A Guide to Living an Extraordinary LifeComing 2027
BecomeEverythingGod Created You to Be
by Mike Pate
Your life is a gift. Don’t drift through it.
You weren’t created to drift through life, simply reacting to whatever happens next. There is only one you — and your gifts, passions, and even your struggles are clues to the life God created you to live.
Why do certain things stir something in you? Why do certain injustices bother you? Why do certain dreams keep coming back?
Those things are not random. They are clues.
✦
Your life is a gift from God. What you do with it is your gift back.
— from the Introduction
From Chapter One · You Are Not an Accident
“I want to begin with a story.”Antonio
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”
Jeremiah 1:5
Nº 04172Steamship PassageNot Transferable
Transatlantic Passage
Naples to New York
AdmitOne
PassengerAntonio
ClassFirst
BerthCabin 214
Fare paid in full · See reverse for privileges of passage
Admit One
Nº 04172
Antonio
Napoli → N.Y.
Passenger’s Coupon
IssuedNapoliFare Paid
Retain this coupon
Privileges of this Passage
The bearer of this ticket, the fare having been paid in full, is entitled for the whole of the voyage, and without further charge, to the following:
I.A first-class cabin — a room of his own.
II.Three meals daily in the Dining Hall.
III.Every provision of the ship, from embarkation to arrival.
Passengers are respectfully requested to present this ticket to the Steward when called upon. Every courtesy of the ship is extended to its holder. Nothing herein is reserved; all of it is already provided.
Paid in FullFirst Class
iThe Docks
Antonio stood on the docks of Italy in the early 1900s with one dream burning in his heart: America. The land of opportunity.
iiOne Year
For more than a year, he worked relentlessly, saving every coin he could. Day after day. Week after week. Until finally, one day, he held it in his hand: A ticket.
iiiProvisions
He had spent nearly everything he had on that ticket. With the little money left, he bought what he thought would be enough to survive the journey:
Some bread. Some cheese. That was it.
ivBeneath the Stairs
Unsure of where he belonged, he found a small, quiet place beneath a stairwell. That would be his place for the journey.
He rationed carefully. But it didn’t last. And hunger set in.
vWatching
From beneath the stairs, he watched the ship’s steward carry trays past. Fresh bread. Hot meals. Steaming vegetables. Delivered to passengers who seemed to belong.
He told himself: That’s not for me.
viThe Moment
Sir… please… could I just have a little food? I’m very hungry.
Sir, do you have a ticket?
Yes, of course I do.
He reached into his pocket and handed it over.
viiThe Steward
The steward looked at it… then back at him—this time with surprise.
“Sir… this ticket entitles you to your own room. And three meals a day in the dining hall.
Everything you’ve been watching go by… already belongs to you.”
He had the ticket. He just didn’t understand what it entitled him to.
I’ve met a lot of Antonios. In fact… at one point in my life, I was Antonio.
So many people live beneath the stairs.
Uncertain. Drifting. Hungry for more. Not realizing what has already been made available to them.
You have the ticket.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship…”
poiemaGreek · the root of our word poemA work of art. A masterpiece.
You are not mass-produced. You are crafted.
Inside the book
Inside these pages you’ll learn to…
This is not a theory book. It’s a guide, a framework, a challenge.
Take responsibility for the direction of your life
01
Discover your unique purpose and design
02
Create a compelling vision for your future
03
Set meaningful goals that move you forward
04
Make daily choices that compound over a lifetime
05
Know when to say yes—and when to say no
06
Develop the faith and courage to take the next step
07
It’s not about information.
It’s about transformation.
The chapter map
Thirteen waypoints. One crossing.
Crossing the Pacific, Mike navigated by waypoints—a final destination, and key points along the way. Drift, and the system guides you back. This book is built the same way.
Departure
Pago Pago 14°16′S 170°42′W
Landfall
Hawai‘i 21°18′N 157°51′W
Passage
21 days · one degree matters
Leg I Seeing clearly — who you are, why you’re here, where you’re headed
“Most people don’t lead their lives; they just accept them.”
