*This article was originally published and featured on ThriveGlobal. Learn how to find your purpose in life.

Dedicated to anyone who believes there is more to life than working in a job that doesn’t fulfill their purpose or passion.

The Fall

I hustled out of my cushy advertising job, ping-ponging through the rush hour hordes. Like everyone else, I was eager to escape the office and dive into the weekend. A Manhattan native, I was used to dodging crowds, but today was different – I just didn’t know how it would eventually help me find my purpose in life yet.

Blinded by a day of staring at the computer, stepping onto the sidewalk and crossing the street felt like jumping onto a treadmill at full speed with someone already on it.

I jumped into the moving crowd, but I must have missed my step or blinked too long. Suddenly, someone knocked my shoulder, spinning me around, and I fell flat on my face.

Sprawled face-down on unforgiving Sixth Avenue pavement during rush hour, I became just another obstacle. Like ants encountering a rock, pedestrians effortlessly flowed around me, their paths briefly diverging before reconnecting.

How To Find Your Purpose In Life: The Angel

Down but not out, I slowly got up only to realize I was tasting something gross and it wasn’t the NYC streets. It was blood, dripping from my broken nose. I immediately did what anyone would do in that situation…I made sure I didn’t break my phone (sarcasm heavily implied). Then I did what most people “should” do, which was assess the real damages.

Before I could even touch my nose, an angelic voice behind me asked if I was okay. I admit, I’m a bit lost. The only angels I recall in New York were the Hells Angels or the Guardian Angels. Either way, this woman (who we will call Sonya) grabbed my elbow, helped me upright and suggested we call an ambulance to get me to an ER as the break looked bad to her – and felt worse to me.

Cabs were nonexistent, and Uber wasn’t around yet (…I know, right?), so as the sun dipped below the horizon and a slight chill crept in, we found a place to wait. The only thing that kept me warm was the conversation about how she had found her purpose in life.

How To Find Your Purpose In Life: The Conversation

What started as a normal conversation would quickly shift to something much greater. You see Sonya was an executive coach and although I had no idea what that was, I would soon realize it was what I was meant to do in the world – I just had no idea yet.

We spoke for close to 45 minutes before the ambulance arrived and when it did, I thanked her profusely and asked if we could continue the conversation another time so I could better understand what she did, who she was and see if this was something I could do. We exchanged numbers and she told me that I could contact her anytime. I had just begun to learn how to find my purpose in life.

How To Find Your Purpose In Life: The Meeting

Exiting the ER four hours later, I texted Sonya, thanking her and asking to meet again. Then I would finally understand how to find the purpose that would guide my life.

She readily agreed, and before I knew it, I was nursing a bandaged, broken nose and a coffee at a wobbly Starbucks table with her that Saturday. We huddled in the corner, and to me, it felt like we were trading top-secret information from a movie. The experience was intense and exhilarating. Indeed, with intense focus, I hung on her every word. Frantically, I scribbled, filling exactly 17 little square napkins with her insights. Ultimately, this was the roadmap to purpose, and I was beginning to understand it.

Our time together was magical. However, as I sat enthralled, I realized how close I came to missing it all. After all, had she not stopped, or had I pushed her away, none of this would have happened.

The Realization

As we parted, I marveled at the odds. In a city of 8 million, this one woman stopped for a stranger, and that single conversation changed everything. Without her, I’d never have found my purpose: empowering others to achieve their own happiness and success.

I believe there are no accidents in life, only opportunities.  And to grow you have to be open to the opportunities, which often are disguised as breakdowns. For me, it was a literal one, but it doesn’t have to take a broken nose, a broken heart or a broken promise to discover how to find your own purpose.

Keep your eyes open, watch your step and who knows – you may just run into your Sonya when you least expect it.

The floor is yours: Has one conversation ever changed your life – if so how?

Please share your thoughts below! Your insights are valuable and help everyone learn.

With leadership,

Joshua / www.JoshHMiller.com

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