4 Ways I Live my Purpose
Once again, I found an awesome book that peeled away some layers from my cantankerous consciousness. Many times in my life people have asked me why I love making jewelry, what inspires me to paint, and why I feel compelled to coach other women. Those questions often short-circuit and confuse my brain. Putting my feelings into words often feels like an impossibly complicated task.
Making this complicated task happen in milliseconds, allowing my mouth to spit out my “why” like a brand new computer hooked up to the fasted gig of internet service available is something I want more than ice cream on a hot day. Therefore, I read books on “how to,” listen to others talk about why they do the work they do, and complete exercise after exercise to make this happen.
Enter Find Your Why by Simon Sinek.
“Because I love it” is the truth but not the full truth. Something less than the full truth doesn’t resonate with me or the person I’m talking to. That might be a decent answer when someone asks why you eat pizza three times a week but what they really want to know is WHY you love pizza. And possibly which camp you are in when it comes to pineapple as a pizza topping.
Reading this book with my book club (Her Success Club) has gotten me so much closer to vocalizing my why in a natural and effective way. I’m super happy about that. The book also has very inspiring examples of companies that know their why and how they succeed based on this knowledge.
Simon says, “Regardless of our rank in the organization, every single one of us has at least one colleague, client, or vendor for whom we can take responsibility for how they feel when they work with us. The goal is not to focus on what’s standing in your way; it is to take steps that will have a positive and lasting effect on everyone around us.”
“...take steps that will have a positive and lasting effect on everyone around us.” What if we all just lived by that motto? It makes my little hippie heart start thinking about world peace. If we could just do that.
This quote reminds me of the quote by Maya Angelou “People won’t remember what you said, they will remember how you made them feel.”
Simon says, “It’s not what you do but why.”
If you say I work at Company XYZ to pay my mortgage and car payment…it is not exciting or fulfilling. It’s a means to an end. Get money to have the things you want. This is how most of us have been taught to function in our careers.
What we, now I’m assuming you are reading this because you have similar desires for your life as I do, want in a career is to be fulfilled. I’ll use my WHY as Simon Sinek calls it to fill out that same sentence.
I started my business because it allows me to encourage others to see a truer way of life so they feel happy, confident, and empowered. It’s amazing that I get paid to do something so exciting to me.
Which one would be more interesting to you?
Simon says (well, asks but I like saying Simon says),
“What difference does that make?” (What you do.)
What you do makes a difference in lots of ways. The motivation and results of what you do are where you look to determine if it is what you want to continue doing.
Simon says, “Fulfillment isn’t another word for happiness. All kinds of things make us happy at work…but happiness is temporary…fulfillment is deeper…The difference between happiness and fulfillment is the difference between liking and loving something.”
Most of us like our kids, family, jobs, and life overall. We might not like the day-to-day tasks we have to mull through to get the result we want (see the first example of why someone works for Company XYZ).
Tasks can be tedious but the results we get are the things that light us up. Your career should light you up just like your home life. If not, we need to take a closer look at what is happening. Something is out of alignment with our purpose.
The difference I make for people has been great. I see people with my jewelry on and honestly, I don’t know who is more excited to talk about it. They love wearing my creations and I love seeing them on someone. Randomly I’ll get a text or email that I’ve inspired action that has changed the life of someone I know.
My heart is full and I’m beyond grateful for all this!
Why do people stick with a brand, company, etc?
“It says something about them when they do business with a company that reflects their beliefs.”
Boy have we seen this more in the last few years. The unfortunate death of George Floyd set our country on a new path. For the first time I know of, and maybe ever, mass amounts of white people actively sought out black-owned businesses to support them. There was a conscious shift to support people and businesses based on their beliefs. What a fucking relief!!!
As a woman entrepreneur, I’ve always tried to balance my budget needs with the cost of shopping locally with small businesses. Now (thankfully) I’m able to pay $1 more for my coffee when it’s a place I believe in without leaving thinking “sheesh that was a lot for a just cup of coffee.” There are lots of places I support locally because they are small businesses focused on ethical sourcing of materials, supporting causes I care about, and selfishly, because of the unique experiences you get at “mom-n-pop” places.
Have you ever noticed how some sports fans are upset when “we” lose the game? Or people in political arenas are die-hard (insert whatever political party here) and will never vote any other way? What about people that keep going back to their partner that treats them badly? They love them and feel like can’t be happy without them (see the feelings?). According to Sinek, the reason is “Because how we feel about something or someone is more powerful than what we think about it or them.”
I wake up every day looking to encourage a truer way of life so that women feel happy, confident, and empowered.
I choose my words carefully. I know they can be a sharp sword or a warm blanket.
My business was developed as a way to provide jewelry, art, and coaching to connect with others and give them something that makes them feel amazing.
Shopping at places that share my values and provide unique experiences.
Can you think of at least one way you live your purpose?
Peace and love,
Teresea
