Welcome into this space where I aspire to make sure that every one of you leans into your purpose. Whether you’re still working to identify your purpose or you’ve been on this road awhile and need a little boost, this is the space for you. And, in a world where we’re in dire need of authentic connection and understanding, a potential step toward that is understanding our purpose in community. Imagine the world if every single person fulfilled their unique assignment on this earth.
So, let’s start with defining purpose. With a little help from Google AI, the word purpose is defined as “the reason for which something exists or is done, such as the intention, aim, or goal of a person or thing.” From a young age, I knew my purpose was generational, but how I acted on that has evolved over time. At the age of five, my father told me that one generation must do better than the one that came before. I took that charge seriously and took intentional steps to unpack it, even though the road to understanding was curvy. At the age of 16, I felt that my purpose would be fulfilled through being an educator and spent almost 26 years in both K-12 and higher education.
I’ve since realized it’s even bigger than that. My purpose is actually to be a good ancestor. That means the decisions and actions I take today will determine if that’s true when I leave this earth. For my family, that means taking steps to ensure we have generational love, health, wealth, and well-being. And, we are well on our way. For my community, that has meant spending my career driving systems change so that infrastructures no longer oppress. That is most certainly a work in progress and nowhere near where it needs to be.
As I have gotten more seasoned, I realize that I also have a role to play in spreading wisdom, light and love in a world that can be very dark. If I don’t share what I’ve learned, then I’m just an archive collecting dust. In this phase of my life, I’ve created tools to help me drive toward fulfilling my purpose. I published my first book on Amazon last year, “Queen Code: Guide to Your Personal Strategic Plan.” I’ll drop my first single later this year, using music to make connections and hopefully help people on their journey to heal and grow. This column will be dedicated to providing you with the tools and stories to help you consider how you lean into your unique purpose. I will also share the specific actions my family and I have taken to be good ancestors.
I leave you with three questions to consider and invite you to loop back here next issue:
What’s important to me?
What’s my responsibility while I’m still on this earth?
What steps will I take to move forward toward fulfilling my purpose?
Crowns Up!
More on Angela Jones, JD, can be found online at www.angelajonesjd.com.