A Story On Purpose: Rediscovering joy and making sense of life.

By Payton Minzenmayer

Unlock the power of purpose and meaning!

A STORY ON PURPOSE is perfect for readers looking for the next step in their journey to self-discovery, as it follows Ethan, a young man seeking a new beginning and direction in life. Through a mysterious meeting with Don, Ethan discovers five life-changing principles that will lead him to true purpose and peace.

 

After reading this book, you will be able to:

• Stay motivated and disciplined on the way to achieving your goals
• Turn mundane tasks into extraordinary accomplishments
• Win the battle of negativity in your mind
• Master each day with early morning cheat codes
• Leverage fear to work for you, not against you

In A STORY ON PURPOSE, you'll find a gripping story that will draw you in and keep you turning pages, as well as practical principles you can apply to your own life. Plus, you'll receive bonus chapters filled with insightful questions and effective strategies to help you make your goals a reality.

 

"You'll be better for reading Payton's book. His story will draw you in and keep you turning pages, and his principles will help you lean into your purpose and deepen your impact."

Brady Ross, ACC Associate Certified Coach

 

Start your journey towards purpose and peace today!

 

Payton Minzenmayer is a life-optimization junkie who feels too many people are not living up to their God-gifted potential. He is a seasoned pastor, devoted husband, loving father, and aspires to be a clinical therapist. Payton helps people find their purpose to love life by turning difficult ideas into small mouth-watering tidbits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Park Bench Press
• Release date: Dec 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224489312

Book preview

Preface

The first step to finding purpose is realizing how important it is. Simply coasting through life won’t cut it. Most of us don’t desire to coast, but we just haven’t figured out how not to coast. We long to find direction in our lives and recapture the joy that seems to have slipped away. Feeling like impostors or failures, stuck in a cycle of uncertainty and doubt, gets old real quick.

This book is not your typical self-help book filled with vague platitudes and empty promises. I’ve attempted to give you a relatable and practical story that follows the journey of a young man who embarks on a transformative quest guided by five life-changing principles.

Before we dive into Ethan's story, it’s important to understand why you should invest your time in this book. If you find yourself feeling stuck, paralyzed by indecision, or lacking direction, I wrote this story for you. The five actionable principles within these pages will give you the tools to overcome obstacles, cultivate discipline, and turn ordinary tasks into extraordinary achievements.

When you embody the qualities of the person you want to become, you exude competence and squash doubt in yourself and others. But get ready to meet failure, the ultimate trickster. When success seems within our grasp, failure swoops in, trips us up, and leaves us feeling defeated. I pray that the principles shared in this book will teach you to navigate failure’s hazardous terrain.

Now, some of you might have purpose and motivation on lockdown. I envy you, really. But as you dive into this story of pain and purpose, think about those around you who might be facing similar experiences. It could be your kid, a coworker, or even your spouse. This book will provide you with insight into the mind of someone who is struggling. Have sympathy and learn how you can help.

You may wonder why I wrote this book. The answer is simple: I have witnessed too many people, especially young people, who find themselves stuck, unmotivated, and devoid of purpose. I believe that intentional living is intrinsic to our nature, and each person has the power to transform their life through self-leadership. This book is my way of distilling the vast wisdom in leadership books into a concise and accessible story that is easy to read, digest, and apply.

During the writing process, I dove headfirst into research to ensure that the principles I share in this book weren’t just fluff but were grounded in proven methods. I devoured countless books, studied the works of brilliant thinkers, and drew from my own experiences and experiments. Every practice I outline in these pages has been personally tested and produced tangible results in my own life and the lives of those I’ve had the honor to guide.

Writing this book was not without its challenges. Crafting a compelling story that resonates with readers while distilling complex concepts into actionable steps requires careful thought and consideration. However, my unwavering faith in the transformative power of purposeful living and its significant impact on people’s lives served as the process's fuel.

So, as you embark on this journey, open your heart and mind to the possibilities that lie within. Embrace Ethan and Don’s story, let the Principles unfold, and dare to take the steps that will lead you back to your purpose and joy. The path may not always be easy, but the rewards that await are beyond measure.

Ready to get started? Let’s go.

Chapter 1

The Bus Somewhere

Ethan Collins jolted awake as the Greyhound bus lurched from a hole in the road. A bead of drool dripped along his freckled cheek line. He wiped it and combed his messy brown hair to the side as he reoriented himself. He glanced at his phone for the time, and the black mirror reflected back to him only his striking blue eyes. Music was no longer playing in his headphones. It was dead, just as he would be from starvation wandering around the city with no map or way to call anyone.

