I still remember that evening clearly.
I had ticked off every single item on my to-do list: work tasks, errands, and my evening routine. By every measure, it had been a productive day. But as I lay in bed, something felt off. There was a quiet hollowness sitting in my chest that no completed task could fill.
And then, like a whisper one that I couldn’t ignore, a question popped up: Are you actually fulfilling your purpose?
Not your to-do list. Your purpose.
Have you ever had a day like that? Where everything looked fine on the outside, but something inside you knew you were just… going through the motions?
The Book I Almost Overlooked
That night, while I lay in bed, I spotted this book on my shelf: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
I’m not sure why I hadn’t picked it up before. Maybe I thought I already knew what it was about.
I was wrong.
From the very first page, something shifted in me. My spirit felt awake in a way it hadn’t in a long time. What struck me most was that Warren didn’t talk about purpose as some distant destination to chase. He talked about it as something already woven into your everyday life. It is found in how you love people, how you show up, and how you choose to live each ordinary day.
By the next morning, the emptiness from the night before had quietly faded.
What This Book Actually Changed in Me
One question from an early chapter stopped me completely: “If God created you for a purpose, what would that look like in your daily life?”
I sat with that question for a long time. Because honestly? I had been living like a checklist — measuring my days by productivity instead of by presence, by output instead of by intention. That single question stirred something in me, and I haven’t been the same since.
I started noticing small, everyday moments I had been rushing past. A friend who needed a kind word. A conversation at work that deserved my full attention. Time in the morning to journal and pray, and not to tick off a spiritual box, but to actually listen.
Purpose, I discovered, isn’t something you stumble upon on a dramatic day. It lives in the texture of your ordinary choices.
What Makes This Book Different
The Purpose Driven Life is structured as a 40-day spiritual journey, one chapter per day. It’s designed to slow you down and invite you to examine your life with honesty and grace.
Rick Warren builds this journey around five core purposes:
- Worship — Living in deep connection with God
- Fellowship — Building relationships that are real and meaningful
- Discipleship — Committing to grow spiritually, even when it’s uncomfortable
- Ministry — Serving others with the gifts you’ve been given
- Mission — Living in a way that points others toward something greater
What makes it feel different from other books is that Warren doesn’t lecture. He asks questions. He shares honest stories. He meets you where you are without judgment, and gently challenges you to want more from your life than mere achievement.
One Final Thought
One Final Thought
If you’ve read this far, I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Maybe something in you is ready to stop running on autopilot. Maybe you’re tired of feeling like you’re doing life but not truly living it. Maybe you’ve been waiting for a nudge, and this is it.
So here’s what I want you to do:
➡️ Grab your copy — e-book or physical, whichever works for you.
➡️ Commit to all 40 days. Not just the first few, all of them.
➡️ Journal as you go. Let yourself be honest on those pages.
And when you finish or even while you’re in the middle of it, come back and tell me: What is one word that describes how you feel about your purpose right now?
I genuinely want to know. Drop it in the comments below.
You were made for more than a to-do list. Let’s find it together.
Here’s to living on purpose.
With love,
Cheta Otiji