Got this from Darren Hardy's latest blog.  Darren Hardy is the Publisher for SUCCESS magazine.

The Greatest Goal and Purpose of Life

Whenever I am asked what I believe the goal and purpose of life is, my answer is the same, and it’s the theme of our October Issue of SUCCESS.

Of all the great pursuits in life, to me this is the most important. Every virtue, treasure and reward in life is obtained only through this quest. What is it? It is living your potential.

Robert Louis Stevenson said it more than a hundred years ago: “To become what we are capable of becoming is the only end in life.”

But what is potential? Webster’s dictionary defines potential as possible (as opposed to what’s currently actual) capable of being or becoming or a latent excellence or ability that may or may not be developed. So potential then is what you can become. It is the best possible version of yourself.

The first challenge, I believe, to living our potential—is realizing the greatness that is dormant inside of each of us.

Thomas Edison said, “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Dale Carnegie also taught, “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.”

Why don’t we then? I think what stops most of us from tapping our inner genius; the hero or heroine inside each of us is fear. We are actually afraid of our greater potential.

19th century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said it this way, “There is nothing of which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.”

I know I am constantly challenged by the philosophy espoused by Marianne Williamson when she says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of our highest potential that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Nelson Mandela echoes this when he says, “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

It is said that the greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we are capable of becoming.

But denying your potential isn’t just sad, it’s unhealthy. In fact, psychologists tell us nothing creates internal stress and trauma more than when what you are doing on the outside (your actions and behaviors) is incongruent with your potential on the inside.

Abraham Maslow warns, “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.”

So where to you start? You start by realizing your greatness, understanding the unfathomable strength, courage and capability that has been gifted to you, but has yet to have been fully unwrapped.

Anne Frank wrote, “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”

Pope John the 13th pointed the way when he said, “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”

And finally we are prodded by the encouraging words from the late great Jim Rohn when he says, “The big challenge of life is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”

Our October issue of SUCCESS is dedicated to helping you expand your belief about what’s possible for you. We want to help you realize your greatness; understanding the unfathomable strength, courage and capability that has been gifted to you, but has yet to have been fully unwrapped.

Within this issue, you’ll read stories about business leaders and celebrities like Usher, Monica Seles and Tommy Hilfiger who have pushed themselves to excel. You’ll learn how to not only overcome the fear of failure, but grab it by the throat.

Of all pursuits, the quest to live your potential will take you higher than any other. My hope is that this blog and what we produce for you in the pages of SUCCESS inspire you to stretch to your limits and find the potential buried deep within you. I know that when you ignite that flame of potential, it will set you afire to live the life you are meant to live. (If you are not a subscriber to SUCCESS. Subscribe now HERE)

If you want to help others live their potential too, please recommend them to SUCCESS magazine… and to this blog.