“What gets you up in the morning?”

“That's a core question, and it’s a question of purpose,” Richard Leider says.

Richard’s business, and consequently his brand, is about purpose. His brand is Discover the Power of Purpose; his mission is “to help people put purpose to work in their personal and professional lives.”

Richard’s brand was born in 1973, when he began studying adult development in the second half of life at Harvard Business School. He wrote a paper on people’s journey from the time they leave college until they die. This work led him to the fundamental question that eventually formed the basis of his career.

“I didn’t create a brand identity to fit the marketplace. My brand came out of my passion for this fundamental question and for learning more about this second stage of life. It emerged from the inside out.”

What Is Your Calling?

Richard believes in the notion that people have been given certain gifts. His book Whistle While You Work is about heeding your calling and using your gifts. Richard breaks this down to a simple equation: Gifts + Passion + Values = Calling

According to Richard, everybody has a calling or what he describes as an inner urge to give your gifts away. Until we do so, our lives are not entirely fulfilled.

A calling is not about being a manager or working in a particular place: it’s about expressing who you are and what you are called to do.

“I’ve stuck with the purpose thing for 35 years,” Richard says. “You can’t do that as a branding thing, you do that because you’re passionate about it. Anyone who has ever heard me talk or read anything I’ve written knows it’s no joke when I speak about this purpose stuff. This is something I’m really passionate about to this day. It’s not a branding mood. It’s central to who I am and what I care about.”

Defining Branding

Effective branding means that everything you do aligns and integrates with your calling.

Richard reinforces his brand by being very clear about what he does and does not do: what his boundaries are. Even though he writes, coaches, speaks and leads safaris, he really only works in one vein: helping people discover their authentic self and developing their courage to act on that.

Richard is very clear about his message: Heed your calling. Discover your gifts, passions and values. Build your brand around who you really are.

For over 30 years, Richard Leider has developed expertise in how to help people discover purpose in work and life. He is ranked by Forbes as one of the Top 5 executive coaches in America. He is also the author of ten books, including three bestsellers.

Executive Coaching & Leadership Development