The Pursuit of You: Finding Your Dream and Pursuing Your Purpose

By Alex K. Warren

Do you ever find yourself daydreaming, thinking about all the other things you could be doing? Maybe its starting your own bakery. Maybe its pursuing a music career. Maybe its taking that mission trip you have always wanted to take. Maybe its something as simple as traveling.

Throughout it all there is some underlying doubt or hesitationdoubt over accomplishing these dreams and hesitation due to the fear of pursuing your dreams. This fear is paralyzing because of what you could lose: the loss of friends, the loss of a job, the loss of security, or the loss of family. These are all aspects of life that we hold dearly.

So how do you attain these dreams and make them more than mere illusions?

This is the daily question we ask ourselves. This is the daily question I ask myself. Through work and family responsibilities, we delay pursuit of finding the answer. We decided a long time ago that these dreams would remain elusive. But what if they could be achieved?

The Pursuit of You will show you the importance and keys to determining why these dreams are important to you. Once you know the why, the how does not matter. It will no longer be based on sheer willpower. It will be based on an instinctive drive guiding you along a path you never thought existed.

The experiences and struggles the author tells reflect real-life hindrances to accomplishing these dreams. The author establishes the importance of the foundation of the why behind these dreams in order for you to achieve the life you have always wanted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490891187

Alex K. Warren

Alex K. Warren graduated from the Ohio State University. He has published five titles: two works of fiction, one work of nonfiction, and two poetry-based titles. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio. This is his seventh publication.

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Copyright © 2015 Alex K. Warren.

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9117-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9118-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911160

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/10/2015

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1:    $2,000 a week

Chapter 2:    Leaving Life at the Door

Chapter 3:    A Journalist in Disguise

Chapter 4:    The Why Factor: Why vs. How

Chapter 5:    Avoiding Discouragement

Chapter 6:    Smile and Move On

Chapter 7:    It Takes Faith

Chapter 8:    Making Your Dream Necessary

Chapter 9:    The Importance of Daily Increase

Chapter 10:    What You Do Matters

Chapter 11:    Pray Your Prayer

Chapter 12:    Living Life

Chapter 13:    The Importance of Thought and Talent

Conclusion: Act Now!

Acknowledgments

About the Author

To my family,

Robert, Winnie, and Eric Warren

Foreword

Who we are and who we become are not predicated on the perils of life that we overcome, the transition from childhood to adulthood, or the pre-developed notions of others within your inner circle. The choice to become what God has intended is solely based on the belief that He is the creator of all things, the strength we need to fulfill our dreams, and the author and finisher of our faith. In the book, The Pursuit of You, Alex Warren captures the true essence of what it takes to undergo the challenges of life while establishing a threshold for identifying individual purpose, regardless of age, ethnic origin, or gender specification.

What we do in our times of discouragement is indicative of several things, as outlined in the content of the book. First and foremost, the identification of our premise or purpose dictates the next step of the journey. The following process involves taking self-reflection and paving the way to achieve short-term goals. Mr. Warren shares through humor, personal retrospect, individual triumphs, and common sense principles, making the reader take note of their own independent perspective on life.

A portion of Luke 12:48 states "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Many concepts are derived from this passage and the substance of Mr. Warren’s book ignites the thought processes that we are held responsible for what we have been given in life. Directly speaking, we have been given a life to live to the fullest by a God who loves us unconditionally. As we progress through life and start to understand our spiritual purpose, we can begin to appreciate our innate gifts. Through personal and spiritual maturity, the challenges in life become lessons in living rather than appearing as pre-manufactured obstacles designed to keep one in the lesser percentile of poverty and self-destruction.

Alex Warren’s words of encouragement through the candid and authentic display of his growth process in life propel the reader to look within themselves to change stagnated mindsets. The proponents vital to self-fulfillment include the ability to persevere despite adversity, as exemplified in Chapter 6 Smile and Move On, with the elements of faith, perseverance, determination, and prayer as the ingredients for personal success. Collaboratively, each content aids in the accomplishment of personal goals. Yet, independently each element represents mandatory methods to offset dreams deferred.

The book propels one to reach far beyond a thought or glimmering hope of success. An eloquently written representation of tenacity from a young man embracing wisdom with passion and zeal, the content ignites the desire to improve individual strength of mind, body, soul and spirit to fulfill personal desires. Once we understand our purpose, we are encouraged to recognize our dreams. After distinguishing our individual aspirations, Warren expounds on the importance of utilizing faith through all pursuits to turn our dreams into reality.

