I made it about 80% of the way up Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the top – you see 12 months ago I experienced a serious vertigo incident, and it turned out that altitude is no longer my friend.
So rather than push on I decided to stop – 300 ft from the summit. Yeah it felt like a failure. But as I sat down and looked out the view – even from here was stunning.
I wanted to connect with you all and provide an update on our discussion about purpose. In the last post, we talked about the importance of the initial trailhead board and trail markers, and how purpose is like the trailhead board that shows you all the trails you can engage and an overview of your chosen trail.
While this might be an “almost win”, we’ve still covered about seven or eight miles, which made for a good day out.
So Let me share three areas that this experience left me with and how it might apply to life and business.
- Purpose Provides Focus and Direction
- Provides a clear reason for what you do
- Helps you know where you’re going
- Most importantly, helps you decide what to say “no” to. Infact, there’s often more strategy in what we decline than what we accept
- Purpose Underpins Motivation and Perseverance
- Help during challenging times. When you hit those hard moments where you don’t feel like going on, like the trail I was on – sometimes you need to stop and take stock and be ok with where you are before you move on.
- Understanding what motivates you is crucial
- Purpose Drives Engagement and Branding
- Team engagement becomes more driven when people understand the shared purpose
- It helps team members understand their role in the journey, helping them feel like more than just a piece in the puzzle or a number
- Provides foundation for your brand (personal or business) A great reminder here is that you brand around your purpose, not your product or solution or other tactical outcome.
These are some additional important considerations when developing your purpose – how it motivates, engages, focuses, and drives your brand, whether personal or professional.
I’m Jono Brake. As always, enjoy the journey.