At the intersection of business and purpose, which turn will you take?

Recently, I was reminded of Mark Twain’s famous words: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” The “why” is your purpose. It’s something I’m so passionate about because I believe purpose is the fuel behind every success — personal or professional. Simply put, purpose is how you transform business from revenue and profit to long-term value for you, your stakeholders and your employees. And, in so doing, you will find incredible fulfillment from being a purposeful leader.

Purpose is more than a growing trend, it’s truly the future of the marketplace. At the recent Strategic Growth Forum?, America’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies, I hosted a panel discussion called, “Purpose: the North Star for what’s ahead.” During the panel, I talked with three business leaders about how they leveraged their personal purpose to drive a greater sense of passion and, in turn, success in the companies they created.

Ankur Gopal, founder and CEO of Interapt; Petra Nemcova, renowned model and All Hands and Hearts Smart Response co-founder; and Michelle Tunno Buelow, founder and CEO of Bella Tunno are all successful entrepreneurs and passionate philanthropists who connect personal purpose to their endeavors in amazing ways.

Finding purpose in opportunity

The son of Indian immigrants who settled in Kentucky, Ankur Gopal grew up with a deep appreciation for the power of opportunity. He chose to build his IT company in Kentucky knowing tech-savvy talent would be scarce, going against so many who told him it would be impossible. He met the challenge of his talent requirements by developing a unique training program that paid participants a stipend to join, with the promise of employment after completion. The successful results caught the attention of his governor and congressman, who asked him to replicate the model in eastern Kentucky.

Ankur asked his team, “Do we want to do this?” The answer was a resounding yes. His team was eager to embrace a deeper purpose by creating opportunity for individuals in a highly underemployed area. The successful model, which has proven to be cheaper than recruiting talent, has since been replicated in multiple cities.

“We differentiate ourselves from a thousand other service providers because of our purpose,” Ankur said. “Business leaders have a responsibility to shareholders, but you also have to be stewards of your communities.”

Finding purpose in need

In 2004, supermodel Petra Nemcova and her fiance were on vacation in Thailand for Christmas when they were engulfed in the Asian tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. After clinging to a tree for hours with a broken pelvis and internal bleeding, Petra was rescued. Living through the tragedy, losing her partner and witnessing the massive devastation left an impression on her that changed her life. She saw firsthand the staggering loss of loved ones, livelihoods, homes, schools and communities, and the despair that remained after the first responders left.

She asked herself where the biggest need was and what action she could take to make the biggest impact in the devastated community. She decided to build a school. Building that one school evolved into a global organization that has built over 200 schools in 12 countries and helped millions affected by natural disasters.

“I wasn’t trained in how to run a charity. So even though I was living my dream in fashion, I saw a gap and had to act,” Petra said.

Her new purpose began with not just asking why, but why not. She continues to return hope and life around the world to those who need it the most. Talk about the power of purpose!

Finding purpose in your story

Like Petra, Michelle Tunno Buelow’s career took a turn following a personal tragedy. After her brother died from drug addiction, she founded a baby accessories company called Bella Tunno that would honor her brother’s legacy and strive to shatter the stigma by using proceeds to fight drug addiction. Like Petra, Michelle felt she lacked the formal training to run a charitable company, but her purpose and passion drove her business to grow.

At first, profits from the baby accessories company funded rehabilitation, halfway house renovations, and centers that resulted in meaningful and healing work for so many individuals and families. But Michelle couldn’t shake the apparent disconnect between her customers — people celebrating new life — and those impacted by drug addiction. The challenge didn’t deter her. She started researching drug addiction and discovered a significant correlation between childhood malnutrition and drug addiction later in life. She also discovered alarming childhood malnutrition statistics in the US.

With 13 million children going to bed hungry every night, she decided to put her purpose at the helm and refocus her business. Now, for every product Bella Tunno sells, one meal is provided to a child in need, helping address childhood hunger and warding off future drug addiction.

So, what’s your story?

Each of these entrepreneurs discovered why they were born. Ankur, Petra and Michelle all experienced adversity and challenges that ignited their personal purpose. And purpose is where they found their power — power for good and transformative change.

So, how is your personal story connected to purpose? In your life? In your business? In your leadership? And how can you leverage your purpose to make a change and drive meaningful change in your community?