I recently interviewed Doreen Liu, who founded, and runs, the largest scientific journal company in the world World Scientific. She took an idea and made it into a 50 million dollars company that sells globally, based out of a tiny island of Singapore.

Something that really stuck with me from the interview was when she said, “Success is not about money!” After a while the novelty effect wears out and she said that it would no longer make you happy.

Doreen left her corporate career in Singtel because she wanted to make a positive impact on the world. Her husband was a scientist, and knowing what he and others like him were capable of doing, she left her job as it was not aligned to her path.

For Doreen success “…it’s about leaving the world with impact, I will be happy to leave the world better.” She started her business to help change the world through science and technology; through bridging the gap between the East and West to help more knowledge to be shared.

Now for the magic question for you is:

How Will You Make the World Awesome?

Will you create something? Perhaps be part of leading a revolution? Are you awesome at research, creativity, marketing, problem solving? Will you be part of something bigger than you? Perhaps it’s about giving people access to technology, or feeding the poor, or like my friend Erin Giles who fights sex trafficking.

The key to becoming awesome is to first become clear on what’s important to you: your values, principles and the lifestyle you want to create. It’s really about mastering the Art of Living on Purpose.

Once you’re clear on that, then you can align your work with your purpose.

I am passionate about creating peace in this world and it boils down to enabling others to become clearer on their purpose; helping them shift form the “but ifs” to the “what ifs” and then to learn how to commercialize that so that they can do what they are passionate about. My corporate career in oil and gas was not going to get me there.

Doreen, Erin, and myself are illustrations of people who decided they were going to design their own paths, their own lifestyles.

We didn’t take the conventional way, but as Mark Twain said “There are two paths and life, and the one less traveled makes all the difference.”

Most people are confused on how to do this and I decided to share it with you. I also shared this model at my TEDx talk and designed a helpful worksheet to help you with the process.

If you want to transition to make the world awesome you need to:

1. Spark Your Passion – Discover Your Purpose

We all get overwhelmed in the day-to-day challenges of our lives that we don’t have time to think about what is really important. We get caught up in the drama, the details and we don’t spend a sufficient amount of time on the most important person in our life. We don’t spend time on ourselves. We become in the passenger seat instead of leading the journey. We are reacting instead of being strategic.

This process takes time, take the time to think about these 6 questions.

You need to map out the lifestyle and the impact that you want to create and discover your purpose.

Step 2: Plan Your Strategy

Once you know you need to start have mapped the roadmap. Many times we jump into actions without taking a step back to figure out what you need to get out.

Step 3: Identify What’s Missing

Take your time to understand what’s missing. If you lack experience, gain it. If you don’t know how to do it – Google it, do a course, find a mentor, or email me.

Step 4: Realize Your Potential

You have to believe in yourself, because if you don’t, nobody else will. Understand that you are evolving to become the person you want to be. You’re not there yet, but every day you are becoming closer to your ideal YOU.

Step 5: Adventure: Enjoy the Experience

I’m not saying that it will always be smooth sailing, but you have to keep on keeping on. There will be times when you feel like giving up, but that usually happens right before a major breakthrough.

Oftentimes we are surrounded by (well-intended) people who are critical of our ideas and they unintentionally steal our dreams with their negativity. When you’re around people who share your dreams and ambitions, it is easier to make a difference and to make the world an awesome place.

Step 6: Live With Your Tribe

Surround yourself by people who share your craziness and passions. It makes you seem more normal.

Are you ready to make something awesome happen? Would love to hear below how you will make the world an awesome place.