seems simpler than it is. You might want to take a tip from Steve Pavlina and keep answering and answering and answering the question until you hit on the thing that sends shivers down your spine and a fat YES from your heart. The first blank gets a verb. The second blank gets a noun. Or possibly an adjective. The only rules are: It must make sense to you. It must inspire you. It should not depend on anyone other than you; your purpose should remain your purpose no matter what anyone else does or doesn't do. Here it is: I exist to serve by _________ing ____________. Some real-life examples: I exist to serve by bringing joy. I exist to serve by teaching life's lessons. I exist to serve by being real. I exist to serve by expanding horizons. I'm still playing around with the exercise, but I came up with: I exist to serve by delivering soul. This works for me because of what 'soul' means to me: a mash-up of meaning, emotion, essence, empathy, inspiration, wisdom, transcendence, love, authenticity. Soul is transformative. As a fiction writer, I track the transformation of my characters and what that means to the story. As a blogger and perpetual student of life (and stuff), I'm interested in a different kind of transformation. Either way, I want to go there. Strip it bare. Get at the root. Explore the human condition in my own way, as deeply as I can, through story and