Passion, Purpose & Sustainability

You know in your personal life, you won’t continue doing something overtime if you either don’t love it, or don’t see a reason for it.

Think about exercise. You might not love the exercise you do, but you love the results. The results give you your “big why” that sustains you and keeps you doing it - even when you’re tired, it’s cold and rainy outside, and you don’t want to run or get in your car and go to the gym or yoga studio.

So, too with your work. To keep at it and overcome any challenges that, inevitably will arise, you need to get energized by the work and/or be clear on why you are doing it. No work will be sustainable over time if it is just to earn money. Your reasons need to be broader and deeper such as taking care of your family, having an impact on people, making the world a better place, or expressing your creativity. There are many different kinds of studies performed over decades to validate this point of view, and it’s what we intuitively know to be true.My invitation to you today, is to get clear on WHY you do what you do. Where do you find the JOY in your work? The why provides the structure and guidance. The joy provides the juice that drives you.

When you have this powerful combination locked in, success will eventually be yours. You will have the resiliency to sustain any hardship or challenge over time. You will always figure out a way to make things work. Without this combination, you will not have what you need to persevere.

If you are a leader, then you need to do this for yourself first. You cannot lead people to a place or way of being that you do not know. When you are in this place, then you are in a position to generate a dialogue and to discover how to unlock this winning combination with your people.