When you know your purpose, your why, as a leader, you’re able to set harmonious and powerful goals for yourself and your team.

 

In a previous episode, co-hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask talked about setting relevant goals that align with their overarching purpose as a company. In today’s episode, they want to continue that conversation and connect some dots. How do you go deeper into your own personal why, your personal purpose? This is a topic that is absolutely invigorating for Jeff and, frankly, pretty intimidating for Richard. 

 

As they chat, Jeff plays the teacher/coach/guru/spiritual guide and Richard is the critic/cynic. Listen in for two very different and valuable perspectives on discovering your life’s purpose.

 

Richard’s Reluctant Perspective

 

What if you don’t know what your personal why is? What if you’re not even sure you care to know? Then you’re on Team Richard. Richard says, “I don’t clearly know my personal why. I don’t have a personal mission statement. I can’t tell you my personal purpose.” 

 

What Richard does know is that, at the Scalable Company, their purpose is to help entrepreneurs scale themselves so they can scale their companies. It’s something he’s really passionate about. He’s also passionate about the Ready to Lead podcast because he believes he and Jeff can help other leaders learn from their failures and mistakes.

 

Richard is envious of those who have personal mission statements. It’s hard for him. Blue ocean thinking and dialing that in are not his strengths. He just wants to get to work on his goals. But, because of his deep respect and admiration for Jeff, he’s willing to listen and is open to changing his mind.

 

Jeff’s Passionate Perspective

 

Jeff believes this episode will be so valuable to people on both sides of the issue. Those who don’t know their purpose and those who do. He’s going to share a few exercises and frameworks he uses to help the CEOs and leaders he coaches uncover their why, the gift they bring to the world. 

 

“The clearer we are on our why,” he says, “and the more effectively we can set goals that are relevant and in harmony with our why, the more we’ll be in the flow, excited and energized.” So many people are already exhausted and burnt out, and the year has barely begun. He believes it’s because we’re not anchoring to our bigger purpose and the reason we exist. We’re missing out on a deeper, richer meaning we could attach to our goals that could fuel us and keep us going.

 

Jeff and Richard are both leading people in all walks of life. It’s important to understand people’s mindsets and backgrounds to lead them from where they’re at. Maybe you know your true why, but you’re leading people who don’t. Or maybe you don’t know yours, but you’re leading people who do. It’s important that we understand each other. 

 

Some Necessary Prep Work in 3 Steps

 

Jeff has a valuable framework to share that includes four questions to ask yourself when trying to figure out your purpose. But, like most things, we need to do a little prep work first. We need to set a foundation for discovering our purpose and living into it. Here are 3 important first steps:

 

Step #1: Avoid perfectionism. 

What happens very often when people try to discover why they exist is that they get stuck on making sure it’s perfect and exactly right before they go anywhere else. You kind of have to try it out. I think it’s this, or it might be this. Be okay to flex with it, tweak it, change it. If you’re a perfectionist, it’s all or nothing—and most often, it’s nothing.

 

Step #2: Ask yourself how at peace you are