A pivot even further toward Purpose
Looking forward to the next 25 years 😳
Hello friends,
My family recently got back from a two-week vacation (the above photo is something I saw with my own eyes, which still seems unimaginable). And aside from the stomach bug and what appears to have been a slight case of COVID, I brought back a renewed focus for my life.
Stepping away for a while consistently helps me gain perspective on what I'm doing, where I'm focusing my energy, and if I'm truly living my Purpose."
And this trip was no different. The general sense I felt was that I’m close to 50 years old and have spent the last 25 years building companies (for-profits and nonprofits alike), writing (books and newsletter posts like this one), and occasionally speaking.
However, it’s only been the past 10 years that I’ve had a locked-in personal Purpose statement: to have an outsized, positive impact on the world.
The questions then became: have I done enough over the last ten years, and what should I be doing over the next 25 years? (Hitting age 75 feels like when I might need to start slowing things down a tad 🥸)
I have a good 25 years in me to really go after this!
That’s a lot of time…and also, there’s no time to waste.
I already feel like the businesses that I’m involved in are Purpose-driven and getting stronger, and while there is certainly a lot of work still to be done, we’re on the right path.
The books I’ve written have all been centered around Purpose, so that’s on the right track as well.
But this newsletter…well, it ranges all over the place. Like, a lot. One minute I’ll be telling entrepreneurial stories…the next about how I was spanked in elementary school…or heck, even ranting about people not using their blinker. Basically, I’ve been all over the place with this thing.
And I’m not saying I won’t share some of that in the future, but starting today, I’m going to be focusing almost exclusively on Purpose-related content in this newsletter.
So, you’ve been warned. It’s about to get all Purpose-y up in here.
My goal, I suppose, is to be the Ryan Holiday of Purpose. (For those unaware, Ryan Holiday writes about stoicism like it’s going out of style. Which, I guess, it did about 1,500 years ago. But, still.)
Let’s begin.
I met with a friend recently (at Farm Burger, which I should point out is, surprisingly, a GREAT place for Celiac / Gluten-free people like me) who is at a crossroads in her career. And like many people I talk to mid-career, the conversation was focused on what her Purpose is and how she can align her “work” more toward it going forward.
As I see it, there are three main ways to do this:
Use your current job to lean more into your Purpose
Stick with your current job, unchanged, and instead look for ways in the community-at-large to do Purpose-related work
Find a new job that moves you closer to Purpose-driven work
This is why I wrote the book, Dream Small, so that people who need more Purpose in their life (and honestly, don’t we all?) would be inspired to find a way to move in one of those three directions.
Are you fulfilled in your work? Please share if you feel comfortable.
Arthur Brooks recently joined the Rich Roll podcast on an episode called, “The Happiness Professor: What ACTUALLY Makes Us Happy.” I’m not going to sit here and act like I watched the entire video (that sucker is over two hours long, and I have books to read), but there were some powerful ideas in it connected to Purpose.
I particularly liked their suggestion to use these questions, "Why do you believe you're alive?" and "For what would you give your life?" as a starting point to find meaning and create a "mission statement" for their lives. Or, even better, a Purpose Statement.
Long-time friend, Teresa Caro (Liminist), joined me on my podcast to talk about her upcoming TEDx talk, which centers on the subject of “Unapologetic Prioritization.” How cool is that for a topic?!
During our chat, Teresa emphasized that if everyone, from the top (investors, board) down, is in alignment with their Purpose, Vision, Tenets, and Values, conversations about performance and priorities will be different and more constructive, fostering creativity and innovation rather than a "circle of screaming." I love that :)
This month, I had the chance to speak to the team at Southface Institute, having been invited by their CEO, James Marlow. James was an early advisor board member of Spunlogic, which means he believed in me long before it was fashionable :)
My goal in talking with the team was to help them a) think more entrepreneurially, and b) continue leaning further into their Purpose. This is advice I give to all nonprofits I have the opportunity to speak with (and will be a core message in a book project I’m beginning work on).
If you want help finding your Purpose, or your team or organization could use help moving in a Purpose-driven direction, please let me know.
And, as always, I hope you’re happy.
