Before we enter the New Year and before you decide what you want in 2019, I encourage you to pause and clarify the most important piece of information you need in order to persevere to your goals. Take a look …
I’ll never forget the feeling years ago when I was in public relations and running my own PR agency. I was technically good at it, but deep down I didn’t feel like it was what I was meant to be doing. I lacked purpose. So what I did was try to fill that void by creating a big vision for the business. I thought that if the vision was exciting enough, maybe it would motivate me. It worked in short spurts but the excitement would always fizzle. I never seemed to be able to maintain the level of focus and energy I’d need in order to bring the big vision to life. The truth was, I daydreamed about doing work I loved. I actually dreaded requests for proposals for new business. And if that’s not a tell-tale sign of trouble as a business owner, I don’t know what is.
Here’s the thing. Vision can be exciting. But without purpose, you won’t have the tenacity to push through the inevitable obstacles on the path to your destination. Articulating your purpose is the step most people skip as they lay out an exciting vision for where they want to go. You need to know your “why” before you can truly decide your “where.”
Every successful woman can say this: I know my purpose and take daily action towards my vision.
If you’re unclear about your purpose and vision, ask yourself these powerful questions:
Purpose Questions:
Why am I here? How is someone’s life better when they cross paths with me? How is my company / family / community better because I am here?
Vision Questions:
What do I want my life to look like six months from now? A year from now? Five years from now? How would I describe my best possible future self?
Start with purpose. It’s purpose that fuels you to persevere. If you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’ll persevere through just about anything to get to your vision.
