Chapter 3 My Special Purpose-Steve Martin Found His-What’s yours?

“Those who enter the gates of heaven are not beings who have curbed the passions, but those who have cultivated and understanding of them.” -William Blake, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”

Purpose, mission: A result that is desired; an intention. A duty that involves fulfilling a request.

From the very beginning of BabyLegs, I believed it was my mission to make parents lives easier and to enhance the quality of the time they spent with their new little babies. I did this by telling them about BabyLegs, giving them BabyLegs and then telling people who would tell other caring people, and so on. It was what drove me to do what I did, every day. This mission was so clear within me, that I was constantly compelled to spread the “good word” of BabyLegs.

As time went on, the business continued to develop and the message morphed, but the driving force behind it was constantly in play. Make parents lives easier. Enhance the quality of time they spend with their children. Decisions are easier to make when you consider what mission will deliver you to actualizing your vision.

What mission will you lead?

Exercise:

To establish your own special purpose or mission ask yourself these questions:

1.) Why are you here? (Why did you join this team? Why did you marry your spouse?)2.) What is your most signifigant contribution to the future of your company, marriage, or team?3.) What is your contribution to society, to the market, to your sport?4.) How do you rise above the rest in making that contribution?

These are the big questions, but it’s crucial that you begin by asking them first. Through asking yourself these questions, you’ll begin to notice an overlay of your core values. You are again setting your internal compass; you are again setting a course for the future.

“What the hell – you might be right, you might be wrong…but don’t just avoid!”- Katherine Hepburn