Invest In Your Purpose

You get peace, happiness and the huge feeling of achievement that having a positive impact brings. It’s how success is defined today.

Money?

That follows. Just not immediately.

If you’re one of those who is looking for a hack or a short-cut to hit a jackpot, it’s best to stop reading here.

This story is for those who are serious in wanting to make a 360?change in their lives. Individually, professionally and for their communities.

2018 was one of my toughest years. I’ve had three of such tough periods, to be precise, in my life thus far and I pray this was my last.

Having worked in the corporate sector for three decades across Asia, doing business strategy and marketing, I was coming to the end of my last salaried role in Jan 2018.  The choices, then, were to be a job seeker and get a new salaried contract or find an impressive solution to a global problem and get funded to be in business.  I wasn’t quite sure about the latter so by default I went with the first choice.

In the first part of 2018, I followed the herd, so to speak! I was a job seeker and I did everything that one sees being put out online for job seekers to do. Infact, it led me to help other job seekers through recommending various roles that I was aware of or being called for. Today that experience is now in the test-bed for testing an idea that just might see execution in the latter part of this year.

I started spending my day job searching and doing the odd consulting projects. Working upwards of 15-hour days at times! 

Yet as the days rolled into weeks and the weeks into months there was this feeling of ‘ I’m missing something’.

I wasn’t quite picking up the nudges I was getting within myself to go out and talk about humanizing businesses through brand experience.  

That is my headline here and those five words sum up my entire professional experience and a sizeable part of my expertise.

Humanizing business is all about looking at the brand experience a brand delivers to any of its stakeholders. It's about helping businesses to realize the importance, the potential and the value people, connected to the brand, bring to the business. Especially employees. But that’s another story for another time. If it’s in your interest area or you simply want to know a bit more follow me on LinkedIn.

Back to my nudges.

On a balmy and very still night in early June 2018, I had a conversation with myself.

I reflected on where I was.

What was really a priority for me. I viewed the picture, of my legacy, that my soul was trying to communicate to me. As I viewed it, in all its beauty, all possible fear scenarios were thrown up by my brain. It was frantically battling to keep me back in my comfort zone as I was trying to push the envelope further and peer over the edge as to what is there in the great beyond.

I searched frantically for courage to be my ally and provide me strength and calmness.  It came!

That changed my perspective and I was able to view the vision my purpose had drawn in my mind. Being a process and systems person, I was immediately able to drop into project planning a few key things and ready to execute.

Today April 2019, as I look back, I see the immense self-development that has come about simply by virtue of disrupting myself, accepting the changed scenarios and inputting my experience and expertise in them to create positive benefits.

Benefits to my clients, my community, my collaborating partners and associates.

I'm sharing here the top three in the hope that it will give you strength to disrupt yourself and grow: 

1. Writing: I discovered that I truly love writing! Be it short posts, industry articles, podcast notes or just audio bytes. Whilst I am not an author by any means, nor in the same league as some fabulous writers here like Randy, Andrada, Upalparna, I found that writing had a cathartic effect on me. For me, it’s like the feeling one has after doing meditation! The appreciation, from the clients and readers, as my content resonated with them and provided positive directions, gives me a huge sense of satisfaction.
2. Videos: I’ve always believed in the immense power and value of the written word. In business, of any form and size, communication is next only after cash-flow! Whilst cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, communication is what keeps it flowing strongly. Doing strategic communications, managing C-level and Board of Directors, business partners, and customers, through my career has given me the ability to provide clarity on the most complex looking issues. Here I’ve always believed that the written word helps in delivering clarity. As I received encouragement, support and help to take my writing into the video, I put caution aside and took the leap!

Result?

My own vlog under my hashtag - #joyspeaks – and now a fabulous business blog - #CreateTheEdge – that focusses on helping individuals and businesses redefine how disruption create innovation for an individual and for businesses.

3. Public Speaking: From speaking at industry events only, during my corporate days, I moved into public speaking. It was a huge leap for me! Public speaking is a different ball-game altogether from speaking in industry events. An industry event involves speaking in jargon and to a group with similar mindsets who are from the same industry, Whereas speaking to a diverse audience, all held together by a common interest, really brought forth all abilities of story-telling.

All this did not happen overnight. Neither did it happen straight-away and, most importantly I did not do this alone!

That night in June, when I truly understood the picture my purpose has etched in my mind, I took a decision.

I made a choice.

The choice I made was to invest the only capital I had—time. That’s the one thing I had, same as others, and it was the one thing I can control in terms of where and how I want to invest it.

I did so, as best I felt I could, in following my purpose and consciously undertaking activities that enabled me to deliver on it.

I listened.

I observed.

I took on board the tips, opinion, and advice.

I kept learning.

And I went out to bat (as they say in cricket)!

Today I am happy with who I am and grateful at being able to have the opportunities to commercialize my purpose by helping businesses to be more human by creating work environments where people are the focus and wellness, collaboration and co-creation all sit together on the same table.

At this point, for those who might be asking about where’s the money in all this, here’s my belief:

“ Do what you love doing as then you think you are having fun. When you have fun, you keep doing more of the same. That sends positivity all around and positivity attracts. It will attract for you a host of opportunities and the money trail too!”

It just doesn’t happen overnight.

So be ready to commit, persevere, be consistent and always give value.

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Follow #CreateTheEdge – The Business Blog that is redefining how disruption can be an innovation for individuals and business.

Follow #joyspeaks - for brand experience insights.

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Joy Abdullah? is a strategic marketing leader who humanizes business through its brand experience that delivers profit.

His expertise is in helping CEOs and business owners harness the value of their employees in creating a unique brand experience which becomes the competitive advantage for the business.

Focusing on creating the emotional connection, which is the essence of brand experience, by getting employees aligned and engaged with the business purpose and values through Leadership & Mindfulness, Communication & Process-Thinking, he guides businesses in creating sustainability.

Having worked across India and ASEAN he has Asia-centric international experience in business strategy, marketing, innovation and business operations.

He guides, consults, writes and speaks on the importance of brand experience in business strategy from an Asian market perspective.

Click here for his articles.  

?Connect with Joy on:

1. Linked In 

2. Twitter @JoyAbdullah

3. Instagram: joyabdullahTM

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