I am continually on the lookout for real-time examples that offer positive evidence that living authentically is possible – and that the redefining moments that get you to that way of life are constantly popping up in front of you. The only caveat is that you have to be able to recognize them and step through the portals that open because they don’t stay open long.

Those who linger miss the boat to their bliss. Three of the things that will most quickly hurl you through that portal when it opens are passion, purpose, and courage. When you live your life passionately, purposefully, and courageously, wherever the path may take you, happiness naturally follows you like a shadow on a perpetually sunny day – and the good news is, when you combine passion, purpose, and courage with happiness, bliss soon follows. You’ll discover that your bliss will find you when you are authentically being who you were born to be and doing what you came here to do. Metaphorically speaking, the bliss you seek is seeking you, but it loves to play hide-and-seek, and at the moment, you are “it.” Your bliss has hidden itself very well within you . . . and I’ll give you a hint where to find it: consider looking between the cracks and crevices of your heart’s deepest desires and your greatest natural talents.

You can’t make or fake bliss because it flows naturally and directly from the authentic self; ours is to follow its lead. However, here is the challenge: while we may daydream about following its lead and perhaps even take a few steps on the path back to the authentic self, too often the tendency is to come to the edge of our comfort zone, the known, and then turn around and retreat because you have reached unexplored territory and there seems to be so much at stake to lose. You ignite your passion for life by understanding that your highest purpose can only be realized through consciously aligning with your authentic self and then courageously harnessing the power it gives you to step through the portals created by your redefining moments when they open. And they will indeed open if you are willing to go beyond the safety of the known and happily follow the path where your bliss takes you.

The Hero’s Journey Is One of Honoring the Call of Your Authentic Self

Follow your bliss . . . if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.

Joseph Campbell

In the 1970s, when I first heard the phrase, “Follow your bliss,” popularized by mythologist Joseph Campbell, it immediately hooked my attention. In a college philosophy class, I heard the word bliss used frequently but never really stopped to consider what it meant in practical terms. My dictionary defines the word bliss as “Extreme happiness, ecstasy, and serene joy.” As a marketing major at the time, I can tell you that this sort of bliss was not even on my radar.

I had a chain of thought-provoking ponderings about the possible consequences of Campbell’s admonition. Was he saying I could follow a career path that would make me extremely happy . . . one that brings joy and a smile to my face . . . and that doors would open effortlessly for me, providing me with the means to live well? But what would my parents think? I became a marketing major because my dad was my hero and made a great living as a vice president in a major ad agency. It was then I realized I was following my dad’s path rather than my own. Why? Because, not only did I want to honor him (and make the kind of money he was making), I wanted to be him. The realization I had was that, in the process, I was really dishonoring myself. I wasn’t aware of it then, but what was about to happen “in” me throughout the next few days as a result of the realizations that came to me that day would be among the most memorable in a lifelong series of “ah-ha” redefining moments.

This was the day I set out on the path that Campbell refers to as the “hero’s journey,” and I must admit, it was a bit more than scary at the time. I felt very little like a hero knowing (fearing) I had to tell my dad something that could easily provoke the dragon out of his cave. Please note, this is the scenario and conjecture I drew in my own head and had nothing to do with him because, at it turned out, he was overjoyed I was making a conscious choice to challenge the path I was on. It seemed he knew all about the “follow your bliss” thing and had gone through his own version of it long before he heard the term. Who knew? It’s quite amazing how often we create our own dragons of limitation based on the assumptions we project on others. That is the hidden power of the fear of disapproval hard at work.

I knew in my heart I would never be happy studying economics and market trends or selling someone else’s ideas and products. Taking Campbell’s guidance seriously, I began to focus on what I was doing in those moments when I was most happy, and I noticed something entervery important: those very same moments were also when my passion and joy were flowing freely and my natural talent was being expressed. Just a few days later, a new door opened for me – my bliss would be found on an entirely different path than marketing. Between classes, while sitting on the grass, playing guitar, and singing with friends I had made on campus, it became obvious where I would find my happiness – it was right there in front of me: for three years, I had been hanging out with people who had nothing to do with the business school. These folks were following their bliss – as music majors. No wonder I was always with them in my free time. They were modeling the life that was calling to me – I just wasn’t ready to see it. When I was ready, it forced me to finally pay attention to that still, quiet voice within me I had been ignoring (or at least avoiding – or more likely, denying) for a very long time. Do you remember the “nudges” we feel within when the creative urge to be more fully and authentically expressed begins to stretch and push out? I had ignored those nudges until they became pushes, and finally shoves, and my friends served as the perfect mirrors I needed to help me look into myself and see that I was not honoring who I was born to be.

This is where understanding your reason for being on the planet comes in and how important it is to honor that purpose. In the self-inquiry process, the natural question to follow “Who am I?” is, “Why am I? … What is my purpose for being here?”

It’s important to remember that it is only through integrating fully with your authentic self that your uniqueness and how you express it are revealed. Your authentic self is continually trying to get your attention so it may be more fully expressed. The lesson to be learned here is that when your redefining moments pop up, be prepared to go where you had no plans on going – because that is where your bliss awaits you.

Adapted from Your Redefining Moments: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be by Dennis Merritt Jones. Copyright © 2014 by Dennis Merritt Jones. Published by Jeremy P. Tarcher, an imprint of Penguin, a division of Penguin Group USA, a Penguin Random House Company.

Dennis Merritt Jones has been involved in the human potential movement and the field of spirituality for the majority of this life as a teacher, author and keynote speaker. He writes a free weekly “MindfulPurpose e-Message,” available through his website and is a regular columnist for the The Huffington Post.