Do You Know Your Purpose?

It’s Monday morning, the beginning of a new week. Let’s start off with a story:

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or the gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” – Author Unknown

So, to be clear, the story is not just about running. It’s about something far more important. The story underscores the importance of having a clear and specific “purpose” that you will focus on at the beginning of every day. Both the lion and gazelle start each day with a clear and specific purpose. Do you? Do you know what you need to do each day that will move you and your organization closer to your goals? Or, do you start each day dealing with whatever comes first whether it’s important or not? Are you prone to activity just to convince yourself that you are busy or is your activity directed towards the achievement of your purpose? Be honest with yourself as you begin to answer these questions.

When you lack a clear and specific purpose, you leave yourself open to any one of the following scenarios:

• You start the stay slow, stay slow and so does everyone around you. You attract other slow people! Nothing gets done.
• You start the day with a less than acceptable attitude and no enthusiasm whatsoever. You are unhappy and easily frustrated with the smallest problems. You attract other folks with lousy attitudes! You end the day the same way you started it and bring it all back with you the very next day.
• You waste time and money, accomplish very little and end the day exhausted with little to show for the time you were “working”. You attract other unhappy exhausted people!
• You position yourself to be a victim of your circumstances and give up being a master of them. You attract others who are also victims. They add to your misery!

You can avoid these scenarios, if you have a “purpose”. Here’s how you develop one and use it:

1. Have goals for each day (It could be just one goal). Regardless of the number – but never more than three -, they must be specific, measurable, realistic and achievable. In addition, they must be related to your overall vision.

2. You set your daily goals as the last thing you do the day before. This allows you to factor in what worked and what didn’t.

3. With clear goals, you “almost” have your purpose for the day. Now, the next thing is to conduct a mental attitude check to help you focus on the positives. Look, we all have to deal with problems but what attitude do you want to bring to the game – a positive or negative one? The answer is directly tied to the type of example you want to set for your employees (because they reflect your attitude) and your customers/clients. Enthusiasm is not only contagious, it fuels your purpose.

4. Have a consistent ritual at the start of each day that you follow helps you clear the deck of any distractions and set your mental compass in the right direction. For example:

a. Maybe you review your goals over the first cup of coffee and validate them as being the right ones for the day..
b. Or, you read the newspaper first with your coffee (my favorite).
c. Maybe it’s just some very simple quiet time to collect your thoughts

Whatever it is, do something that gets you ready. Just don’t “jump in”. While we all know that where you finish the race is key, starting the right way out of the blocks, will give you an efficient edge.

There is nothing more powerful to your workday and your business than knowing your purpose and executing it in an efficient and effective manner. Knowing and acting upon your purpose will not only excite you but everyone with whom you have contact. So, like the story, “when the sun comes up start running” - know and act upon your purpose!

Quote: “When you know your purpose, you believe in yourself and successfully meet any challenge that you face. Your purpose is your ‘GPS’ that guides you to keep moving forward in the most efficient way possible”. – Chris Ruisi – The Coach