There’s nothing to beat a good quote to kick start the morning, don’t you think? I love this one.
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose”
It reflects a lot of important coaching themes – and the things that happen within coaching. Finding out who you are. What’s important to you. The values that drive you forward. The actions, the choices that reflect those values and beliefs. That make up and tell your story.
And once you are in that powerful state of knowing who you are, what really matters to you – well then you can get on with going out there and doing it on purpose.
So who was this philosopher who summed it up so wisely? None other than Dolly Parton, a woman who is proud to define herself, to tell her own story. Which means she should really get the last word…
“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes.
I know that I’m not dumb, and I also know that I’m not blonde”
What a great quote! And I’m a bit stunned by the synchronicity of finding that now, as I’m going to a fancy dress party next week… as Dolly Parton!
Dressing up as Dolly was inspired by a country n western theme, but now knowing she said that actually makes her a very relevant icon to identify with. I think I’ll get a t-shirt made up with that quote…
Hi Hilda
Don’t you just love it when synchronicities happen…
Hope you enjoy the party!
Joanna
I have a question what exactly does that mean, find out who you are then do it on purpose? Who originally said it? Was it Dolly Parton? The reason I am so curious is because me and my fiance moved into our house and on our bathroom wall it says “Find Out Who You Are Then Do It… On Purpose” and we always wondered why someone would write that and what exactly was the meaning. I would really appreciate it if I could find this information out. Thanks.
Hi Holly
Thanks for the question. As far as I know it was Dolly Parton who first said this. I read it in a newspaper article about her and I’ve since seen it attributed to her in various different sites.
As to what it means… Well for me great quotes are words that mean slightly different things to different people. We seek and find our own meaning. It might depend on where we are in our lives, what else is going on. Sometimes people find that a word or a phrase ‘resonates’ with them – is just the word or phrase that they were looking for. Perhaps that’s how the words ended up on your bathroom wall? They meant a lot at one moment in time to the person who used to live there.
Living life on purpose comes up in lots of thinking on coaching and self-development (and I think some religion too). A lot of people wonder if there is a purpose to their life, or they want to want to try and find out what their own particular purpose is. Other people feel like they’re drifting. Living life on purpose is about making choices as to how you live, each and every day, so the life you end up living is the one you have chosen – on purpose.
Find out who you are and do it on purpose – well to me that’s about starting with yourself, so the purpose stems from inside, the unique person that you are, rather than what someone else has decided for you (even indirectly, like pressure to live or think in a certain way). It also makes me smile because – for me – it captures a sense of pride in who you and going out and doing it big style, full of va va voom – which is definitely how Dolly does it
Hope this helps!
Joanna
Find out who you are and do it on purpose: part II
One of the most popular posts on Coaching Wizardry is this one: find out who you are and do it on purpose. It generates lots of search hits on find out who you are do it on purpose as well
Find out who you are and do it on purpose (part 3)
One of the most popular search terms to my sites is this: find out who you are and do it on purpose. I think perhaps people have heard the words and found that it’s a phrase that means something, that
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