Episode 27 – Purpose Power: Our Calling (The G.R.I.T. Podcast)

Episode Transcript

Hello everybody. I’m Steven Nathenson, CEO and founder of Strive for More. And I want to ask you about purpose power. Have you ever heard of purpose power or more commonly, the power of knowing your purpose? Why I’m presenting that is, as we talk about implement and implementing small steps is part of GRIT – Give, Recognize, Implement, Time®, is implementing small steps to build momentum, confidence, and lay this path forward for us to take to where we want to go and achieve the success that we see.

Knowing our purpose is a critical component of it. The reason why is when we know our purpose, it drives us. It also makes it easier for us to make decisions, and know what to do and know what not to do, and how to evaluate opportunities that are given to us, or even where we currently are in our lives. That is purpose power. When we truly know and embrace our purpose in life, it bleeds into everything that we do, dictates our actions, aligns our values, and it tells us how to evaluate certain decisions that are on our plate to make and what opportunities we should or should not take, such as new jobs.

When we know that purpose, we can do that. However, it’s hard to know what that is. So let’s take a step back and let’s dig into finding our purpose here for a second. When we talk about purpose, a lot of times it’s hard to answer that question. What is my purpose? What was I put on this earth to do? It can be very difficult for us to answer that question. So I’ll ask it in a slightly different way that’s often much easier to actually understand it. And that is what have you been put on this earth to not do? It’s a lot easier to answer things that we don’t like, that we don’t want than it is for us to actually tell us, other people, what we like, what we don’t like and excuse me, what we like versus what we don’t like. It’s easier to say what we don’t like. What we don’t want.

So we can actually start eliminating things by saying, I know I was definitely not put on this earth to say, play basketball, to play golf, to play darts. I know those are just games, but they’re easy examples. So when I know what I don’t want, I know that that’s off the table. What else can I maybe add to that list and start eliminating? Or can I even actually look at those things and say, well, what is it about it that tells me I’m not there to do that.

That can be a lot easier for people to start creating this awareness of what they don’t want, what they’ve not been put on this earth to do. Singing, for me. Another thing that definitely not been put on this earth to do. I can start eliminating that and see what may be left over. If I flip some of these things also, it’ll help giving me insights into what my purpose is. Well, I may not be put on this earth to sing. Why is that? Well, I don’t carry to him very well, but I love music. I enjoy what it brings out and invokes people.

So even though I know I don’t want to have a professional career in singing and that’s what I want to do, I do know that what I love about music is the inspiration that can come from it, how it can move people, how it can help fix a mood and get us out of say a rut or those negative spirals and make us happier when we heard certain songs.

I can actually explore that and say, well, there are elements there that I like. Well, what is that, that I feel is a driving purpose. For me, that’s an impact on others. So that’s a common theme that I see. Darts, pool, basketball, sports that I’m not really all that great at, for me when I play them, they’re just for fun. They’re not really building a large impact on this world to really create positive change and help people when I do those things.

So I can actually see what the commonalities of things that I know I’m not put on this earth to do, that there’s a reason why. So that’s why it’s can be helpful for us to explore the things that may be easier for us to identify that I’ve not been put on this earth to do. So with that, it’s impact on other people, it’s got to go beyond me. Now, you can also do this exercise on the flip side. If you do know things that you do enjoy, that you really truly want to bring about, and you can start creating themes from them, that is another way of doing it as well. I just go with the, what I’m not meant to do route because sometimes it’s easier for us to describe. And like I said, I can see themes in there.

So if I actually explore, what do I feel like I’m meant to do? And what do I really enjoy and think is aligned with who I am? It’s going beyond myself. It’s having the impact in this world. It’s creating a long-lasting legacy. That’s not just hey, I had a good life, but I actually made a difference. I made people happier. I helped people. I went out of my way to do that. And I had a larger impact on this world.

And I left it in a better place than when I came into it. It’s one of the driving reasons for me, that being an FBI agent spoke so deeply to me because I was there to serve a purpose. And it is also definitively a core part of why I’m coaching and why I truly believe that my purpose in life is to help others discover and embody that path so that they may walk it, so that they may believe in themselves enough to be able to actually bring that happen.

Because you know what, you are capable of making that happen for you. That is purpose power. I know what my purpose is because I’ve explored what things that I don’t like, that I didn’t feel like really gave me fulfillment, that didn’t align with me, also things that truly did. And I see the commonalities and what was lacking, what was there, and then really going along that journey to understand how does that all fit together.

And what is it at the heart of it that truly does give me passion and purpose and fulfillment, allows me to now be able to have that statement to you of helping others embodying this … Excuse me, discover and embody, flipped it there. It is discovering and embodying purpose and past in life for other people. That’s what this is for me. And that is what drives my choices in having my own organization, in doing this podcast, and whom I actually associate with and I bring into the fold.

And I have as mentors and coaches for myself, who I surround myself with. This purpose drives everything in my life and aligns my actions towards it, to ensure that I can make that long-lasting impact on other people in this world at large. And that is the power of purpose. And why it’s so critical for us, when we talk about implement in GRIT, give, recognize, implement, time, it’s because when we know that purpose, very similar to motivation and inspiration, it can drive us. But beyond that, it helps us align everything towards it. When I can truly know it deeply to the fiber of my being, I know how to take action. I know what to take action on, I know what to not take action on, and I know how to evaluate not only the action part of it, but also who do I want in the relationships, the environments that I should be a part of.

I can completely align everything in my life down to the deepest detail to drive me and to help me strive to fulfill that purpose each and every single day, when I truly know what that is. And it makes it so much easier to take those steps, because I know at the end of the rainbow, at the end of the journey for me, I’m fulfilling that purpose. I’m helping other people. I’m making that impact that I want.

And so I will gladly take a thousand steps towards that every single day, because I know what’s in it for me at the end of it is fulfilling that purpose that I truly, with every ounce of my being, believe that I’ve been put here on this earth to do. That is the power of purpose. And that is truly a significant part of implement because it will lift us up and drive us and allow us the critical thinking, which way do I go? Why am I doing this? How do I evaluate this opportunity or this relationship in my life? Does it serve me? Does it serve my purpose? Does it allow me to truly be who I am and take those steps?

When we know what that is, magic’s going to happen to even subconsciously start aligning everything in our lives towards achieving it and fulfilling it. And that innately makes it easier for us to take that one small step at a time and bring about what we truly seek. So when we know our purpose, that’s the power of it for us. How do we find that? A couple of ways, just recap that briefly for us is, it may be easier to say, well, what does not align with who I am? What do I truly not enjoy, I don’t like? What does not fulfill me?

I could start there and I can start seeing the commonality and the themes in each of those about what was missing, what was off the mark, what is not in there for me. And then vice versa, I can actually start seeing what does fulfill me, what does give me purpose and meaning, and what are the themes there? Because once I have both sets of data points, I can actually see the whole picture and I can drill down in those commonalities to get to the very center and the very heart of it, to be able to create that purpose statement, which again for me is to help others discover embody their paths in life.

It creates the true impact that I’m looking to create to go beyond myself and have that long lasting impact and positive change in this world. What is your purpose? What is the power in knowing your purpose going to do for you, and help you achieve the goals that you have. When you know the answer to those questions, you will find yourself more easily taking those steps and achieving the success that you seek, because it is a powerful, powerful driver.

So until the next time, be the movement in your life.

 

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