The Power of Purpose: How to Filter Your Decisions and Win Every Day

“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” — Steve Jobs

One of the great travesties of life is that people do not have a filter for their decision-making. 

Don’t believe me? Next time you’re out in public, look around you...

Does the average person look happy, healthy, and inspired?

It’s only in rare environments that I find people at large scale who are living like they’re drawn by a greater sense of purpose.

Apple founder Steve Jobs said, “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”

Do you know what 'exciting' thing you should be working on?

YOU!

It’s your life. But it’s an afterthought for most people.

That’s why we need a filter – something that can restrict bad things from getting through and keeping us clear and focused.

The best way to create a filter for your decision-making is to get clear on your purpose. Not just a singular purpose but at least a two-part purpose: one for your personal life (which is how you want to show up for your family and friends) and one for your career (which is how you show up for the work that gives you meaning and that you are pursuing mastery in).

In essence, your purposes reveals how you want to show up each day for the people you care about and the work you do. 

If you're not clear on your purpose and who you are, it means that you almost certainly do not have a filter. That means you’re probably making a lot of bad decisions on any given day that are going to come back to haunt you at a later date.

And if you extrapolate a bad day, it's going to lead to a bad week, a bad month, a bad quarter, a bad year, and a bad life.

That doesn’t sound like a life worth living, especially when you think about all the people who believe in you. And there’s probably a few people around you, maybe your kids or your parents, who consider you their superhero – or once considered you their superhero.

So we need to maintain that. And, if we’ve lost it, well then we’ve got it back as quickly as possible. That’s why, when we ‘win the day’, we recommit to victory every morning, no matter what wins or losses we had the day before.

Putting all this together, it means you need to give yourself a simple, binary decision when you’re faced with the thousands of options you’re presented with everyday that are either going to move you forward or push you back. And you should take those options very seriously, even the small ones. 

So, the question I want you to incorporate into your daily life is:

“Does this help me Win?”

When an option presents itself, simply ask yourself, “Does this help me Win?”

I have this question running through my head now on autopilot.

After many years of misery, I have successfully rewired my brain so it is much more interested in high performance over the long-term rather than survival or instant gratification in the short-term. It worked for me, and it will work for you too — you just need the right plan.

And the best part is you can apply this filter in every aspect of your personal and professional life.

When I interviewed 12x New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Daniel Amen, he shared a similar approach to the way that he talks about brain health. He gets his patients to ask themselves, “Is this good for my brain?” and if the answer is "No," then they won’t make that bad decision. 

So, tying this all together for you…

1. Get clear on your purpose. It should reveal how you want to show up each day for the people you care about and the work you do. 

2. Make sure that purpose stays in front of you as you go throughout your day. No one else needs to see it, but you definitely need to, until it’s running through your veins.

3. Get into the habit of asking yourself, “Does this help me Win?” You might even want to print that phrase out and post it wherever you spend the most time – or are most likely to make a decision that doesn’t align with your long-term goals.

For example, I consume far less alcohol these days – barely any at all, actually – because I noticed that even 1-2 drinks can affect my sleep, which will make me more irritable the next day. That is a violation of my family purpose because being irritable and having a short fuse is not me ‘leading by example’ as stated in my family purpose. So I’m just not going to drink the alcohol or eat the crappy food that will reduce my energy and effectiveness.

Just like I’m not going to take a meeting with someone who doesn’t align with my career purpose.

The filter saves time, enhances relationships, and improves your focus – all very important things. When you can do that, you’ll understand the power of purpose and how to win.

Get out there and #WinTheDay...

Onward and upward always,

James Whittaker

PS - This September in Los Angeles, California, I'm hosting the first ever in-person Win the Day Mastermind. It's a two-day event for business leaders who want to activate their high-performance life once and for all. If you'd like to join us or want to learn more, click here.