“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that. Because what the world needs is people that have come alive.”
– - Rev. Howard Thurman, author, civil rights leader
“Self-sacrifice is the biggest mistake people make in living their life purpose. It doesn’t work long term. Find a purpose that you love, and the world will ultimately be happy you did.”
– - Richard Brodie, a Microsoft founder, creator of Word
Before I became an entrepreneur, I worked for a number of large companies in engineering and marketing. This was the “success” formula taught me by my parents – “Go to school, get a good job, work hard.”
Nowhere in this formula was there anything about being happy with what I did. Most of the time I wasn’t very happy, either, but I was surrounded by unhappy people and we all thought it was normal. Happy was what happened outside of work, if you were lucky.
What I have learned now is quite different, and I want to suggest that you pay attention to this simple two-part concept:
1. Most successful people have a clear sense of purpose
2. The path of purpose is the path of joy
If you don’t experience a deep sense of joy and satisfaction in your work, you either have never uncovered your purpose for life, or you are in the wrong work. Probably both.
There is a two-fold benefit to uncovering and living your purpose. First, you will be happy, fulfilled and successful. That’s pretty good just by itself, isn’t it? Imagine actually enjoying going to work! A recent study of super high achievers found that they had a deep sense of a high
moral purpose in their work. They were passionate!
Second, the world will be better off because your contribution will be just what the world needs. You’ll set a positive example for others to live on purpose and quit wallowing in the wrong job.
If you’re having trouble setting and achieving big goals, it’s very likely that your work is unconnected to a strong sense of purpose. There’s no tiger in your tank! If you have to decompress at night with alcohol, sex and/or mindless television, you just might benefit from some purpose work.
We’ll talk more about this in future posts. For now, I’ll close with another quote from Richard Brodie:
“Uncover your light. The more truly you express yourself, the bigger difference you make. If you express yourself truly, with the constant intention to add value, not to destroy it, you have found your life purpose.”
How does this feel for you? Are you living your purpose?
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