John Kotter
Maybe someone handed you this book. Mike defines the extraordinary life—not fame, wealth or Everest, but becoming who God designed you to be—and warns this may be a dangerous book. Just ask the CEO whose assistant resigned to follow her true purpose.
RememberAn extraordinary life isn’t lived by accident. It’s lived intentionally.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”
God · Jeremiah 1:5
Antonio spends his voyage to America hungry beneath a stairwell—until a steward reads his ticket: his own room, three meals a day. Everything he’d watched go by already belonged to him. You already have the ticket.
RememberGod has entrusted you with one life. Living extraordinarily means stewarding it faithfully.
“You can’t hire other people to do your pushups.”
Jim Rohn
With his son Jon’s blessing—it was Jon’s idea—Mike tells how a hard year in rehab finally made one truth click: “My life is my responsibility.” Not partially. Not when it’s convenient. Fully.
RememberYou don’t move forward by waiting. You move forward by taking responsibility.
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right!”
Henry Ford
Snowmageddon cut Mike’s mountain town off for nearly three weeks. His family lit fires, played games and built an igloo; some neighbors put their homes up for sale. Same storm. Different responses.
RememberYou cannot control every event. But you can always control your response. And that… changes everything.
“It doesn’t take any more effort to dream a big dream than to dream a small dream.”
General Wesley Clark
Asleep at the helm in the middle of the Pacific, Mike shrugs off being “within about a degree.” Then the captain projects it forward: they’d miss Hawai‘i entirely and end up somewhere in Alaska.
RememberYou don’t have to be far off course… to end up far from where you intended.
“…the real tragedy in life is not that people aim too high and miss, but that people aim too low and hit.”
Attributed to Michelangelo
An eagle raised in a chicken coop stays put even after it’s untied—until the day it looks up and sees another eagle soaring. You don’t live according to your potential. You live according to your identity.
RememberYou don’t become extraordinary by accident. You become it by stepping into who you were created to be.
“There are two great days in a person’s life… the day we are born, and the day we discover why.”
William Barclay
In a Walmart aisle, hearing parents belittle their kids, Mike felt a holy discontent he couldn’t shake—“Be careful… your daughter might believe you.” It turned out to be a clue to his life’s purpose.
RememberYour purpose is not something you have to create. It’s something you have to uncover.
“In his grace, God has given us each different gifts for doing certain things well.”
The Apostle Paul
About 90 days from bankruptcy, Steve Jobs didn’t cut everything a little—he cut 70% of Apple’s product line. Clarity tells you what to say yes to, and what to say no to. Then you write your own purpose statement.
RememberA life without clarity drifts. A life with clarity moves with purpose.
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small.”
Richard Branson
The Winchester Mystery House: 36 years of building, 160 rooms, doors that lead nowhere—and no master plan. Then the dream home Mike and Shell sketched on the back of an envelope at an anniversary dinner. He still has the envelope.
RememberWithout vision, life becomes a maze. With vision, life becomes a mission.
Leg II Moving forward — goals, habits and where your time actually goes
“You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming.”
Jim Rohn
A broke grad student seals ten goals in an envelope and forgets them in a desk drawer. A year later, eight are done. Plus S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals—and a four-year-old’s bedtime prayer for red shoes.
RememberVision shows you where to go. Goals help you get there.
“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
Jim Rohn
As a young Hearst Castle tour guide, Mike saw the back of a centuries-old tapestry—knots and loose threads everywhere. Then he stepped back and watched a masterpiece appear. Your daily choices are the threads.
RememberGreat lives are not built in big moments. They are built in small moments—repeated consistently.
“Time management is not just getting things done, but getting the right things done.”
David Allen
At 19, “Reverend Pate” said yes to a Memorial Day talk, picturing twenty people at a cemetery. He found thousands, news crews and a 21-gun salute. Say yes early. Say no as clarity grows.
RememberEvery ‘yes’ shapes your life. Choose wisely.
