Sense of Purpose

“Purpose
It’s that little flame
That lights a fire
Under your ass.”

These lyrics, sung by an idealistic college graduate puppet named Princeton in the Tony-winning musical Avenue Q, are oddly appropriate coming from a largely satirical storyline. And while the song, “Purpose,” goes on to fulfill the cynical agenda of the plot; I would like to concentrate solely on how true those words are.

As I’m sure you’ve gathered by now, these blogs are based primarily on the themes of my Monday Morning Mini-Motivational Meetings (M5), and this week’s theme was “sense of purpose.” While sometimes overlooked or cast aside as subjective or unquantifiable, it is nonetheless a vital part of combating the drain of work and everyday life. It is one of those sneaky little motivators that doesn’t seem relevant until you realize you don’t have one.

I learned the hard way that finding a purpose was the key to motivating me in my business. Aside from the usual motivators of paying the bills, I realized that I needed a little something extra to light that fire under my ass.

So I asked myself, if money were no object, what would I do with my time and why?

That was when I rediscovered my passion for philanthropy – specifically the environment.

Now don’t get me wrong – the passion has always been there. I was marching in Earth Day parades 20 years ago and my family and I try to live as green possible. But it’s also no coincidence that I decided to use the theme “sense of purpose” during the week of Earth Day. By asking myself what I would do with my time and why, I found a way to incorporate my purpose into my business. It inspired me to extend my services to entrepreneurs and professionals in renewable energy, clean tech, and other green business services.

Voilà! Instant flame.

So what about you? If money weren’t an issue, what would you do with your time, and why? Can you come up with 2 or 3 different things and reasons why? Is there a pattern?

9 times out of 10, people realize that adding just one passion to their life – be it helping out the environment, reading a chapter of a book a night, or taking a cooking class – leaves them motivated and ready to face the day with focus, productivity, and energy.

And who knows, maybe you’ll find that your passion – your purpose – can be leveraged into a lucrative business opportunity or at least be aligned to get you riled up and enthusiastic to work.

Excited by that idea? Let me know! Maybe together we can work out just how you can do that.

And on that note – Happy Earth Day!

P.S. If you want a resource to help clarify your own vision and purpose, and thereby reignite your passion, check out http://www.jfvisionquest.com/