THE TWO GREATEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE...
The day you were born - and the day you find out why!
"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life."
This is about working with purpose - the alignment of what you do - with who you are.
What about knowledge - experience - attitude?... what's the most important (and what every employer looks for)?
This is what Henry Ford said:
"Give me a person of average intelligence - but with a burning desire - and I will give you a winner - every time!"
PURPOSE AND VOCATION
Vocation is also called "calling". For example - to be a medic, nurse, teacher, fantastic parent to your children...
If you are lucky enough to have a calling - lucky you! Most of us don't.
Purpose changes over time:
Purpose could also be defined as "to achieve my potential" - a broad definition but very positive! This is helpful as it allows you to look at any role and judge its value on what life skills, and business skills it will teach you.
Ultimately, what most of us want is to live a life that uses our creativity, encourages us to do more and better and to achieve things of value (for us, our employer, our nearest and dearest and other people).
Another excellent way of looking at your sense of purpose is to ask yourself "What makes me glad, sad or mad?" - this speaks into where your passions /compassions lie.
Purpose in the immediate timescale is often about meeting our immediate needs - hopefully within a longer-term vision of where we want to get to.
Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs"
This widely used model is also useful to understand how purpose evolves over time.
The basic premise is based on you being alone in a jungle surrounded by hungry things that want to eat you!
In this scenario your purpose / priorities will likely evolve as follows:
1 - get safe - build a shelter.
2 - get warm - build a fire
3 - get fed - find food
4 - get some company - build a little group of other people in the forest
5 - get a role in the group - chief fire maker, cook etc
6 - get an answer to the bigger question - to find real meaning in life - the "Why am I really here" question.
Purpose and success are closely linked:
“The 7 habits of highly successful people” (summary of the best-selling book by Steven Covey):
1. Be end focussed (have a clear goal / vision i.e. purpose!)
2. Be proactive (don’t just think it – do it!)
3. First things first (get your priorities sorted out)
4. Win-win (look for mutual benefits - not “I win you lose”)
5. Seek to understand the other person first (be a good listener)
6. Synergise (build on each other’s strengths)
7. Stay sharp (take time out to re-charge and re-energise)
So, this purpose question is quite multi-faceted, isn't it?
The main thing is to keep your search for purpose in focus - because it is what gets you out of bed in the morning - with joy - as opposed to drudgery in your heart!
"Realistic aims with big expectations are better than unrealistic aims with big frustrations". (A very perceptive business man chatting at a bar in Germany after asking a student "So what are you going to do when you leave college?").
Always keep this purpose question in the forefront of you mind when considering career options. Because everything you do, every minute of your working day, should be taking you inch by inch - centimetre by centimetre towards it.
If you wash dishes or clean floors for a while - do the job well! Take pride in the quality of your work. If you serve customers, do it with a smile and learn new confidence.
Every single thing you do will teach you something about work, other people and yourself. Embrace it!
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