From a Horsenality point of view, the Left-Brain Introvert’s motto is “What’s in it for me?”

From a Humanality point of view, the Left-Brain Introvert needs to know the “Why?”

The underlying theme with both of those perspectives is purpose.

For me, while studying with Pat Parelli as his Protégée for 7 years, and for all the Mastery Students and Vocational Students who came and still continue to come to study with myself and Pat Parelli, it is all about learning the WWPW and WWPD and Why.

WWPW stands for What Would Pat Want; WWPD stands for What Would Pat Do. And then there is the Why.

“Because he who knows the why knows more than he who knows only the how.”

This approach is also what I teach in my clinics, passing on the knowledge and Savvy that Pat Parelli has shared with me. Knowing the purpose of something—whether it is a tool, a technique, a certain maneuver, or way of doing things—is utterly important to both humans and horses.

Pat Parelli always emphasizes the importance of “purpose driven horsemanship”. This is also the reason why there is a lot of cow working involved as Pat Parelli is developing his horses.

• Cows give purpose to the Sideways Game or a transition or, or, or. One purpose of cow working can be to sort out a calf or two from the herd for the purpose of doctoring it or taking it to the sale. In order to sort a calf from the herd, the horse needs to be very responsive to the cues from the rider and be able to go & whoa and fade away from the cow.
• The purpose of Dressage was to do warfare and to be able to easily & quickly maneuver challenging situations and terrain.
• Jumps give a horse the purpose to follow your focus and do transitions within the gait.

The better your horse understands the purpose and the goal, the more heart and desire he will put into it.

Have you ever thought about what YOUR purpose is in life?

Having a strong purpose in life will motivate you just as much as it will your horse. You will find yourself getting up earlier, staying up later, and being willing to endure all the discomfort that it will take in order to live your purpose.

Remember, a purpose is not a to-do list—it is your guiding principle! On your path to living your purpose, you will find yourself making lots of course corrections. Just like with horses, the road to success is not a straight line.

So stay persistent and remember that the only constant thing in life is change!