“When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”
Ken Blanchard
Sydney got a rejection letter—and drove to the office anyway. A glitch had rejected every applicant; she was the only one who showed up to ask. Then, in Antarctica: the young penguins at the edge of the ice, and the ones who leap.
RememberThe extraordinary life is not found in knowing. It is found in doing. You were made for more. Now it’s your move.
After every chapter
The Application: six moves that turn reading into living
Every chapter closes with the same short practice, so the idea leaves the page and enters your week.
01ReflectAsk honest questions.
02ClarifyPut it into words.
03ActOne step, this week.
04Check InDrifting, or directing?
05PrayInvite God into it.
06RememberCarry one truth.
Number your days
Number your days: 27,375
The number of days of an average American life.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12
That’s not morbid.That’s clarifying.
Today is day
7,306
Days behind you
7,305
Days aheadon average
20,069
Every day beyond 27,375 is a bonus — number it well.
Each dot is one week. One row, one year — about 3,911 weeks in 27,375 days.
Today
Lived
This week
Ahead, on average
Calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
You don’t have unlimited time.
You have today.
Chapter 3 · The formula that changes everything
E plus R equals O. Event plus Response equals Outcome.EEventRResponseOOutcome
Most of us live as if the formula were E = O, as if events decide outcomes. But there is always something in between: your response.That’s where your power lives.
Same storm. Two outcomes.
The Great Storm · Lake Arrowhead
Several years ago, our mountain community experienced what locals came to call “Snowmageddon.” Drifts rose above rooftops. Our community was effectively isolated for nearly three weeks. We loved it. Not because the storm wasn’t serious — it was. But because we had prepared.
E
The event · fixed
A once-in-a-generation storm. Roads closed for three weeks.
You don’t control this.
+
R
The response · your choice
=
O
The outcome
A Christmas card.
A generator in the garage. A fire every evening. Games by candlelight. An igloo in the front yard with grandson Malachi. “It felt less like surviving a disaster… and more like living inside a Christmas card.”
Storm + Prepared = A Christmas card
What changed?
Same snowfall.
Same road closures.
Same isolation.
Same event.
It wasn’t the storm. What differed was how people responded to it.
The formula to remember
Write this down.Memorize it.Teach it.Live it.
“I put it on our refrigerator at our home.”
What you actually control
1
Your behavior
What you do, what you say, and how you say it. Your actions shape your direction more than your intentions ever will.
2
Your thoughts and beliefs
Your internal dialogue. The way you think influences the way you act.
3
Your visual imagery
The pictures you hold in your mind. The direction of your life is often determined by the picture you’re moving toward.
Next time, don’t ask “Why is this happening?” Ask: “What is the best response I can choose right now?”
E+R=O
On the fridge: E plus R equals O. Events will happen. Your response will determine your outcome. And your outcome will shape your life.
Drag the magnets
E + R = O adapted from Jack Canfield, The Success Principles.
E + R = O
Your response shapes your outcome. Be first to read the book that teaches it.
Twenty-one days. Two men. One small boat, a very big ocean, and a lesson Mike learned while he was supposed to be awake.
14°17′S 170°42′W21°18′N 157°52′W
I.The list
In high school, a teacher named Mrs. Carpenter challenged Mike to write down the things he'd like to do in life.
Fly in the Goodyear blimp.
Drive a freight train.
Conduct an orchestra.
Cross the Pacific Ocean in a small boat.
It sounded adventurous. A little crazy. Maybe even unrealistic. But it was there.
II.The invitation
Years later, Larry Ricks—owner of a 40-foot Nordhavn, a serious ocean-crossing powerboat—posted to his blog. His crewmate had been hurt the first day out of Pago Pago and flown home. Larry needed someone to fly to the South Pacific and cross with him. Soon.
Mike turned his laptop toward his wife, Shell. She read it, looked at him, and said:
“Go. Just go.”
III.The honest answer
Larry needed someone with extensive boating experience. Mike had none. His closest credential? Riding as a passenger in the Christmas boat parade in Newport Beach.
