How Purpose Will Transform Your Career

We all want to live fulfilled lives. A life where we feel we make a difference. Where we know that our contributions matter. With an acknowledgement that we are succeeding, we are achieving, and we are constantly leveling up on our personal and professional goals. All to live a life of significance while building powerful momentum along the journey.

What if I was to tell you that there is ONE key that will unlock these possibilities, and transform them into realities?

The key to it all: Purpose.

You’ll see a lot of literature about purpose in the marketplace — how it transforms financial business results, how it shifts consumer habits and brand identities, and the societal good that it provides around the world. While these are all phenomenal outcomes, none of them are possible if the people charged to inspire this outward purpose haven’t first found their own purpose.

There are three steps in the quest and pursuit of purpose. The end game: an inspired, impactful, and fulfilling life – to create a legacy we’re proud of.

1.      Discover your Purpose

2.      Unearth your Values

3.      Live and Lead with Purpose

Discover your Purpose

I found my ‘Why’ at an executive retreat with the San Francisco 49ers along with fellow front-office business leaders. It was a transformational experience and a day I’ll never forget. Sharing my story took me to memories and places I hadn’t been in years – including my childhood holidays in Mexico with family, losing my dad at 19, breaking into the sports industry, earning my first leadership role, to my lowest day when I almost lost it all.

I had to unpack the peaks and valleys in order to identify my life themes, with lots of guidance from my triad partners. As I reflect back on that day, finding my ‘Why’ is the greatest gift I’ve ever received, and now I’ve dedicated the rest of my life to share that gift with others. For the record, my ‘Why’ is to “Inspire purpose in others so they can ‘Play Offense’ in life”.

The first step is to establish a personal North Star or your ‘Why’, something that inspires you to get out of bed each morning. Your ‘Why’ will serve as your compass and provide clarity and intention to each day. 

When you discover your ‘Why,’ you’ll likely have a visceral reaction. But how do you do it? Start with self-reflection. Look into the rear-view mirror of life to see where you’ve been and reflect on impactful events, moments, and memories (both the highs and the lows) to find a common theme. Who in your life has helped make you the person you are today? When did you truly feel like yourself? What has been a pivotal moment in your life, one when you realized nothing would ever be the same?

For even better results, ask a friend or two to help identify common themes in your stories and memories. Choose someone who can objectively listen and take notes. When you write it down, the themes will jump off the page. To gather enough themes, I recommend sharing 5-7 stories in ~25 minutes, 5 minutes for silent reflection, then 10 minutes to debrief with your partner(s). 

If you want to dive even deeper into the process of finding your ‘Why', there are many resources from Simon Sinek and the Start with Why team, along with my personal favorite Find Your Why.   

Unearth Your Values

Initially I wasn’t sold that knowing your values was the key to the entire purpose discovery. I was so inspired by my newly found ‘Why’ that my values seemed like an afterthought. In reality, my values have turned out to be more transformational than my ‘Why’ in terms of the impact they have had on my daily life. 

After discovering your purpose, it’s time to tether your ‘Why’ to something more concrete that will hold you accountable, so you can authentically live your ‘Why’ in service of a greater purpose.  

The pillars of accountability are core values, which serve as a lens to make meaning of our experiences and daily lives.

The themes that you did not select for your ‘Why’ statement will unearth your core values. Examine your themes and identify 5-6 values that stand out. Define them in your own words (no dictionary needed - the more unique to you, the better), and next add how this value will show up in your life.

Here’s an example of my own values to get you started:

Belief: I believe in people because they have believed in me. Even when people let me down, I WILL hang on to the belief that people are well intentioned and always redeemable. 

Growth: Growth is a mindset. We are here to grow, develop, and evolve – not live with a fixed and linear mentality. I WILL focus on possibilities and opportunities and why things CAN happen vs. why they can't.

Authenticity: Never sell out and go against my values (I’ve done it and it sucked the life out of me). Don’t closely associate with superficial people. I WILL live with the character I was raised to have.

Courage: Life is too short. Live it to its fullest. Live it on your terms. Double down on your passions, and bet on yourself when life calls you to do it. I WILL stand tallest when fear and risk is highest.

Partnership: Meet me at the 50. I WILL invest myself into each relationship with this state of mind.

Impact: How I measure success each and every day, something my late father inspired me with. I WILL use impact as my lens (over monetary and other means) on how I make significant decisions in life.

Live and Lead with Purpose

You now have a draft of your personal ‘Why’ and have identified your core values. While this is an inspiring position to be in, your momentum will fade unless you have the habit-forming discipline and commitment to live your purpose each and every day. Here’s a framework on how we can do just that:

Your values influence your attitudes. Your attitudes inform your decisions. Your decisions drive your actions.

The problem is, the world only sees the outer ring — your actions. So in order to show up as our most authentic selves, we need to align the entire system from Purpose to Values to Attitudes to Decisions to Actions in one thread. 

Sourcing our outer rings from our inner core are the keys to show up bold, confident, and inspired each day. This is the origin of self-leadership and your purpose is the key to ignite this transformation.

Since unearthing my values, my entire life has changed…in a great way. My values have been the core lens for how I view the world, how I ‘show up’, and my daily behaviors.

Most importantly, my values have inspired me to take MASSIVE action and life-altering decisions, with more clarity and intention than I’ve ever had. 

Here how they’ve come to life for me over the last three plus years:

·      I left a dream job, a dream career, and a dream industry (sports) to follow my calling

·      I have reconnected with my dad in a closer way than when he was alive

·      I graduated with an Executive MBA (after previously saying I would “never” go back to school)

·      I became a professor (in the legacy of my dad – who was an educator)

·      I bet on myself to start my first and own company (January 2020)

You’ve discovered your ‘Why’ and defined your values. You are now ready to live AND lead with purpose. If I can support in any way, would love to hear from you along your journey. Cheers to the ride that lies ahead.

Paul Epstein is a keynote speaker on inspirational leadership, purpose-centered culture, and breakthrough performance - also proud to serve as CEO & Founder of Purpose Labs.

To learn more about Paul's 'Why' and work: www.paulepsteinspeaks.com

To contact Paul directly: [email protected]