I've been thinking a lot about my purpose recently as I transition to becoming a 7th grade social studies teacher through the KIPP Bay Area Teacher Residency program. It's a great way for teachers to earn their Master's in one year and have about five levels of coaching and accountability.
I think it's the best way for young teachers to get fast-tracked to greatness!
In my first week of school I've gotten to share with 100 students about three impactful experiences in my life and how those developed my life purpose. It was awesome to share my photo slideshow with pictures of my study abroad in Morocco and my two years teaching and traveling in Thailand. Now several kids great me with a sawatdeekrap (hello in Thai) and a wai!
Found My Stride
I feel like I had found my stride as a single guy being able to trek to Mount Everest, scuba diving on beautiful islands, having a yoga teacher training in India, backpacking through Vietnam and Cambodia, and couch-surfing through the U.S. and Canada in the past two years.
Now that I have a podcast where I get to showcase several people I've been fortunate enough to get to know and others who have reached out to be a guest on my show, I'm humbled by my responsibility as a leader, one who is walking my path of dharma, and a Christian man. I'm also incredibly driven to produce purpose in myself, not just be a consumer of others' purposes.
I think the combination of teaching, writing, and podcasting is drawing from my God-given skills to infuse my purpose in this world.