2. Finding your Life’s Task
“At your birth a seed is planted. That seed is your uniqueness. It wants to grow, transform itself, and flower to its full potential. It has a natural, assertive energy to it. Your Life’s Task is to bring that seed to flower, to express your uniqueness through your work. You have a destiny to fulfill.” —Robert Greene, Mastery
The feelings within you, the passions you experience, and some of the circumstances of your life can lead you to your Life’s Task.
This is something you are born to do, but it isn’t something that will come easily or quickly.
In fact, social pressures can push you in the opposite direction of your Life’s Task, as often happens.
Many masters had to push against such pressures from their family, friends, and society as they worked to fulfill their Life’s Task. “The hidden force within you is always there and ready to be engaged” if you listen to it.
Finding your life’s task
In working towards mastery, there will come a point when you no longer need structured instruction, and you will begin to blaze your own trail.
Many people lack this connection with their sense of purpose, but it CAN be found.
Here are a few questions to help you get started:
- What were you fascinated by as a child?
- What gave you a sense of wonder?
- What couldn’t you get enough of?
- What were you passionate about?
Looking at these answers may lead you to the spark that becomes your Life’s Task.
You may find there were a few passions you had as a child.
Follow each of them as far as you can.
Often, masters combined multiple passions—not realizing until later how these passions were interconnected in spectacular ways.
Yoky Matsuoka is a wonderful example of this.
She excelled in school but decided at 11 years old that she wanted to be a tennis player.
After a seemingly confusing journey, she became a pioneer in the field of neurorobotics, excelling in creating prosthetics that mimicked human movement and sensation.
It was her love of how her arms and body moved during tennis, combined with her scientific mind that led to this mastery.
Sometimes, masters need to rebel against expectations to find their Life’s Task.
Mozart was a child prodigy when it came to playing the piano, but he needed to rebel against this false path because his Life’s Task was composing.
This is where he truly became a master.
Watch out for false paths to mastery
A false path can also be one you “are attracted to for the wrong reasons – money, fame, attention, and so on.”
A true Life’s Task is followed because of internal passion, not external reward.
Of course, the external rewards often follow, but they are never the motivation.
You may find that you are on the wrong path years into adulthood. Your experiences can still contribute, but according to Greene, you must leave the false path once you recognize it as one.
It can require great sacrifice to seek your Life’s Task.
Perhaps that’s why so few find it.
But if you set out to find yours, it’s important to keep in mind that in the future this effort will be rewarded.
Sometimes your weaknesses are the primary indication of your Life’s Task.
Analyze your weaknesses only as a path to direct you to your strengths.
When you focus on developing your strengths you become more confident and focus your energy efficiently.
Actionable insights
To uncover your life’s task, grab a writing pad, find a quiet room, and spend a few minutes answering the following questions:
- What were you fascinated by as a child?
- What gave you a sense of wonder?
- What couldn’t you get enough of?
- What were you passionate about?
Review your responses to uncover clues that can lead you toward your purpose and closer to your life’s task.