Discover Your Purpose

Have you ever heard the expression, “if you want to know what someone truly values take a look at their bank account and their calendar”?

The idea is that regardless of what we say we value, the true answer is revealed in how we spend our time, energy, and resources.

Reading a leadership blog suggests that you are a person interested in learning, growing, and developing. In short, you want to get better. Moreover, seeing that you are inclined to improve, there’s a good chance that over the course of the last year, you have spent some time thinking about what you truly value and how you will live out a meaningful life. There is something about times of tragedy that cause us to ask bigger, more important questions.

Last March, when COVID-19 was pushing the limits of the healthcare community, Ben Schecter asked himself some big questions. A recent college graduate working at Bain & Company, Ben was inspired by the sacrifice of others. He and his friends began asking each other what they could do to make a difference. They found answers in the creation of a non-profit called Feed the Front Line. Feed the Front Line buys meals from local restaurants struggling to cope with COVID-19 restrictions and delivers them to front line healthcare workers.

Ben is a former student of mine at Vanderbilt University. He recently joined me for an episode of the Leadership Lab podcast. During our conversation, we talked about how Feed the Front Line managed to raise over $1,000,000 and deliver more than 100,000 meals to front line workers in just a few short months. As much as I found what Ben did interesting, what truly inspired me was why he did it and how the experience changed his career path.

I’m a big advocate that we can learn new lessons about leadership from a wide range of sources. For me, talking to Ben was one of those times when the former student becomes the teacher.

This week’s tool and video will help you to think about a few big questions. Use them to explore your talents, inner voice, and passion. In doing so, you may find answers to some big questions and decide to take action. Who knows? As a result of putting the tool to use, you might choose to:

• Recommit to doing your very best at your current job.
• Start volunteering for a worthy cause.
• Go back to school and complete a degree.
• Spiff up your resume and look for a new opportunity.
• Turn off the computer and spend more time with others.

Whatever you choose, make sure it is meaningful to you and aligns with your top goals.

Make it a great day!

– Patrick

Photo by Vanderbilt News