I recently completed a coaching certification developed by Kary Oberbrunner called The Deeper Path. Part of the certification involved a ten week collaboration that ended in the authoring of my OPUS. I know what your thinking … “your what?” Fair enough. The word opus is admittedly not used by most people regularly but for me, it is now part of every day.
One of the definitions of OPUS is a “masterpiece.” This masterpiece is a written document that describes what my life would look like at it’s finest. What I ended up with upon it’s completion was a road map to creating the life I was designed to live.
I now understand what I am passionate about and have complete clarity about making decisions that align with my purpose. The gray area that contributed to several mistakes in my life is now gone and I know what is important and how to protect it.
Oberbrunner suggests that Pain in our lives creates a barrier in reaching our Potential. For me, it was the pain of doing things wrong and dwelling on them instead of embracing them that was holding me back. Now I understand that I can learn from my mistakes and use them as part of my story to help others. I now have a new perspective on life.
I now realize that “Building What Matters” is the most important thing there is. What matters is people. This includes myself, my family and anyone else that I have to opportunity to add value to.
The concept of authoring your OPUS is understanding what each of the letters stand for. This acrostic, originally developed by Chet Scott of Built to Lead goes like this:
OVERARCHING VISION
This is basically your big dream. You know, that perfect picture of what life would look like in “your perfect world.” If you were to write your “I have a dream speech” as Martin Luther King Jr. did several years ago, what would it say? I believe you can turn your dreams to reality if you understand how to reach it and intentionally take the steps to achieve it.
PURPOSE
What is your purpose? It amazes me how many people can’t answer that question. I used to be one of them. I once heard John Maxwell say that “the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why.” I know you know when you were born, but have to yet to discover why? Once you find the answer, you will be overwhelmed by the clarity that comes along with it.
UNIFYING STRATEGIES
These are the buckets that your life fits into, the buckets that you need to identify to achieve your overarching vision. When you make decisions, do you know what bucket you are filling up? Do you even know what your buckets are? Knowing what your buckets are gives you the clarity to know whether those decisions are worthwhile or not.
SCORECARD FOR SIGNIFICANCE
This is the way you identify if you are working towards your dream or not. If the way you are investing your time will result in return on your investment or not. Are the choices you are making helping to reach your potential? Your purpose? Your dream?
I can’t really do justice in a simple blog post to describe what authoring my OPUS has done for me and I have tried to summarize hours of thought and reflection into 500 words. The good news is that you have a great opportunity to find out more about this journey and how to author your own OPUS.
Kary Oberbrunner’s The Deeper Path will be released in February and Kary has invited you to a free online book release party on February 12th in which you can hear more about the book, authoring your own OPUS and have to opportunity to walk away with one of a number of free items that will be given away to those who register for the event.
To me, Kary is a friend, coach and mentor. For you … well, he just may be the guy that can help change your life. Click on the link below to register.
Register here: for THE DEEPER PATH – Online Book Release Party
Click here to see my OPUS and scroll down to my picture.
Pre-order your copy of The Deeper Path by clicking here.
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Barry Smith www.buildingwhatmatters.com 1/25/13 photo courtesy of karyoberbrunner.com
