As I drove Amber to an audition this past Saturday, I finally voiced something that had been percolating in my mind for most of the week. "What if I auditioned with you, Amber? Would you have any objection to that?"

"Shoot no, Dad," she responded. "You would make a great Dad in the play." The play she referred to was "Cheaper by the Dozen."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"'Cause you already are a dad, and you're really good with kids, especially teenagers."

So I did it. I auditioned for the first time in my life, and had a blast doing it. While I didn't get the leading role of the Dad, (breath of relief on that one), it does look like I was given the role of the "Doctor," which is also a great fit since I was a doctor in my first career. (Ok, MD and DVM are quite the same but let's not split hairs.)

The main thing is that Amber and I now have a great summer "play project" for us both enjoy since she also received a role as one of the young teenagers that make up the dozen children.

While I'm at it, I want to thank one of our Life On Purpose Coaches, Julie Jordan Scott. Over the past couple of years Julie has been sharing with our Coaches Community about her adventures into acting and singing, which inspired me to say, "If Julie can do it, so can I." Thanks Julie. Once again you inspire me to take on a new vista of purposeful and passionate play.

This is Brad Swift from Flat Rock NC, where it's another beautiful day in Paradise.

2005 Brad Swift of Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.

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.