Finally a tall young man opened door and looked at me calmly. He was tired.

"Yes?" he asked, expressionless.

"Is D-D-D-Dave there?" I stammered.

"Sure. Just a minute."

Chris disappeared as quickly as he appeared, leaving door slightly open. That's a good sign, I thought.

The door opened again and there he stood, Dave Brubeck, one of America's greatest jazz pianists.

I couldn't believe it.

There I was, face to face with my idol, in a dingy backstage hallway in North Manchester, Indiana.

We just stood there, looking at each other.

I was so nervous and excited, I didn't know what to say.

Dave had just finished performing. I've seen him play numerous times, and never get enough. He's come to Indiana four times in past 15 years, for reasons I'll never understand, and I always manage to find out about it and get a ticket.

As soon as concert ended, I made a beeline backstage and started knocking on doors.

Something inside me said "I've got to meet him."

Now moment was here and time was standing still. And my mouth wouldn't work. Damn those marbles.

"W-W-W-ould you s-s-s-ign this?" I finally asked.

I handed him an old book of sheet music. It contained some of Dave's greatest songs.

"That's an old one. Where did you get this?" He was impressed.

I started to answer but no words would come out.

Dave saw my struggle and smiled while signing his name. He gave me back book and pen, then looked at me patiently.

"C-C-Can I see how l-l-l-long your fingers are?"

God only knows how I got words out.

As I help up my right hand, Dave instinctively put up his left hand. As expected, his fingers were several inches longer than mine.

"Wow. S-s-s-so that's how you play all those big chords."

We stood there laughing, hands touching.

I didn't want to stay any longer, although I probably could have. I told him how much I loved his music, shook his hand, and left.

The whole exchange took less than five minutes. But I remember it like it was yesterday.

My brush with greatness.

***********************************

I don't have many idols. There's my father. And Dave Brubeck. And that's about it.

A Life Purpose Statement isn't necessary for day-to-day existence, so most people don't bother. You can cheerfully go about your business without having faintest idea of why you're here. In fact, most people do. They go to their jobs, attend to their families, watch a little TV, hang out with their friends, an life's pretty good. If that works for you, read no further!

But if you want inner calm that comes with a purpose-driven life: if you want to get up each morning knowing why you're here, and you want to make headway each day toward that purpose, then read on. There are several simple steps, all listed below.

Step 1 - How are you motivated? Think of things that motivate you, activities you like to do most. Then, think about what actions are required to do those activities. Think in terms of action verbs like create, nurture, restore, read, identify, categorize, analyze, build, communicate, connect, etc. Narrow it down to top 3 choices.

Step 2 - Why do this? Whom do you want to impact? Next, think about people or group you would most like to see benefit from your efforts from Step 1. The poor? The rich? The homeless? Small business owners? Think of as many as come to mind (10-12, if possible), and then choose single most important one to you, one about which you feel strongest. This is your target.

Step 3 - What are results? What is outcome you wish to achieve? List why you do what you do. In Step 1, you outlined motivations and actions required. In Step 2, you determined who would benefit. Now, what is outcome you desire when you take those actions? A drug-free community? World Peace? Financial independence? Students? Small children? Higher learning? Think of things that you believe in strongly. Come up with as many as you can think of (again, 10-12) and then choose single most important outcome.