Purpose Makes the Ordinary Extraordinary: LinkedIn Speaker Series with Mallika Chopra

When Mallika Chopra kicked off our most recent LinkedIn Speaker Series introducing herself as someone who is an irregular meditator, doesn’t care much for yoga, and unwinds with a glass of scotch at the end of a long day. I was instantly hooked.

It was Mallika’s refreshing candor, relatable personality and authentic stories about how she found her path to purpose that got me excited to hear the real deal behind living with intent.

As the founder and CEO of intent.com and author of her most recent book, “Living With Intent,” Mallika has been teaching others how to create a path to intent in a real and feasible way. Launching into her story by fundamentally defining how “intents represent who we aspire to be as individuals, members of our community, of our families and citizens of mother earth” I found that my traditional thinking around living life with intent was flawed.  Faced with the questions “Who am I?  What do I want?  How can I serve?” Mallika challenged me to redefine my unique purpose in life.

About twenty minutes into Mallika’s talk, I realized that the beginning of a journey to intent starts with the realistic understanding that your purpose doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering, life-changing mission. It can simply be defined by what many would consider ordinary things, such as being a good mother or helping your community.

Mallika sums up her journey to discovering how to live life with peace, purpose and joy with the acronym INTENT.

• Incubate which she describes as going back to the place where we remember who we are.
• Notice where we see the importance of noticing ourselves and the people, places and circumstances we encounter everyday.
• Trust which is about trusting your intuition and yourself.
• Express in which we should always be expressing what we want and taking ownership of it.
• Nurture involves not only taking care of ourselves, but also letting go of guilt and self criticism.
• Take Action where we are reminded to take responsibility for the things we want to create in our lives.

After hearing Mallika define intent I realized it was time to stop talking about living with intent, and start actually doing it. As I got my book signed by Mallika following her talk, I found myself redefining what intent meant for me. I understood that to create my purpose in life, I didn’t have to quit my job, save lives or change the world. All I had to do was finally accept that my purpose is to inspire others through intentionally living a life of joy, happiness, kindness and love.