I shared with one of my coaching clients the other day whose 'dream machine' was stuck in off: I live in Flat Rock, North Carolina, which is as small and remote as it sounds. I coach people in how to be human beings, with the stress on being. While it's not been an easy road to get to where I am today as a successful coach, speaker and writer, I had a dream over 10 years ago to make a difference helping people to clarify their life purpose and live true to it. When I started, the dream was about all I had. That and faith that if I hung onto the dream and continued to live true to my own life purpose, the CEO (Cosmic Enlightened Officer) of my enterprise wouldn't let me down, and God never has.

If you have a dream to make a difference with other people, even if it's off the beaten track of mainstream acceptability, go for it with purposeful patience and perseverance. Follow the breadcrumbs of your passion, and even if you don't know exactly where they are leading you, you will never be disappointed by where you end up. Living in faith can balance the odds even when it appears you're going against all the odds.

Brad Swift

As a writer, I've written well over 300 magazine articles for a diverse assortment of magazines including Omni, Entrepreneur, New Age Journal, Yoga Journal, Utne Reader, Unity Magazine, Better Homes and Garden, Modern Maturity, and many others. I'm also a regular contributor to Veterinary Economics. (Yes, I still have a special place in my heart for animals.) My books include, WINNING THROUGH COACHING: Building Your Business Through Building Your Team and TRAVELING THE PURPOSEFUL PATH ? 6 Passages to an Inspired Life on Purpose.

As a public speaker, I lead programs on life purpose that are customized to fit such diverse groups as churches, spiritual centers, civic and professional organizations. The principles of these programs are also available in the 12-week teleclass, Living the Fulfilled Life. From these programs participants bring more focus to their life, experience a renewed sense of fulfillment, and lighten up and have more fun. Out of this focus, fulfillment, and fun emerges an ability to maintain balance in their life and a deeper appreciation for living.

One of my all time favorite ways of expressing my purpose is as a life purpose coach. I find the intimacy and creativity of one-on-one coaching to be a breathtaking experience. The select group of people who are my clients are very special to me, and with them I am constantly creating new facets of life purpose coaching that are then incorpoated into the other programs.

In short, the focus of my life is life purpose. From living on purpose, I've been blessed with an extraordinary life in which I am satisfied and fulfilled. My wife, Ann, and I share our redwood chalet home in the "Paradise Found" of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with our daughter, Amber, and a menagerie of purposeful and playful pets.