I recently received a phone call from a gentleman from California by the name of Bob. Bob's elderly voice was electrified with passion as he thanked me for a short piece of writing that he had recently read in Science of Mind Magazine that included the paragraph:

"If you have a dream to make a difference with other people, even if it's off the beaten track of mainstream acceptability, go for it with purposeful patience and perseverance. Follow the breadcrumbs of your passion, and even if you don't know exactly where they are leading you, you will never be disappointed by where you end up. Living in faith can balance the odds even when it appears you're going against all the odds."

Bob went on to say that those words spoke directly to him. Bob told me that he'd been in the trucking industry for the past 40 years and had recently had the thought that he'd like to write something for his fellow truckers but hadn't felt that anyone would want to read what he wrote. When he read my passage, he knew that he had to follow his own 'breadcrumbs of passion' even though he didn't know where they were leading him.

So, truckers, watch out. Passion-filled Bob is coming your way.

Bob's call has led me to my own new Purpose Project that I'm calling the Purposeful Praise Project. Bob's call made my day as a writer. To know that my words could make such a difference in a 76-year-old man's life is very satisfying. It got me to thinking, how many people have made a similar contribution to my life and how many of them have I missed acknowledging and appreciating? Too many to count, but not too many to start 'purposefully praising' through phone calls, letters or emails.

I can't really claim the project as original to me. One of my clients who is also a dear friend of many years, recently created Project Pen Pal. He's writing hand written letters to the people in his life that have made a significant contribution to him. I'm the proud recipient of one of his letters. It's tucked away in my special notebook where I keep such treasures.

And so it goes. Purpose, passion and play shared among each other and in the sharing it multiplies and from such multiplication comes our World On Purpose. Thank you Bob and Eric for keeping the flow flowing.

And that's my life on purpose from the paradise found of Flat Rock NC.

Brad Swift

As a writer, I've written well over 300 magazine articles for a diverse assortment of magazines including Omni, Entrepreneur, New Age Journal, Yoga Journal, Utne Reader, Unity Magazine, Better Homes and Garden, Modern Maturity, and many others. I'm also a regular contributor to Veterinary Economics. (Yes, I still have a special place in my heart for animals.) My books include, WINNING THROUGH COACHING: Building Your Business Through Building Your Team and TRAVELING THE PURPOSEFUL PATH ? 6 Passages to an Inspired Life on Purpose.

As a public speaker, I lead programs on life purpose that are customized to fit such diverse groups as churches, spiritual centers, civic and professional organizations. The principles of these programs are also available in the 12-week teleclass, Living the Fulfilled Life. From these programs participants bring more focus to their life, experience a renewed sense of fulfillment, and lighten up and have more fun. Out of this focus, fulfillment, and fun emerges an ability to maintain balance in their life and a deeper appreciation for living.

One of my all time favorite ways of expressing my purpose is as a life purpose coach. I find the intimacy and creativity of one-on-one coaching to be a breathtaking experience. The select group of people who are my clients are very special to me, and with them I am constantly creating new facets of life purpose coaching that are then incorpoated into the other programs.

In short, the focus of my life is life purpose. From living on purpose, I've been blessed with an extraordinary life in which I am satisfied and fulfilled. My wife, Ann, and I share our redwood chalet home in the "Paradise Found" of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with our daughter, Amber, and a menagerie of purposeful and playful pets.