1. Listen to your inner voice. It takes practice to hear your true desires. Your passion will often come as a whisper or serendipitous event that reminds you of what’s important and what makes you happy.

“Everyone has an inner voice; you just have to listen to it and trust it in order to be led by it,” Sissy says. “I did that, and it gave me the ability to live a life that’s true to who I am and what I really wanted.”

2. Recognize crisis. Does your job feel like a grind? Are you spending your free time on something you love? Take an opportunity to appraise your happiness. One of the keys to living a purposeful life is recognizing when you are unfulfilled

3. Dwell in possibilities. Your passions could lead you in a lot of different directions to find fulfillment. Explore your life and unearth of the things that bring you joy.

4. Tune out the voice of the world. Make the strongest voice in your life your own. Finding your purpose could mean going against the advice of close friends and family. Take a leap of faith and trust in your dreams.

5. Decide what kind of person you want to be. Rather than concentrating on what you want to do, think in terms of what kind of person you want to be. Let that guide your choices

6. Bring your heart to your work. It takes passion and courage to find a profession that you love. Spending the time to discover that job is time well spent—it could make all the difference in your life!

7. Trust transformation. Hard times are a natural part of life. Don’t be afraid to change because of your experiences. Instead, let them shape and steer your course.Hardship goes hand in hand with tough times. Instead of ignoring difficult times, embrace them.

Poet Nikki Giovanni says, “Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you’re in and take advantage of it,” she says. “You still bring to bear all your prior experience, but you’re riding on another level. It’s completely liberating.

8. Have no regrets. According to the experts, it’s easy to regret the time you’ve spent being unhappy or unfulfilled. Realize that during that time you developed the skills you need to succeed!

“If you’ve grieved your losses, reclaimed your dreams and articulated your anger, regret will have made you the right kind of tough-and-tender: dauntless of spirit, soft of heart, convinced by experience that nothing based on fear—but everything based on love—is worth doing,”

9. Take the first step. Destiny can’t help you until you are willing to step out of your comfort zone. Get prepared to make changes in your life…and start making them!

10. Be patient. Finding your life’s purpose won’t happen overnight. In every life, there’s a fast road and a slow road. Most of us take the slow road! Keep your commitment and take small steps to make it happen.

source: http://www.oprah.com