He rolled up his headphones and stuffed them into the leather bag that occupied the seat next to him. This entire ordeal seemed pathetic to him. He shouldn’t be on a bus, he should be on a plane, but Ethan couldn’t afford a ticket, and his parents wouldn’t hand over that kind of money. So he had bought a one-way ticket to Oklahoma City, where he accepted a job, sight unseen, at a little church tucked away in the suburbs.

The bus jerked again, and Ethan suspected the driver was aiming for potholes now, perhaps to wake up his slumbering passengers to announce their impending arrival. He looked out the clouded window and saw the dismal city in the distance. The weather was thick and overcast. The tallest buildings ripped through the sky, seemingly unfazed by gravity. Ethan envied that feeling.

Are you headed to the city? a soft voice said across the bus aisle. Ethan followed the voice to an older woman dressed in a checkered blouse with pink ruffles. Her silvery eyes looked back at him. She had crisp white hair pulled back in a tight bun and a disproportionate amount of blush applied on her cheeks. The woman looked as if she had been plucked off a bus in the 1950s and thrust onto this one.

I...uh, yes...well, no, Ethan stumbled. Not really the city, but near it." He honestly had no idea where the church was located or how far it was from the city. He had never been to Oklahoma and had only an address and a bus stop number scribbled on a piece of paper. When he arrived, he planned to call the church office to arrange a ride, but as he glanced down at his phone’s black face, he realized those plans were shot.

Well, there are plenty of wonderful neighborhoods around. My daughter lives in Edmond, just north of the city. Lovely little town—only it’s not so little anymore. I am visiting my brand-new grandson. She shuffled in her seat, shifting slightly to face Ethan. So, what brings a young man like you to Oklahoma? The patterned bag at her feet reminded him of his grandmother's quilts. In fact, everything about this woman reminded him of his grandmother, specifically how she looked in anticipation for Ethan to engage in conversation.

Ethan looked out the window at the passing tree line and isolated houses along the road, I took a job, but now I’m wondering if it was a bad decision. It’s my first real job out of college and... he trailed off.

And you’re having second thoughts. She said it as a statement, not a question. My daughter did the same thing. She moved here from New York to take a job and called me every night for a week crying. But she’s fine now. All settled into her life. You’ll see. The city is nice.

"I just feel lost. I don't know if I am running away from something or toward something, but I can't remember a time when I didn't feel this way. I figured a change of scenery might help." He gave a weak smile and met eyes with the woman again. She wrinkled her brow.

Sorry. He caught himself, suddenly feeling vulnerable. I didn't mean to unload on you. I took a job.

He looked forward, grateful for an excuse to end the conversation as the bus slowed down. He stood, gave the woman a nervous smile, and headed to the front of the bus.

The woman called out as he passed, I hope you find what you're looking for, sweetie! He couldn’t help but agree with her.

He shuffled past the other passengers and stepped off the bus onto the Oklahoma sidewalk. Slinging his small leather duffle over his thin shoulder, he scanned the street where the bus had stopped, desperately searching for any street signs that would give him an idea of his location.

Excuse me! Ethan yelled over to the sputtering bus and driver, who was already reaching for the lever to shut the doors, Do you have any idea where I can find West Adams Street?

The man's eyes narrowed, and he hurriedly replied, Not sure, kid. It's a big town. All I know are the stops. Make a friend. The doors to the Greyhound groaned shut, and Ethan breathed in the thick fumes of the bus as it rolled out of sight.

Ethan had never felt so alone. He didn’t feel this way when he fled his parent’s house to go off to seminary—or, as his dad phrased it, liberal California to pursue some damned career as an unemployable pastor at a no-name seminary! It was a mouthful his dad spat with, ironically, his mouth full of food. The flying spit and potatoes emphasized that his dad didn’t support his choice to go into ministry. He would rather have a son he could show off to the other guys at the shop. His parents failed to see any benefit for Ethan’s future in California, Oklahoma, or anywhere other than Wimberley, Texas. Ethan had taken the risk anyway. He went to California and finished the program.

Now alone on the sidewalk with nothing but the bag draped over his bony shoulder and the puff of fumes, he wondered if his parents were right.