Adopting the attitude that quitting is not an option, one must secure a state of mind that activates a quest for spiritually-rooted processes essential for eminent personal achievement. The writer so precisely identifies the recipe for pursuing you. The components are simple to understand and easy to obtain, as exemplified in Warren’s chapter "The Importance of Thought and Talent." They include recognition of a higher power, an understanding of one’s purpose, the internal gifts that comprise the orchestrated package of humanness, and the proclivity to continue life’s journey in pursuit of completeness. The nucleus of these factors are the inner thoughts that navigate our pursuit.

For the student in search of self-reflection without losing one’s identity, the author introduces common circumstances encountered through self-retrospect of college life, sometimes engaging in questionable activities that proved to be pivotal learning points for adulthood. As a career-oriented individual, the writings offer a platform to re-evaluate the important aspects of life such as enjoying the simple things like a walk in the park, an outdoor concert, or a sit-down dinner with the entire family at a decent hour. To the adult, Alex Warren introduces a fresh perspective on a continual mission to explore all life has to offer as we resume our spiritual growth and maturity.

The Pursuit of You persuades the reader to review the path to independence, initiate the steps to pursue ones dreams, and regain a self-perspective on the meaning of life along the excursion. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, this book provides insight into simple elements valuable to personal fulfillment for the rest of our lives.

Carol Nash, Ph.D.

Founder, Initiatives for Creative and Critical Thinking

Garland, Texas

Introduction

There is no greater waste than a life unlived.

Millions of people die every year, many of them without the chance to experience their ordained gifts, robbed of the chance to see their true potential. This doesn’t have to be you. Maybe you don’t know what your dream is. Or perhaps you know exactly what you’re dreaming about when you’re stuck in the copy room, printing sheet after sheet of pointless documents.

I want you to take a second to think–and think deeply–about what talent or gift you have. Are you a writer? A painter? A musician? Is there a hobby you find yourself doing over and over, simply because of the small pleasure you get from doing something pure and all your own? Are you able to see it? Good. For those who don’t, it’s okay. It only means your talent has yet to be discovered.

By now you’re probably thinking this is some form of hypnotherapy. I assure you it isn’t. What you are doing is expanding your mind to the possibilities of abundance. You’re setting your mind in the right direction. The truth is this: you can live the life you want, go to the places you desire, and spend all of the time in the world with your family. All of this can be done by pursuing your dream. It is your subconscious mindset.

There’s a small voice in the back of your mind asking, Why aren’t you singing? Why aren’t you writing? Why aren’t you painting? What happened to the business you said you wanted to start? We tend to ignore this voice. Or worse, we develop logical reasons not to do what the voice is saying. You have work in the morning. You worked all day and don’t have time to enjoy your family. In fact, you’re working so hard to maintain the well-being of your family that you don’t have time for anything else.

Growing up I learned in church that the voice of God never argues or rebuts. It never fights or disagrees. It simply whispers into your heart and fades away. We come up with these logical reasons to argue our point, not realizing there was never anything up for debate. Well, this book is going to show you the importance of listening to that voice.

You’ll see firsthand how I struggled, emphatically, with this voice, and how it led me to take extreme measures without promise of any reward. You’ll see my ups and my lower-than-low downs. My hope is that you realize the importance of your very own dream as you see what I faced to achieve mine. Remember, it is never a question of will or strength, but the length of your faith that will carry you through.

CHAPTER 1

$2,000 a week

They’re having a meeting about you.

I know.

This is serious.

I know it is.

I don’t think you understand. The Head of Sales, half the Supervisors for the department, and all of the Leads are in the meeting. They’re trying to figure out what to do with you.

I get it.

You think you’ll get fired?

No.

What? Why not?

Because, that would be too easy.

Too easy?

Yes, way too easy.

Alex, please step into my office.

This was the conversation I had with a co-worker before being told, What you have done is completely out of line. If it were up to me, you would be fired in a heartbeat. But management decided to give you a warning and hopes you have learned your lesson. Basically a slap on the wrist.

I wasn’t relieved. I wasn’t happy. In all honesty, I was disappointed.

