My personal purpose is the same as that of my business, The Cause Effect.
I believe passionately in the idea of business as a powerful force for good. I also understand the power of brands and the opportunity to drive profit through purpose by tapping into that power.
My personal mission and that of my business is one. To make meaningful purpose – social purpose – a vital part of every business in Australia and around the world.
I feel incredibly fortunate. It’s pretty amazing to me, that I get to make my living from this; something that gives me so much energy and fulfilment. That isn’t a unique phenomenon in itself. It’s very common for the personal purpose of founder/owners of a business to drive their business purpose. The problem is, all too often it gets lost in the day-to-day grind, especially when it was never articulated clearly. More often than not, it’s a sub-conscious drive, rather than a clearly understood one.
What is the difference between a personal purpose and a business or brand purpose?
It’s a question that seems to be top-of-mind for many people.
In an ideal world, we’re all able to know why we’re here, our reason for being.
I’m not suggesting your personal purpose is pre-ordained. It’s simply the thing that makes sense of everything for you. It gives you a direction and meaning in life.
I honestly believe we have so much potential to unlock if we can direct our focus to what matters to each of us. When we know our personal purpose, it becomes so much easier to understand if we are directing our professional efforts into areas that make sense for us.
Which is why I'm so excited to share my latest podcast interview with Carolyn Tate, who is a purpose and storytelling educator.
Carolyn is an author of multiple books, an inspirational speaker and a highly respected leader of the purpose movement in Australia.
In 2010, she came to the crashing realisation that her career was at a dead-end. After 20 years in banking and 10 years in her own marketing consultancy, her work was no longer meaningful. So, she closed the business and took a writing sabbatical in Aix-en-Provence, France with her son Billy. It was the beginning of her search for a new livelihood and it led her to discovering her twin passions for writing and teaching. Ten years on, she’s published five books, including 'The Purpose Project', and taught more than 10,000 people on the power of purpose and story.
Carolyn describes purpose as accomplishing something that is meaningful to you and consequential for the world beyond yourself.
Her own purpose is to help you bring your purpose to life, so together we can build a better world. When she’s not working, she's a dedicated community-builder and committed Birrarung (Yarra) river-swimmer.
I hope this episode helps to widen the lens that you consider purpose through.
You can have a listen to my interview with Carolyn Tate on the For Love & Money Podcast here...
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