As you start the new year, recommit yourself to living a life of alignment with your Purpose, ignited with Passion, guided by your Core Values and practiced every day in every way.
Your Purpose sets you driving with a Mission. Purpose gives meaning to our work and provides direction, allowing us to stay focused on what really matters.
When you get clear about your purpose, you have a driver of your authenticity. This is your “Why”. It what brings meaning to all aspects of your life - family, business, and your inner life. It informs you of the difference you want to make, what your impact will be on your world.
When many people are asked “why are you doing what you are doing?”, the easy (wrong) answer is to “make money.” But making money is not a “why”. Money is the result of what we are doing. When you find your purpose and live, you discover meaning and you get to do what you love. Finding your “why” requires introspection and working at it. This means taking the time to really ask yourself to find it.
Your Passion fuels your journey. Passion drives us to overcome obstacles and achieve our goals, and it is the jet fuel for our journey to success.
What gets your juices flowing and gives you a sense of joy and accomplishment? What do you LOVE to do? What would you be doing if you could be spending your time any way you like?What makes you feel alive? What makes you lose track of time, forget to eat, forget to go to the bathroom. What do you get complimented on most? Answers to these questions will bring you closer to discovering your true passions.
The Japanese have a term called “ikigai” Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your 'reason for being. ' 'Iki' in Japanese means 'life,' and 'gai' describes value or worth. It’s the convergence of - What you love; What your are Good At; What your world NEEDS; and What you can get paid for. Your Passion is where What you Love and What your are GOOD At meet.
A hobby is something you enjoy doing for fun and in your free time. A passion is something that’s inside of you and with you all the time. Something you feel compelled to keep engaging with, even without external rewards such as compensation or recognition. For some people their passion is a profession, like medicine. For some, it is an academic area, like political history. For others, it is a certain type of activity or process, like sculpting or coding.
Your Values will guide your success. The are the principles that are the foundation of our actions and decisions, and our success is built upon them.
Knowing your core values makes your decision making easier and provides a light for your path. What is your guide star? What values will direct your decisions and the way you live, work and relate to others?
Here are some steps to help you identify your Core Values and provide insights into your Purpose and Passions as well.
Step 1: Identify the times when you were happiest. Find examples from both your career and personal life. This will ensure some balance in your answers.
What were you doing?
Were you with other people? Who?
What other factors contributed to your happiness?
Step 2: Identify the times when you were most proud. Use examples from your career and personal life.
Why were you proud?
Did other people share your pride? Who?
What other factors contributed to your feelings
of pride?
Step 3: Identify the times when you were most fulfilled and satisfied. Again, use both work and personal examples.
What need or desire was fulfilled?
How and why did the experience give your life meaning?
What other factors contributed to your feelings of fulfillment?
Your Perseverance is your daily grind. It is putting into practice the daily habits and activities that we engage in, which ultimately determine our success. Your Practices will define your reputation.
What do you do on a daily basis to live out your values and accomplish your goals? Perseverance creates habits. It shows you’re not afraid, It silences your inner critic and gets you through tough times. It proves to others your authenticity. It shows you're not afraid of failure.It reinforces hope. It causes positive chain reactions.
If we look throughout the world in every industry, in every culture, there’s one consistent trend among successful individuals, and that trend is the ability to persevere. It’s the ability to stand up and take a step forward when everyone else sits down. Our greatest leaders — Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Colonel Sanders, Mark Victor Hansen, Steve Jobs — are the ones who have persisted beyond the norm.
Purpose, Passion, Values and Persistent Practice. When you get all of these aligned, you build trust. When you commit to living this way, success is yours and is a wonderful, beautiful journey.
Paul Kiewiet MAS+ is an industry speaker, writer, consultant and coach. He serves as the executive director of MiPPA. Kiewiet was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame and the MiPPA Hall of Fame. He served as Chairman of PPAI in 2007. A former distributor, he founded Promotion Concepts, Inc in 1982 and worked with some of America’s most valuable brands including Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, and Whirlpool.