The bus stop was in a neighborhood square of houses with a small park between them. Ethan saw an elderly couple holding hands and walking their small dog a couple of houses down, but the idea of approaching strangers to ask for help seemed like an impossible task. Instead, he wandered into the park across the street, hoping the scenery would calm his nerves. Leaves were falling off the amber-colored trees, and he tightened the collar of his coat in response to the notorious Oklahoma wind biting his skin. He found shelter behind an assortment of shrubs where a single wooden park bench sat atop shifting grass.

He sat on the wooden bench and put his head in his hands. His body was still, but his mind was racing. He reeled from the idea that he was hundreds of miles away from anyone he knew, only to work at a church he had never seen in person.

Ethan was a late-comer to the faith. He had grown up in a home where Sundays were for sleeping, eating brunch, and watching football. Once a year, on Easter, his mom dragged the family to a service at the small church at the corner of their neighborhood, but that was Ethan’s only exposure to church growing up. He remembered his parents arguing in the car on the way there. Once, his dad fell asleep in the service and snored so loudly that he caused the pastor to say diary farts of the devil instead of fiery darts of the devil. The congregation burst into laughter, but Ethan’s mom was petrified. He doesn't remember the car ride home that day, but he is confident that Mom gave Dad an earful.

It wasn’t until he was fifteen that he began attending church regularly, all because of his best friend. Andy was a classic country boy. He had grown up on his family’s ranch, and they went to church every Sunday and wore Wrangler jeans for every occasion.

Whatever I do—I wear blue, he always said. While Andy's back-road, Southern style starkly contrasted Ethan’s suburban skinny-jeans vibe, they became friends immediately in the sixth grade. Outcasts attract other outcasts, and Ethan was curious about Andy and his faith. Andy was genuine. He loved everyone he met, stood on solid morals, and loved Jesus. It caught Ethan off guard. Andy was different but true to his word and kind to people, and his family always spent their summers abroad serving others.

As he was growing up, Ethan always had the impression that Christians were, as his dad would say, narrow-minded bigots who spend too much time siloed in religion that they forget to live a purposeful life. While his dad's words might hint at actuality, Ethan was fascinated by Andy's devotion. Over time he began spending more and more time with Andy at his church. Eventually, he decided to give his own life to Jesus, which snowballed into a desire to pursue pastoral ministry as a career. It was a whirlwind of events that his dad rejected, his mom mourned, and Ethan navigated alone.

His head was still in his hands when he began praying. The words were audible, but only Ethan could hear them. God, thank you for bringing me safely to the city where you have called me. Please give me clarity on what I am supposed to do— he paused, unsure if he wanted to laugh or cry—starting with where am I supposed to go.

He sat a moment longer with his head down and rubbed the back of his neck. He squeezed his eyes closed more tightly and could feel his breath shorten and his hands shake as the angst of everything began crashing into his mind. His heart pounded like a beating drum that seemed to shake his body, the bench, and everything around him.

What am I even doing here? he thought. I am an imposter. I came out here not even knowing where I was going. I don’t have any support back home, and I know nothing about this church. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. End the charade, Ethan. Go home.

He was ruminating on these thoughts when a rustling from a bush returned his mind to the park. Ethan looked just in time to see a man in black emerge from the hedges and head straight for him.

Chapter 2

A Stranger Introduction

I know you’re up there, you vexatious vagrant! You bring my carrot sticks back down here and stick to the abundance God has given you." The man in black’s voice was raspy but firm as he shouted to the sky in a tenacious tone.

Ethan was startled when he surged from the bushes but quickly realized the man was not there for him. Instead, the elderly man’s head cranked to the sky, and his eyes squinted as if he were searching for something. Ethan scanned the man, who looked as if he could be his grandfather, outside of how he was dressed. His black shirt had the words Dealer of Hope in bold white letters on the front, and he wore a pair of black jeans. Most noticeable were his bleach-white shoes and one of those sticky red name tags that read, Hi. My name is Don. Ethan caught sight of a smiley face formed in the o of Don.

Nothing happened after the man shouted. A slight gust caused the leaves in the trees to make a subtle shushing sound, and if Ethan had listened closely, he might have heard the tiny nibbling of a creature enjoying a bag of carrots.

Fine. The man in black pinched his face together and crossed his arms. But tomorrow I’m bringing a bag of hot peppers from the garden. He turned to Ethan, apparently noticing him for the first time. Despite his quarrel with the sky, the man