He told the truth anyway. Two days later: “No one else has responded. If you can get to Pago Pago by Saturday night, I’d like you to come.”
One flight a week. One seat left. At 1:00 a.m., Larry stood at the airport holding a sign: Captain Mike
IV.The crossing
Almost immediately, Mike was seasick. Not slightly uncomfortable—completely incapacitated. He lost 25 pounds in 21 days. Not a diet he recommends.
Then something shifted. Miles and miles of nothing but water. And stars… from horizon to horizon. Like a pathway across the sky.
Night watch · early morning
One night I was on watch. Or at least I was supposed to be. Larry came up from below deck and found me asleep at the helm. He checked the instruments.
Larry“Mike… we’re off course.”
Mike“We’re within about a degree. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.”
After all, there was nothing out there. Nothing to hit. Larry didn’t argue. He showed me. He adjusted our heading a degree and projected it across the rest of our journey.
Larry’s projection · Pago Pago to HawaiiHeading 019.5°
−50°−15°−2°0+2°+15°+50°
Drag, or use arrow keys. Port is negative, starboard positive.
Off course at Hawaii’s latitude
0mi
approximate
Landfall
Honolulu, Hawaii ✓
On course. Diamond Head off the bow.
A straight course from Pago Pago, held at the heading shown until it reaches land. Distances are approximate.
If we stayed just one degree off, we would miss Hawaii entirely and end up somewhere in Alaska. One degree. That’s all it takes. Life works the same way. Most people don’t wake up one day and decide to end up in the wrong place. They drift there—one degree at a time.
Direction—not intention—determines destination.
“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”
Psalm 37:5
Reflect
If nothing changed… where would your current direction actually take you?
Not where you hope to end up. Not where you say you want to go. The good news: you don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Make one small course correction this week—adjust your schedule, change a priority, start what you’ve delayed, stop what’s pulling you off course.
You don’t have to be far off course… to end up far from where you intended.
Chapters 6 & 7 · Discovering why you’re here
Purpose is not something you invent. It’s something you discover.
It’s already there — hidden in what brings you joy, what you naturally do well, what you care deeply about, and often, what you cannot ignore.
What youloveWhat you’regood atWhat deeplybothers youPurposeThree overlapping circles: what you love, what you’re good at, and what deeply bothers you. Where all three meet: purpose.
The clues are already in you.
Purpose is often discovered at the intersection of three things. The third one surprises people — but it may be the most powerful.
01
What you love
What energizes me? What do I love doing?
02
What you’re good at
What do people consistently say I’m good at?
03
What deeply bothers you
Holy discontent. What do I see that makes me think, “This shouldn’t be this way”?
Chapter 7 · Your life purpose statement
Purpose that stays in your head will fade. Put it into words.
One simple sentence. It doesn’t have to be long, or impressive — it just has to be true, and it has to be you.
Example from the book
My purpose is tobyso that.
01 To · your qualities
What are your unique personal qualities? How would you express them?
02 By · how you express it
Name a couple of ways you love to show up for people.
03 So that · your ideal outcome
If your life and world were perfect, what would you see?
Your draft saves on this device as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.
My Life Purpose
Become Everything God Created You to Be
Screenshot it. Tape it to the mirror. Read it every morning — and refine it over time. Clarity often comes in layers.
Chapter 9 · Turn vision into targets
Don’t just set goals. Set smarter ones.
01 / 07
Specific
Not “get healthy.” Name it so clearly you’d recognize it the moment it arrives.
02 / 07
Measurable
A number, a count, a finish line. If you can’t measure it, you can’t tell whether you’re moving.
03 / 07
Actionable
Start it with a verb. A goal you can act on this week — not one you can only admire.
04 / 07
Realistic
A stretch, not a fantasy. Within reach of the person you’re becoming.
05 / 07
Time-sensitive
A deadline turns “someday” into a date on the calendar.
06 / 07
Exciting
If it’s exciting, you’re much more likely to pursue it.
07 / 07
Risky
If it’s risky, it’s big enough to command your attention and imagination.