Being fired would’ve been great; unfortunately, management knew that firing me would’ve been great for me too. Corporations know these things. They know the characteristics of the employees they hire. They realized I wanted out a long time ago. That’s why they kept me there.

It’s not as if it was a bad job. There was full health, vision, and dental insurance benefits. There was even car insurance. The pay was great for a twenty-two-year-old. A couple thousand every two weeks is great, especially compared to not having a job at all. But it wasn’t great for me. It was depressing. It was boring. Most of the days were spent gazing out the window, watching people drive back and forth on the highway.

You could always tell the ones who were heading to work and the ones who were heading home. There was a difference in speed and control. The ones heading home drove at a very calm, soothing pace. I doubt they went over sixty-five mph. The ones who were heading to work, however, drove like possessed maniacs; swerving from lane to lane, cutting people off, and almost running others off the road.

What is so important about going to work?

You get to your desk, sign in, and spend most of the day thinking about all the other things you could be doing. As you can see, I wasn’t the most productive employee; no special certificates or gold stars were put under my name at work. Which is why my co-worker was so surprised when I came back and told him how I received a strict warning and was told never to do it again. Yet here I was–young, somewhat smart, halfway decent looking, and with a promising career–at the wrong job. In truth, it’s not really fair to say this particular corporation was bad.

Few realize how many corporations work in this manner. Most require mandatory overtime and sprinkle in a few lunch breaks to make it seem less stressful. They give out discounts, free this or that; simply to make everything seem copacetic. Most people think that this type of living is completely normal. Until you realize that the life you’re living seems kind of dreary. And for some reason I was starting to see the big picture. But how is that possible? I’d only worked there for a couple months.

Yes, I graduated college, but most of it, to be honest, was having fun. Time was spent less on learning and more on partying, tailgating, and figuring out who ate the last piece of the two-week-old pizza, that someone forgot to put in the refrigerator. So how was it I was seeing the big picture at this job and people who had been working there for years did not? It’s not like they weren’t intelligent. Most of them were fairly wise. The conversations we had were so far beyond my years, they had actually inspired me to do more with my life. But it seems as if they had lost their inspiration. It was replaced with something else: security.

It made sense. They wanted a secure job. They wanted a secure paycheck. It’s understandable. Who doesn’t want to feel secure?

A few months passed, and I left the company. My parents were frustrated and didn’t understand. Mainly because I told them I was fired. My feelings were sympathetic because truly, I had received what was expected with a college degree: a secure job with a secure paycheck. But for one reason or another, I wanted more. Sounds pretty greedy, right? However, I didn’t necessarily want more money, nor did I want more time off. I wanted more out of life, and still do. That–to me–is freedom: being able to experience the most life has to offer. Who wants to go on vacation and then come back to a depressing life at work?

So I decided to leave the company. There was no specific plan in mind. There was no budget set up to live off the remaining amount of money in my bank account. In all honesty, during this time, there seemed to be a lot of fear. Not any ordinary fear, but the type of fear that grasps you into a paralyzing state. And as frightening as it was, it did not last. The initial fear was combated with an overwhelming sense of freedom. Even though there was no specific plan, I knew what I was going to do. My next step wasn’t extravagant or brilliantly complicated; in all actuality, it was exactly the opposite. It was very simple. It was to simply do something.

The $2,000 is the pay I left on the table when I quit my job. I went from living in a luxury apartment to being broke, moving into a townhouse, and having nothing but a dream in my mind and lint in my hands. My parents didn’t know, and I refused to tell anybody the reason for the departure. If it happened to come up in conversation I was quick to respond, They let me go. Something about company layoffs. You know, corporate stuff.

How could I tell them the truth?

How could I tell them the reason I left was to start living my dream, for which I had no plan or even the slightest idea where to begin? Surely they would have assumed I had lost my mind. I spent hours upon hours in my new, empty townhouse thinking, Why did I leave my job? I knew it was to start living my dream and finish my next book, but I wasn’t even clear on if this was a sign from God or a rebellious tendency gone awry.

All I knew was that I needed to escape the stress. The money wasn’t worth me coming home depressed, worn out, and in bed by seven o’clock, just so I could do it all over again the next morning. I even had a nervous breakdown at work. I had a breakdown, of all people. I’d like to say I had a midlife crisis, but I was still young. It was frustrating, and nothing was adding up.

Here I was, twenty-two years old with a published book, and I’m working here? Did I graduate college for this? Did I risk ridicule for