TEACH, LEARN, CREATE, REDUCE, IMPROVE, BECOME, CLARIFY, LIBERATE, and/or GOOD. Now hold that thought….
For 25 years I worked with great financial advisors and their teams. My happiest task was to consult and coach them on their practices. It usually started with me asking, “What do you want to do?”
95% of the time the answer was, “We want to grow.”
After a few years I learned to ask, “Why do you want to grow?” In all those consulting sessions, I only got one really good answer. It came from a team in Short Hills, New Jersey. Let me script it for you….
CHARLIE: Why do you want to grow?
AMAZING TEAM LEADER: Because we’re not done yet. We’re here to teach the poor to gather what they need. To teach the rich to grow and share what they have. And to teach the lesson that it’s better to give than to receive.
CHARLIE: awed silence
Why was this answer so effective? First, it unkowingly employed the classical rhetorical tactic of conduplicatio or successive repetition. Second, it uses the verb "teach," paired with other verbs like "gather," "grow," "share" and "give."
When we describe our purpose in life we should include at least one of these words....
TEACH, LEARN, CREATE, REDUCE, IMPROVE, BECOME, CLARIFY, LIBERATE, and/or GOOD.
Why?
Because every worthy endeavor I can think of involves at least one of those seven verbs and that one noun.
So ask yourself for the umpteenth time WHAT you do and WHY you do it. Then see if your answer contains any of the words on my short list. Hopefully it does, or something even better.
Related: It's April 19th! Would Better Planning Have Prevented "The Shot Heard 'Round the World?"