Good idea
“I want to lose weight.”
Good goal
“I will weigh 185 pounds by January 1st.”
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. framework adapted from Michael Hyatt, who added exciting and risky to the classic SMART goal.
Chapter 10 · The power of daily direction
Life often looks like the backside of the tapestry.
Working his way through college, Mike was a tour guide at Hearst Castle, high above the Pacific at San Simeon. In the Great Assembly Hall hung tapestries four and five hundred years old — so large they stretched nearly the length of the room.
One evening after hours, the instructor gathered the new guides close. “Come much closer.” She lifted a corner and folded it back. The back was chaos: loose threads, knots in every direction, no visible pattern.
“Imagine two cats fighting in a ball of yarn.”
Loose threads.
Knots in every direction. No visible pattern.
Small decisions. Daily routines. Slow progress.
It doesn’t always feel like it’s adding up to anything.
Step back…
“…and don’t take your eyes off of the tapestry.”
A masterpiece.
The Great Assembly Hall, Hearst Castle. Every thread tied with precision.
Keep scrolling
The back Loose threads. Knots in every direction.
The front A masterpiece, Great Assembly Hall, Hearst Castle.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”
Zechariah 4:10
We celebrate the finished masterpiece. God celebrates the first brushstroke. Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a day and underestimate what God can do through years of faithful obedience.
A daily practice
Each morning, ask
“What thread am I weaving today?”
Each evening, ask
“Did my actions move me toward the life I want to build?”
Not perfection. Direction.
From the Foreword
“
Mike’s stories are way more powerful than my PowerPoints.
John PearsonManagement consultant & author · from the Foreword
On the lessons
“Had I read this book 20 years ago, I could have avoided many (not a typo: many) botched opportunities, embarrassing blunders, and massive mistakes.”
On the light
“Think of the wisdom in this book as your flashlight.”
Fair warning
10
“I’ve already ordered 10 copies to give to friends and family members.”
Mike Pate has spent decades leading across nonprofits, business, church ministry, community leadership, fundraising and organizational development — and most of that time helping people discover why they’re here. For more than twenty-two years he was CEO of Transformation Ministries Camping (now called TradeMark Camping), where camps and outdoor-education programs reached thousands of young people and families every year. Today he serves as General Manager of the Arrowhead Lake Association in Southern California.
He’s a certified Jack Canfield Trainer, a former governance coach with the Murdock Trust, and former Chairman of Christian Community Credit Union (now Adelfi Christian Banking), the largest Protestant credit union in the U.S. He has spoken to audiences across the country, and for nearly a decade he’s taught a self-leadership class for young adults — the proving ground for much of this book.
And he’s lived what he teaches: nearly 80 countries, all seven continents, and a 21-day Pacific crossing in a small power boat (he lost 25 pounds to seasickness — ask him about it). Through international organizations focused on generosity, community development and humanitarian outreach, he has delivered medical supplies to underserved regions and helped establish churches and orphanages. It has all left him more convinced than ever that every person is designed on purpose, for a purpose.
His purpose statement
“My purpose is to encourage and influence people and organizations to be all that God designed them to be through positive communication, leadership and by modeling an extraordinary life.”
Mike Pate
He and his wife, Shell, live in the mountains of Southern California. They are the proud parents of four adult children and grandparents of seven.
40+years leading organizations
nearly80countries
21days crossing the Pacific in a small boat
A life lived on purpose
A few moments from the stories in the book. Click any photo to enlarge.Swipe · tap to enlarge.
AntarcticaMy new friend ‘Roland’ followed me around for 2 hours.The South PacificBike riding on an atoll in the middle of the Pacific.
Under sailAt the helm.Certified Canfield CoachJack Canfield and me.
Mykonos, GreeceMe and my son Jon in Greece.
In his words
“The most important lessons I’ve learned did not come from those extraordinary moments. They came from ordinary decisions.”
1 / 5
Antarctica Penguins taking the leap of faith
The Final Chapter · Take the Step
The life you were created for isn’t found standing at the edge. It’s found in the water.
