purpose...with a small p

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In 2009, I downloaded a notes app - Evernote - to keep track of the action items from my sales meetings with customers. Within a few months, I discovered a much better use for daily writing in Evernote - managing my own psychology. Fifteen years later, I now have more than 7,000 notes in Evernote. I wrote most of those notes with the intent to clarify my own thinking and manage my own attitude.

Across these thousands of notes, there is a recurring theme that I expect many of you will recognize and understand. "Is this my Purpose?" I have believed since I was a kid that I my strengths and talents were suited for a big, important Purpose. When I arrived at West Point at 18 years old, I was sure that I was going to be President of the United States. Fast forward a couple of decades and I was asking myself, "Is selling enterprise software really my Purpose?! Is climbing the corporate ladder my Purpose?!"

Negative thoughts are poison for professional sellers. If you allow yourself to entertain excuses, you cannot maintain the consistent and persistent effort required to exceed goals. It's also a job that tests your resilience. After a great meeting, you might be imagining a life changing commission. A day later, it may seem like all of your deals are dying and you're going to get fired. I started those notes as a way to wrestle with my thoughts and emotions and hold myself accountable through those highs and lows.

In the low moments, I questioned, "Is this really my Purpose?!" In the high moments, I questioned, "Is this all there is?!" In those notes, I rationalized my present as a means to an end. My real Purpose would come later. "Once I accomplish these financial goals and build influence through corporate achievement, then I'll have dedicate time and effort to my Purpose."

Earlier this year, I spent a lot of time going back through those notes and gained a new perspective on purpose, through the wiser lens of hindsight. The goals I was chasing were not my Purpose. The bonds that I formed with my teammates as we battled together to accomplish hard things was/is my purpose. The deep conversations about things other than work. Celebrating successes. Encouraging each other when things did not go well.

I was wrestling with questions about Purpose, but there are hundreds of stories in those thousands of notes about small moments where my purpose was to be a friend or ally for my teammates. There are hundreds of stories in those notes where my teammates served that purpose for me.

I recently read something from Daniel Pink where he expressed this idea in a way that made perfect sense to me:

"You can think of Purpose with a capital P, which might involve feeding the hungry or solving the climate crisis. I also think there is another kind of purpose with a small p. It can be measured by asking, 'If I didn't come to work today, would things be worse?' With 'capital P' Purpose, the question is, 'Am I making a difference?' With 'small p' purpose, the question is, 'Am I making a contribution?' Both types of purpose are worthwhile and meaningful; the latter may be more attainable than the former."

Maybe you are one of the few who are clear about your Purpose and you spend most of your time doing things in service to that Purpose. If that's not you, then your next best option, an option that is worthwhile and meaningful, is to make a contribution everyday. If you didn't come to work today, would things be worse?

James Clear, in his best-selling book (which I highly recommend), Atomic Habits, wrote, "Are you becoming the type of person you want to become? Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become." When you take actions everyday to serve your purpose by making a contribution, you may discover that those daily contributions to those around you are also leading you to your Purpose.

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