Realizing your purpose
Think about people whose lives made a difference, and what that suggests about your own contribution.
Finding your purpose
How to find purpose in life, one step at a time.
Here is how to find purpose in life: start with what you already know about yourself, such as the activities you love, what you enjoy about them and the strengths you bring. Then explore where those motivations could lead, try one possibility in real life and choose a long-term goal that matters to you. That is the method behind PurposeLife’s eight-step purpose discovery program.
People ask this question when they’re starting out, changing course, raising a family or finding they have more free time. Whatever brings you here, you can start today.
What is my purpose in life?
Your purpose is a long-term goal that matters to you and lets you contribute something to others. Nobody can hand it to you. You can discover it. The clues are in your own experience: what you love doing, what you enjoy about it and the strengths you use when you’re at your best. Purpose can be discovered and developed at any stage of adult life.
“What is my purpose in life?”
“I want to feel that what I do matters.”
“I know what I enjoy. I’m not sure where it leads.”
Illustrative questions for reflection.
How to find purpose in life: where do you start?
Work from what you know to what you can test. First, name activities you love and relive real moments of doing them. Then notice what you enjoyed: creating, solving, helping, learning. Recognize your strengths. Explore possibilities that fit and try one in real life. Finally, choose a long-term goal and plan your next steps. PurposeLife guides you through this in eight steps.
Is there a purpose in life test?
Yes. The free PurposeLife purpose check asks six short questions about your current sense of purpose and gives you a snapshot score. It takes about 2 minutes and needs no account or card. It shows where you are today, and it’s a good place to start before working through the full program.
The eight-step purpose discovery program
What happens in each of the eight steps?
Each step builds on the one before. You can pause at any point and return when you’re ready.
Passions and what you enjoy
Name activities you love and revisit real moments of doing them.
How you like to engage with the world
Sort what you enjoy to see how you like to understand what exists and create something new.
Your strengths
Answer 44 short statements and explore your top five character strengths.
Finding possibilities
Explore directions connected to what you enjoy and picture what each would be like in practice.
Trying things out
Try a possibility in real life and reflect on what you learn.
Your road map
Set a long-term purposeful goal and plan next steps, with dates and people who can help.
Purpose in practice
Bring together what you’ve discovered and put your purpose into words if you choose.
89
adults aged 50 to 85 in a randomized controlled study
The research behind the method
What does the research show?
In a randomized controlled study of 89 adults aged 50 to 85 (Brackman, 2017, Australian Catholic University), adults who received the program developed a stronger sense of purpose than those who did not receive it during the study. The benefits were still present three months after the program ended.
Participants were assigned by chance: 46 received the program and 43 were offered it after the study. Gains showed on all five questionnaires about purpose, and on three of them, people who started with the least sense of purpose gained the most.
PurposeLife offers the same method to adults at any stage of life, with an AI coach to help you work through it.
Not ready to start? Get the short guide.
Get a short guide: the 8-step method, the research in plain English, and a first exercise you can do today.
How it differs from a general AI assistant
A purpose discovery program, with a coach to guide you.
ChatGPT and Claude can help you explore ideas. PurposeLife guides you through a complete, research-tested method for discovering your purpose.
Its coach draws on guidance developed from the research and experience with people who used earlier versions of the program. It helps you explore what motivates you, work through the exercises and turn what you discover into a long-term purposeful goal.
What will you have at the end?
A long-term purposeful goal you chose yourself and a plan to work toward it. Everything you write is saved, so you can return to it. Along the way you’ll build:
- A record of the activities you love and what you enjoy about them
- Your top five character strengths, with examples from your own life
- A shortlist of possibilities, and what you learned from trying one
- A road map with next steps, dates and people who can help
- Your purpose statement, in your own words, if you choose to write one
Who created PurposeLife
Who is behind the method?
Dr. Levi Brackman created PurposeLife. He started his working life as a rabbi and later became an entrepreneur in finance and technology, thinking carefully about his next purposeful step at each transition. He developed the method through a program to help young people discover their purpose. It became the subject of his doctoral research at Australian Catholic University, which also studied purpose in adults.
About Dr. Levi BrackmanWhere can you read more?
Articles
Common questions
How long does it take to find your purpose?
There’s no set time. In PurposeLife you work at your own pace, with reflection in the app and some trying things out in everyday life. You have 12 months of access, and your work is saved between visits.
Is the purpose check free?
Yes. The six-question purpose check is free, takes about 2 minutes and needs no account or card. The eight-step program and AI coach are $149, paid once.
What does the full program cost?
$149, paid once. That includes all eight steps, the AI coach and 12 months of access. There is no subscription, and you can cancel for a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Can ChatGPT help me find my purpose?
ChatGPT and Claude can help you explore ideas. PurposeLife guides you through a complete, research-tested method for discovering your purpose: eight steps in order, each building on the last, with a coach that asks about your own answers.
Who is PurposeLife for?
Adults at any age or stage who want to discover their purpose and decide how to live it out. The study behind the method involved adults aged 50 to 85.
See pricing and refund details or email levi@purposelife.ai.
Want the short guide first?
Get a short guide: the 8-step method, the research in plain English, and a first exercise you can do today.
Your purpose starts with you
Discover what you want your life to be about.
Eight guided steps, based on a method tested in a randomized controlled study, with coaching from the start. Explore your motivations and turn what you discover into a purposeful goal.
From discovery to action
Complete program
$149 paid once
12 months of access, including your AI coach. No subscription.
Your saved work stays readable after access ends.
$149 USD total, including applicable tax.
- All eight steps, from reflection to a purposeful goal
- An AI coach built for purpose discovery, in every step
- Explore what drives the activities you love
- Your strengths, and a library of directions to explore
- Real-world exploration, your road map and purpose statement
- 12 months of access, with coaching included
14-day money-back guarantee. Cancel and refund from your account. How refunds work.
Your own experiences are the starting point
Give your purpose the attention it deserves.
Work through the program in your own time, with a specialist AI coach to help you explore what matters to you.
Look across the activities you love, recognize what motivates you, and choose a long-term purposeful goal. Then build a road map toward it.
Your work is saved between visits. You can start today and take the time you need to reflect.
Curious about where you are now? Our free six-question purpose check gives you a snapshot of your current sense of purpose.
Take the free purpose check