Book Recommendation: Passion to Purpose by Amy McLaren

Passion to Purpose:  a seven-step journey to shed self doubt, find inspiration and change your life (and the world) for the better 

Amy McLaren (Founder of Village Impact)

I want to share a secret with you, I’m kind of a book nerd. I mean I really love books and not just reading them. I love the feel of the paper in my hands and the smell of the pages. I love going to the library and walking up and down the stacks just willing a title to catch my eye and become my latest obsession. And, while I love ALL the genres, I get completely obsessed with personal development and self-help books. I really geek out when I read stories about women pursuing their passions and finding purpose.  Stories about how someone had a fire in their belly for something and then they went out and found a way to share that fire with the world make me jump for joy.  The people in these stories, they are my people. They are the people I want to hang out with. Their stories are the ones I most want to read.  Those are the stories that fire me up and make me want to share them with everyone I know. Thank you Amy McLaren for sharing your story.   I feel so inspired by Amy’s story that I wanted to share a bit about her book and encourage you to check it out. If things go according to plan then I’ll have another great personal development book recommendation next month. Now, let’s dive in.

Amy McLaren was an unfulfilled school teacher in Canada with a love for travel and a heart that longed to give back and make a lasting impact in the world.  In Passion to Purpose Amy walks us through the steps she took that led her to pivot from teaching to co-founding a charity with her husband, raising funds, creating partnerships and making education possible in the remote communities of Kenya. Oh, and did I mention that she did it while raising a family? How cool is that?

Passion to Purpose is both a love story AND a step by step how-to guide.  In the book, Amy outlines the seven steps you can take to explore and cultivate your passion so you can use it to create purpose in your life.  At the same time she inspires us with the step by step re-telling of her personal journey to bring her own passion and purpose to life using the exact same steps.

The Seven Steps

Step One (“Open Up to Possibility”) takes you on a journey into exploring and embracing your own passions. Amy’s tips guide you through finding clarity around your passions, setting boundaries, and offering reading recommendations and encouragement.

Step Two (“Fulfill You”) helps you see the importance of bringing your passion into your everyday life and how to deal with some of the obstacles you will encounter. Amy offers guidance for tapping into your why and how to go from feeling stuck to feeling free. In addition, she gives great advice for carving out time for self care and setting priorities.

Step Three (“Dream Big”) encourages you to give your passion some power by dreaming big and creating a vision. You’ll learn how to follow your inspiration instead of forcing change and how to narrow down and focus on your strengths as well as how to overcome self doubt.

Step Four (“Stay the Course”) is what most creatives would call the messy middle.  It is cultivating the discipline and motivation to “stay the course” and transform your passion into purpose.   With Amy’s guidance you’ll put the kibosh on perfectionism, learn how to set SMART goals, change your beliefs around money and finally take action.

Step Five (“Make an Impact”) will fuel your fire by helping you to see how giving life to your passions can make an impact in the lives of others. By the end of step five you’ll know the value of championing others and giving back. You’ll also learn the importance of staying connected to your why and maintaining your focus.

Step Six (“Build Your Community”) uncovers the power of building relationships. Amy offers advice on creating supportive relationships both outside your organization as well as building the right inside team.

Step Seven (“Leave a Legacy”) is about leaving a legacy that inspires the communities you’ve built. When you’ve reached that point where you’ve been actively living your purpose for a while, you naturally start thinking about leaving a lasting impact with your work. Amy walks you through exercises that will help you to take your purpose further than you thought possible.

Conclusion

If you’ve longed to create more from your life than just eat, sleep, work, repeat then this book will light the fire you need to navigate the path from cultivating passion to living your purpose.  You can get a copy HERE. Enjoy!