Pursue your Passion with Professional Purpose

For my entire career, I've always treated my professional life as completely separated from my personal interests and endeavors. More recently, I've noticed a gradual convergence between that which drives me personally and the type of work that I seek out.

I was listening to Deep Purpose by Ranjay Gulati recently and came across a distinction between employees that are satisfied and those that are inspired. This really struck a chord with me as I've always pursued jobs that I felt were challenging, and enabled me to pursue my professional aspirations. For years, I've settled for satisfaction without realizing inspiration was an option.

Roughly a year ago, I left a great job at a company where I'd "grown up" professionally for a leadership role with a very small start-up in the same industry. While the new position was similar in function to my previous jobs, I immediately noticed a difference in how the work felt. I've come to realize that the difference is the alignment of my personal purpose and passion with the purpose of the company. I've stumbled into a professional role that is very closely aligned with the purpose that drives my personal life.

If you find yourself only satisfied in your job, I strongly encourage you to find one that inspires you. Life is short; do something you love.