem of exchange we live in. I think the main reason that getting paid well for purpose-work hasn’t fully manifested yet is because we’re not always fully congruent in our behavior and beliefs. 

An example of non-congruence, which applies to me personally: In my belief, I value community, but yet I still spend an unconscious amount of time scrolling for cheap dopamine hits on social media, instead of, say, collecting firewood for a singing circle hosted by my neighbor. Much of the time spent is not intentional; but I have this addiction that grabs me. This habit of paying attention is one that pays Facebook executives instead of supporting my local artist community, and the latter is what the conscious part of me would rather be doing.

New choices, new reality

I believe we’re overly invested in platforms of extraction that don’t pay creators fairly. What I would like to see die is the gatekeeper reality, where creative labor is squeezed from the masses to pay salaries for uber-rich tech company execs that hold the golden keys. We can downvote with our feet, by walking away from old paradigm energy slavery. And we can upvote by paying with our presence, to pour energy into a more nourishing new regenerative economy. We can steward resources more consciously, even if we do it imperfectly.

Substack is great for creators because they take only a small fee (10%) from subscription money. Compare that to Amazon, where the commission can be 60-70% depending on the format and marketplace. On Substack, content is delivered straight to subscribers without any algorithm in the mix. Compare that to Facebook where content delivery is a complete mystery. Here on Substack, I can directly see and manage the list of people reading me.

Substack is designed to support writers who offer depth and quality, and lets readers choose who and what they want to read. Most of what I share here is available to everyone to read for free. So why would you pay money for something, when you can get it for free? Well. The reason to do it is if there’s something you care about more than money. When we care about a future vision, we use our time and money to vote for the future reality we want to see.

Invitation to meet me in the gap

For purpose-pioneers, this moment of standing in the gap — between what’s expired already and what’s not yet blooming — is a testing moment. It requires faith and trust in this new purposeful world that’s emerging. And for many, it also requires some financial stability resourced from the old paradigm that is dying. I am fortunate to have savings available to me from my old life, to help bridge the gap.

Here I am standing in the gap. Here I am inviting you to contribute a bit of money-energy to upvote this offering, if you believe my writing is worth reading.

I currently have 14 paying subscribers who sponsor this Substack channel. It’s my lifelong dream to be able to support myself as a full-time writer. Reaching 1,000 monthly paid subscribers would be life-changing, because it would mean that I could focus solely on my writing. That’s only 986 paid subscriptions away from now!

If the dream of getting paid well for my purpose-work is coming true for me, then that means it’s coming true for you too. Because we are all connected, interdependent, co-evolving expressions of Life. There is no “me” succeeding, without “you” both cheering me on and also benefiting.