We all have purpose. That is a universal truth. The thing about it is that those purposes vary with a great degree. It’s not a bad thing, just another universal.
With that being said, we all choose a purpose to generate “a living” (or that purpose often chooses us!). When that happens you can almost measure how effective somebody is with that by how much of a force in their life it is. If you’ve forgotten your reason or are going through a “slump” (I quote it because 9 out of 10 times it’s a self induced problem) watch a telethon or a charitable organization work. You’ll see 3 clear reasons why they get people to give them money for free!
- They believe with all of their being. The belief of a person newly involved with a “cause” is warming. The belief of the person that began said cause is intoxicating. You find yourself mesmerized by what they are saying and think to yourself “why don’t I do something like this” or “why am I not involved like he/she is?” Do your customers/clients say that about you? At the end of the day that is what we all want in business, but do we invest in ourselves enough for others to do so?
- They are hopelessly optimistic. Non-profit is an extremely noble thing to do. At the same time, since it is not for profit, you have to have some thick skin or powerful optimism (I prefer the latter). These charities and organizations go through a ton of ups and downs and you would never be able to tell when you’re talking to a president or PR person for one of these organizations. That is because they know their “end game” and they know why the work they do is so important. They start with $0 for something with hopes of reaching X by merely being passionate or fostering a lot of relationships. Business is hard, undeniably, but if you know that there is an end in sight then the run isn’t so bad.
- They have goals with deadlines. Number 3 shoulda been number 1 to me (any Biggie fans?………………I digress) . When you see celebrities just make up a bunch of charitable organizations for tax reasons you see them disappear quickly. There is no goal. There is no ETA. Yet, if you watch a well put together telethon, you see goals at work in a rapid fire highly effective way. Seeing that ticker go get closer and closer to the goal makes people push. It makes people go beyond what they normally would do. It’s like overtime in a great football game! Do you have a ticker counting (up or down; your choice)? Do you have a deadline and not just “I want to be successful?”
I don’t mean to make this elementary, but the more I research for myself, build my business, and see others succeeding I thought it best to show the “easy” way. I would have loved for my parents to have this “talk” with me when I was 9, but better late then never!
