It’s not rocket science
As a Purposeful Growth Coach and Consultant, I help people and businesses make an impact in this world in their own unique way.
I often hear people talk about traditional employment as uninspiring. Working for a boss seems to be the uncool thing to do. I don’t think this is fair nor true. If you feel unfulfilled or stuck in a job, don’t blame it on the position or the organisation. This is most likely a result of choosing a role that’s not in line with what matters to you: your why. Maybe you’re even doing something that goes against what is important to you. Hello burn-out!
It is not what you do, it’s why you do it that makes something fulfilling.
The other day I was speaking to someone who said: “nice all that talk about purpose, but I can’t afford to give up my corporate job. I have two teenage daughters and we need the money.”
Clearly, he associated living on purpose with doing something out of the box, novel and entrepeneurial.
“Can you tell me more about your daughters”, I asked him. And so he told me with a sparkle in his eyes about how they are the most important in people in his life.
I asked him what he wanted to be remembered for, when his time on earth is done. Again he told me about being a good father. A family man. “What does that mean to you, being a good father?”, I asked him. “Well, it means making sure they have a good start in life, are cared for financially and emotionally, that they have a bright future.”
Family, care, responsibility — those values mattered to him. And they are essential to his purpose, his legacy.
“No wonder you don’t quit your corporate job and start something financially unstable, time consuming and risky”, I said. “Your desired impact in this world, your why, would not be served by doing that. Can we explore what you actually can do to live on purpose and in line with your values?”
What followed was a beautiful conversation about care for the future of the planet, the value of connections, and the importance of being present. He left the conversation inspired and with a different idea of what it means to live on purpose. And with ideas on what to do in line with that purpose other than radically changing his job.
Supporting NGO’s with money, doing volunteer work, spreading a message amongst family, friends or colleagues on social media, leading an initiative withing the company you work for to promote something important: there are many ways you can act on purpose.
Look, living on purpose is not about doing the cool or most radical thing. It’s about doing what’s meaningful to the authentic you. It’s about making a positive change that way.
Maybe you’ve heard about the janitor at NASA space center, who told President Kennedy back in 1962 when he asked him what he did: “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
Elon Musk is so inspirational with Tesla because he really cares about the world’s transition to sustainable energy. That’s where the impact is. The fact that he is making cars, is simply one way to act upon that why.
What this low wage worker and the billionaire entrepreneur have in common? They both have a clear why that is getting them out of bed every morning and make them do what they do. In their own way, they are doing something they consider meaningful. They both go through life making positive change and taking fulfilment out of their legacy.
It is not what you do, it’s why you do it that makes something fulfilling.
Everyone has a purpose to live by, simply because we are all human beings with dreams and ambitions for a better future. The same counts for businesses. They have the power to make big impact on people’s lives and the world when they take a stance for something big beyond profit.
Often it’s our own limiting beliefs that hold us back from living, working and leading on purpose. Those beliefs hold us captive in (unhealthy) patterns. We think it’s safer that way.
Want to break those patterns? It all starts with awareness on those limiting beliefs that are stopping change. Then work on letting go of what isn’t serving and focus on opportunities for positive change. And finally, courageously stretch the comfort zone and do something new. Check out how I can help you or your business through my coaching and consulting services.