At age 3, Mattie began telling his mother Jeni, “God places messages in my heart to shape and share with purpose”. At age 5, Mattie began talking and writing about his purpose using the word “Heartsong.” He said, “A Heartsong is our inner beauty – our sense of why we are here and how we can keep going. We each have a Heartsong, rooted in purpose, or our reason for being.” He said whatever essence we desire most can guide us in understanding what we have to offer others. Because Heartsongs grow from within, even when two or more have a similar purpose or expression, each is unique because each person is unique.

“Whatever it is that a person needs or wants, they understand why that matters, and that is the unfolding of their Heartsong. When a person offers that – what they need and want most – to others, that is the next part of their Heartsong. As we learn in almost every religion or philosophy of goodness, it is in giving that we receive. In sharing our Heartsong with others, it goes out into the world, and somehow, circles back to us.”

Mattie J.T. Stepanek

From “Chapter 4: Sharing Heartsongs” in Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek by Jeni Stepanek, PhD (Penguin, 2010)