Change Your Circumstances, But Not Your Calling

How do you connect the dots between your daily actions and your greatest calling or purpose? Do your daily actions and responsibilities force you to be something you are not? Or do they line up with your purpose?

In the late months of 2008, it became obvious that the company I was working for was going to be sold and the prospects for my job continuing as it had were coming to an end. Vicky and I agreed that I would not just take another job.

Instead, my goal would be to pursue my highest calling. I would pursue making my life’s purpose my source of income.

The pursuit of meaning from my career spawned the Lead Change Group, a global community of people instigating a character-based leadership revolution. That community had a face-to-face meeting, created this blog, wrote a book, created a number of webinars and articles and mobilized a global community of character-based leaders. I hope you’ve been energized and mobilized by being a part of this community too.

Then, in 2012, for a number of reasons, I had to reorient my life a bit and go back into full-time employment. Today, I enjoy the work I’m doing and because of the commitments I’ve made to that enterprise, my best energy every day goes into my job and the people I work with.

My purpose has not changed. Through my efforts with the Lead Change Group, I learned my passion and my mission: Elevate Purpose; Mobilize People. I focus my best energy every day elevating purpose and mobilizing the 12 people on my team and the 300 in my organization. At the end of my days, there is little energy left for writing blog posts, or books or speeches, or connecting on Twitter or LinkedIn. My efforts have had to become more focused, but they haven’t changed.

Purpose propels us into the future. Purpose challenges us to change and awakens energy in us to do things we would not otherwise do. Our purpose determines our trajectory of life and our destiny. If we choose a low, small, selfish purpose, we will achieve little, one-person outcomes. But, if we choose an elevated purpose, we’ll find the energy to learn things we’ve never known, do things we never thought we could do. Purpose brings life and energy.

Have you ever noticed the best purposes always seem to involve others? When we do something for someone other than ourselves, it elevates. If we are the only beneficiary of our efforts, it just seems flat. When we include others in our purpose, we inflate the purpose and it pulls us up. Alone, we're flat, but when we include others, we inflate.

Our best purpose, our highest calling, inflates or inspires us to rise to new heights and achieve great things. In my current position, my focus is on elevating the purpose of my team and my coworkers. That’s the reason I’ve become less engaged. But my heart remains energized by the idea of elevating purpose and mobilizing people, regardless of location.

I’m still with the Lead Change Group, but busy on a side project for a while. So I hope you’ll forgive my lack of consistent involvement and join Becky and all the other instigators as they move Lead Change into its next great phase.

The actions of one individual makes a difference. What’s your purpose? Are you spending your best energy on your best purpose?