An associate of mine recently wrote that the concept of one's PURPOSE is ephemeral and elusive. I get that. Finding one's PURPOSE is quite a profound and lofty ideal. Unless we are the Dali Lama (Rule Tibet, but in exile to be an inspiration of Buddist life), Tom Brady (Find the open man, or drive every anti-Patriots fan insane), or Oprah Winfrey (To inspire you to greatness), our purposes might seem trivial. However, there is one elemental purpose we all have — more on that in a bit.
From a very high level, I find it instructive to look at well-formed corporate mission statements of various companies to get a sense of how a purpose statement is constructed.
Spotify
"Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it."
"The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful."
Whole Foods
"To nourish people and the planet. We're a purpose-driven company that aims to set the standards of excellence for food retailers. Quality is a state of mind at Whole Foods Market."
TED
"Spread Ideas"
Some are aspirational. Some are practical. Some are so simple that they defy conventional wisdom. Some of the worst mission statements are verbose beyond measure. And they are obtuse. Moreover, they are contradictory.
Here is the worst mission statement of all time. It is from a UK based company called "The Sting."
THE STING WAS BORN FROM THE SIXTIES, BOUTIQUES, HIPPIES, POP MUSIC, FREEDOM. NAMED AFTER THE 1973 FILM 'THE STING'. STARRING PAUL NEWMAN AND ROBERT REDFORD.FUNNY, CHEEKY, SMART, FREE, NO NONSENSE, CODE OF HONOUR AND UNEXPECTED SUCCESS ARE STILL THE PARALLELS THAT TYPIFY AND APPEAL TO THE BRAND. THE STING IS HEADSTRONG, WITH ITS OWN VISIONS AND ITS OWN PERSONALITY. THIS CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED WITH PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE. THE STING HAS CHARACTER. THAT'S WHY WE'RE PROUD OF THE STING. ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE CONFIDENCE. THE STING FOUNDED AUGUST 27th 1982.
Hmm. Born from the Sixties, named after a 1973 film set in 1936 and founded in 1982. Yup. That's totally cohesive and congruent; not. Moreover, with all of those capital letters, my ears hurt.
For ourselves, we all share a common purpose. We have all been dealt a particular hand in life. We should always compare ourselves to who we were yesterday, not to whom someone else is today. If we focus on personal growth, it is the highest form of self-love. Don't allow laziness and inaction to stunt your potential. This my friends is the purpose of every living human, regardless of our immutable circumstances.
Simply stated, take what you have, move it forward every day, and SERVE WIDE, SERVE DEEP, and SERVE OFTEN.
Photocredit: J. Kawski - Sveitrfélagiô Hornafjörôur, East Iceland
