The nation that refuses to help its citizens build a bridge for the future will always be haunted by attitudes and behaviors of the past. America is one of the most advanced civilizations on the planet, but one of the most dysfunctional nations in the world. She is a leader in innovation, but quickly falling behind in advancing the purpose of the human soul.
Our country even boast some of the most popular names in personal development and ministry, but individuals are still struggling to break free from devices that keep the human soul chained to the past. After the death of George Floyd, racial tension is more prevalent today than in the 60’s because we continue to tear down the bridge to our future.
American Idols
This blog is not about pointing fingers, but providing a solution to a problem that the personal development industry and religion struggle to solve. The impact of both spiritual and self-improvement thought-leaders have been noted, but the shift in our culture is requiring we draw from the deep wells of purpose.
Leaders can no longer be complacent in pushing the envelope of potential. They can no longer push the people they lead harder than they push themselves to master skills to lift the human soul to new heights!
Every leader must realize that we can never change the world, until we change the human soul, and we cannot change the human soul until we remove the infection in the soul that undermines purpose.
We must face the fact that we have succeeded in creating a society that has redefined what it means to have idols. Twenty-first century idols no longer sit as lifeless statures in a smoke-filled room where individuals immerse themselves in deep meditation.
America’s idols are people, places, and things that stand in the place of purpose. Our nation is slipping into a purposeless abyss, because we have failed to build strategies to guard the human soul from the things that stand in the place of purpose.
Again, we have some of the best spiritual and self-development teachers on the planet. However, good teaching without a solid strategy to preserve purpose within the human soul, will not sustain the right character over an extended period of time. The human soul is vulnerable and susceptible to its appetite for power, and will use the hunger for power to undermine the purpose of humanity.
One nation under the influence of division
Case in point are statements like,
Sunday morning is one of the most segregated days of the week.
It’s sad to see that the marketplace has more diversity than the church. People are more comfortable making money with a diverse group of people than they are worshiping the Creator. We boast that we serve the same God, but yet we have varying beliefs and doctrines that continues to weaken the influence of the church.
Sure, we worship God in different ways, but not at the expense of purpose. If careful attention is not given to building a bridge for the future, we will continue to weaken the influence of the church and our great country. The church must wake up and realize that God never meant for denominations and doctrines to become a god that stand in the place of purpose.
Ministry leaders must not only help the human soul find eternal salvation, but discover purposeful living that speaks volumes for eternity.
The spirit of division is not only tearing at the fabric of the church. Its influence can be seen in politics, education, entertainment, sports, and especially in our communities where law enforcement is under severe scrutiny.
Remember that the nation that refuses to help its citizens build a bridge for the future will be haunted by its past. One look at the cover of a local newspaper would make you think that we have been transported back to the 60’s where racial tension was at an all-time high. We have witnessed unarmed African American males lose their life at the hand of those who suppose to protect us.
The shedding of their blood started the Black Lives Matter movement in order to bring attention to the injustices that African Americans experience due to the color of their skin. Unfortunately, we are trapped in an identity crisis, and the Black Lives Matter agenda has evolved into the polarization of our country. Racial tension has emerged as a front-runner in dividing our nation. It appears that the message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is now being swept under the bridge, instead of building a bridge to our future.
Purposeful Lives Matter
Below is one of Dr. King's most popular quotes,
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
A powerful statement indeed, but we are far from a society that judge people by the content of their character. The reality of his statement has been delayed because we failed to realize that judging people by the content of their character is not a cognitive decision. It requires a purpose-oriented solution that can move ideas from the head to the heart.
It’s true that racism is a learned behavior, but what is the antithesis that undermines the tendencies of racial biases? I know this might sound strange, but racism is simply a refusal to expand the capacity for purpose. When we solve the problem for expanding the capacity for purpose, we will find a solution to end the racial divide.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, but more importantly, all men were created to expand their Capacity for Purpose. Everyone has the capability of building affinity with individuals of the opposite race, but when we refuse to expand our Capacity for Purpose, our tolerance for people who are different will decline.
The only way we can solve the identity crisis in our country is that we must develop new models of understanding how to help individuals manage their purpose. In other words, we must help them embrace the fact that Purposeful Lives Matter, so we can build a bridge for our future and rewrite the codes for human collaboration.
Building a Bridge for our Future
Building a bridge is one of the most powerful ways to contribute to the betterment of our world. We must follow the lead of many great leaders who have gone before us.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. – Jim Rohn, Author & Motivational Speaker
In every conceivable manner, the family is the link to our past, bridge to our future. – Alex Haley, Bestselling Author
I like to see myself as a bridge builder that is building bridges between people, between races, between cultures, between politics, trying to find common ground. – T.D. Jakes, Bestselling Author, Pastor, and Entrepreneur
I want to be the bridge to the next generation. – Michael Jordan, Basketball Great & Businessman
Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach. – Earl Nightingale, Radio Personality & Writer
The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or perchance, a palace or temple, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them. – Henry David Thoreau, Author and Philosopher
It’s a wonderful feeling being a bridge to the past and unite generations. – Vin Scully, Iconic Los Angeles Dodgers Sportscaster
He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself, for every man has need to be forgiven. – Thomas Fuller, English Churchman
The statesman’s duty is to bridge the gap between his nation’s experience and his vision. – Henry Kissinger, American Diplomat
We can stand around all day and point the finger at whose tearing down bridges, but the most important question in the twenty-first century is, what kind of bridge will we build for our personal achievement and those who follow our lead? Answering this question will help us cross over the barriers that undermine the potential of the human soul.
At the Purpose Development™ Institute, we have concluded that the most important bridge we can build is one that connects the human soul to an origin that lead to purpose-oriented solutions, and potential that creates new patterns of purpose for the future.
We call it the Purpose Development™ Bridge, and it’s the key to helping individuals,
Eliminate devices that chain them to their past
Remove idols that stand in the place of purpose
Expand their capacity for purpose to bridge the racial divide
Rewrite the codes for success to become a New Breed of Achievers
Move ideas from the head to the heart so character can become king when judging people
If we truly desire to affect change within the human soul, we must realize that it’s hard to help others build a bridge if we do not help them find purposeful solutions for the past and develop a Sustainable Purpose™ for their future.
The four pillars of the Purpose Development™ Bridge must be used to:
Probe the Big 3 purpose questions to formulate new strategies for purposeful living
Prepare the gifts and talents to serve the needs of humanity
Build a philosophy of purpose that celebrates human potential
Condition the character to create new patterns of purpose to affect change
Each pillar must be used to harvest the energy of purpose, in order to build continuity between the past and the future. Only then will we realize that life is not the sum total of our skin color, but it’s measured in the purposeful lives we create to affect change.
The Purpose Development™ Bridge must be built on the premise that before we can judge others based on the content of their character, we must make sure the content of our character is influenced by purpose.
By doing so, we will help individuals make room for a purpose that is bigger than their personal preferences. It will give them the conviction and motivation to yield to a higher purpose over their personal preferences, thus allowing their thoughts, speech, and actions to become the product of purpose.
When individuals are in hot pursuit of purpose, there will be no need to suggest that the lives of a particular race matter, because everyone under its influence will subdue dysfunctions in their character. Racial barriers will be eliminated because Purposeful Lives Matter!
Building the Purpose Development™ Bridge is the result of almost thirty years and well over 20,000 hours of mastering purpose-oriented, human development, and growth strategies. If you would like to learn more about helping others build purposeful lives, Click Here!