If you’re reading this post today, I need you to know: the world needs you. The world needs your gifts, it needs your passion, and it needs your dedication to being a force for good. You have an invaluable contribution to make here in your one chance on Earth – it’s what we call our “purpose” and it’s the reason why we exist! Sometimes it’s hard to discover our true purpose; and it can be even more difficult once you’ve found it to figure out how to achieve it.
The good news is that purpose isn’t meant to be perfect! It should just be productive. Some people never commit to this lifelong journey of discovering, rediscovering, finding and creating their purpose because they are too afraid of making a mistake. This is counterproductive thinking. Find your courage. Make your mistakes. Be committed to trying and failing. And if you are ever in doubt, filter your choices through the lens of significance – is what you’re doing building into something greater than yourself?
Discovering Your Purpose
Most people don’t realize you have an inner and outer purpose. Your inner purpose begins with the relationship you have with everyone and everything around you. This foundation is the source that everything you do should flow from. You can identify this by asking yourself who you want to be or thinking about the gifts you have to share with the world. It’s important to understand that this is inner work for you and not for anyone else. These are the things closest to you that you pray or meditate on, and aren’t as likely to change over time. For me, it’s to elevate people and places. Everything I do outwardly is motivated by that mission.
Your Outer Purpose is how you express your inner purpose. For many individuals, this can evolve and change over time as you get clarity and life experience. The thing to be cautious with regarding your outer purpose is that outcomes and things you produce should only be considered “success” if they’re directly tied to your inner purpose.
Integrating your purpose with your business requires you to break down what you care about and what you believe is worth fighting for. This is where you break down intentional decisions and actions that align with your purpose. Ask yourself:
- What’s worth fighting for?
- How will you fight for it?
- How will you bridge your purpose through your network?
There are so many ways to discover and hone your purpose, but one of the best ways to begin this journey is to ask yourself: what is driving you to be a force for good? What is the momentum that gets you out of bed in the morning to keep working on your dream? That is your purpose. That is your mission.
In all of my businesses I use a mission filter to assess every project, product my business sells or person we hire. Implementing a mission filter in your own business can:
- Help your team to work without constant clarification
- Show your team where they can add value and why there were specifically chosen for this project
- Detail what projects need to have in order to be a success
- Give your team the BIG PICTURE; look at the impact this project will have
- Allow you to better document your projects and processes
If a project or hire doesn’t check all the boxes that further our purpose, it doesn’t happen. There is no emotion or guilt in the decision because our focus is maximizing our impact; we can only do that through extreme focus and intentionality. We are intentional with everything we do, sell, buy, invest in, partners we choose, food we eat, people we spend time with and things we think about. Everything is connected. So by being intentional with all of these things, we can be sure we aren’t getting slowly pulled off course.
So many people never realize their potential in life because they don’t take the time to identify the vision for their life and create filters so they can make purpose driven decisions. You and I know that there are actual lives depending on us to fulfill our potential. We have to be super intentional with our time to ensure we don’t let down those who are depending on us.
No matter your title, no matter your business, no matter your background – you have a purpose. Once you discover what that is, the clarity it brings will invite even more incredible momentum into your life.
One of the first resources our new G-FORCE members receive is our incredible suite of tools and resources designed to define your purpose. To learn how you can get access to this suite and get more info about joining our Force for Good mastermind, schedule a discovery interview with us here.