Living with Purpose: Purifying Your Personal Intent

Elmen Lamprecht
6 days ago
5 min read

“I know well what I am fleeing from, but not what I am in search of.” – Michel de Montaigne

In these timeless words, Montaigne captures the quiet ache at the heart of the human experience. So many of us live in reaction—fleeing pain, evading past regrets, escaping monotony—yet few live in pursuit. Fewer still can articulate what they are running toward. But to live with depth, purpose, and direction, we must transform that ambiguity into clarity. This is the essence of Personal Intent.

Your Personal Intent is not just a goal. It is not a mere calling, vision, or ambition. It is your singular expression of Life’s universal purpose. It is your soul’s language for why you exist. If the Meaning of Life is a symphony, your Personal Intent is your solo within it—a unique note that harmonizes with the whole, yet could never be played by another.

And while this may sound lofty or ethereal, Living with Intent is profoundly grounded. It is about weaving together the divine and the daily—connecting the spiritual realm of ideals, virtues, and dreams with the concrete, practical realities of your lived experience.

From Spiritual Vision to Earthly Fulfilment

Your Personal Intent is not a static truth you stumble upon. It unfolds gradually, like a photograph developing in a darkroom. What begins as a whisper of longing or a flicker of inspiration matures into a precise and embodied direction—a clear image of your future, rooted in both heaven and earth.

As Kent M. Keith reminds us:

“Having a big idea—a dream—will make your life more meaningful. It will give you focus, a direction… Every step toward the fulfilment of your dream will bring immense meaning and satisfaction.”

This is not fantasy—it is goal-directed dreaming. It is vision grounded in action. Each ordinary moment becomes sacred when it is aligned with your Personal Intent. Each decision becomes a declaration of who you are becoming.

But this alignment demands one critical condition: integration. For your Personal Intent to be clear and powerful, you must harmonize the temporal triad of your life—your past, your present, and your future.

Aligning Time: Past, Present, and Future

To walk resolutely toward the future, we must recalibrate our relationship with both our history and our current reality. This journey happens in three parts:

Healing the Past: Old wounds distort perception and decision-making. Until addressed, they cloud your vision of what’s possible.
Understanding the Present: Awareness of your personality, values, environment, and energy patterns sharpens your compass.
Purifying the Future: Only once the past and present are understood can you confidently shape a future that reflects your truest self.

Flowchart with three steps: Dealing with the Past, Understanding Yourself, Purifying Intent. Text describes self-improvement goals. — Aligning your personal timeline

These are not linear steps but iterative cycles. You revisit each dimension continually, refining your direction with every revolution. Without alignment across these layers, the pursuit of purpose risks becoming a projection of fear rather than an embodiment of truth.

Your Intent, Aligned with Life’s Direction

It’s easy to grow disillusioned with the state of the world. At times, history appears to be repeating itself. Progress feels slow, regressions inevitable. And yet, if you widen the aperture, a larger story begins to emerge—a story of forward movement, of evolution, of intentionality. Despite setbacks, humanity is advancing.

Consider the evidence:

Physical Dimension: Life expectancy has risen dramatically—a century ago it was in the mid-50's, and today we can expect to live to well over 70. Extreme poverty has plummeted from 75% in 1820 to just 10% in 2018.
Mental Dimension: Literacy and basic education have become near-universal. Since 1960, global literacy rates have increased by 4% every five years.
Emotional Dimension: Our understanding of psychology has moved from throwing people into dungeons to treating them with dignity. Mental illness is now diagnosable, treatable, and increasingly destigmatized.
Social Dimension: Democracy has expanded, slavery abolished, and marginalized communities—including LGBTQ+ individuals—have begun to reclaim their rightful place in society.
Spiritual Dimension: While some argue humanity has declined spiritually, there are counterarguments suggesting otherwise. Historically, spirituality was often conflated with conformity and coercion. Today, religious freedom is protected in most jurisdictions, allowing personal spiritual practice. With the rise of global media, individuals can explore diverse spiritual paths and connect across belief systems.

The arc of human history is not perfect—but it bends toward alignment with Intent. Through every dark valley and conflicting era, a deeper pull guides us forward. In that shared trajectory, your Personal Intent is your individual contribution. It is personal, but not isolated. Your purpose is yours alone—but it flows in the same direction as humanity’s collective destiny.

This is the paradox of Living with Intent: we are all walking different paths, but we are being pulled towards the same destination.

Translating Intention Into Reality

“Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.” – Warren Bennis

We all dream. But dreams without direction are just emotional escapism. They stir longing without showing us how to act. Personal Intent transforms those vague desires into something tangible. It connects your dream-state to your daily life.

When you purify your Personal Intent, your daydreams no longer emerge from insecurity or escapism. They are not shaped by societal pressures or surface-level fantasies. Instead, they arise from within—anchored in your essence, shaped by your history, and oriented toward your future.

This kind of dreaming is active. Every challenge clarifies the vision. Every mundane task becomes a piece of a larger mosaic. The result is a life that is coherent, resilient, and infused with momentum.

When your past is healed, your present is aligned, and your vision is purified—you become unstoppable.

Last words

The 1st Principle of The Daily Life of Resolute Beings is about Living with Intent. It is about making the unseen visible—bringing soul into structure, bringing desire into action, and bringing the ineffable into form.

Living with Intent is a transformative journey that purifies personal aspirations into a tangible path forward. It integrates past reflections, present awareness, and future aspirations into a cohesive narrative of meaning and purpose. By embracing this journey with clarity and resolve, individuals illuminate their unique path within the larger tapestry of human existence. Each step towards realizing Personal Intent contributes to a richer, more meaningful life—one that resonates with authenticity and purpose. This exploration into Living with Intent invites us to reflect on our own journey, to cleanse our awareness, and to embrace the transformative power of aligning personal aspirations with life's grand Intent. In doing so, we not only enrich our own lives but also contribute positively to the evolution of our shared human experience.

If you found this blog valuable, please forward it to someone in your network who will also benefit from its message. Life is amazing but hard, and we all can benefit from sharing knowledge and wisdom that can help us life a Resolute Life.

-----------------

“The Daily Life of Resolute Beings” integrates philosophical insights with practical advice, encouraging readers to adopt a mindset of abundance, purposeful resource management and meaningful connectedness in pursuit of their goals. Order your book at any of the following online bookstores: