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Purpose reaches a different depth to any conversation and leadership is not exempt. In my opinion, we spend our entire lives trying to figure out what our “purpose” in this life actually is and do we have one? Well, I think we all have a purpose, in fact, many “purposes” in our lives. As far as leadership goes though, purpose is a direct reflect of your value in many ways and it’s why it’s important that you identify those values first (as I wrote about in part one of Be the Leader of Your Life).
If you are still stuck on the first part, values, and still trying to figure it out, answer this for yourself. What is more important than anything else to you? What would you not jeopardize for money or for comfort? Those tend to be your values. For example, if someone told me that I would be paid a billion dollars, then I would be excited… we all would. Let’s change the circumstance. If someone tells me that he will pay me a billion dollars, but I can never tell anyone about the crime I witnessed and I would disappear from my “normal life.” Now, that changes things. I am not here to judge you but some of my strongest values are integrity, honesty and justice. Therefore, I could never accept that offer, but some who value wealth over those value may be able to. Try this exercise if you are still working on your values. We actually play these games on social media all the time and don’t even realize it. Start paying attention because you choices show you your values and your values shape your purpose, especially in leadership.
Novice leaders may tell you that their purpose is to “change the world” or “to influence others” and those are great and lofty goals. But as leaders, we do not influence others or change the world by setting out with that purpose. That’s why understanding your values is key. As a young leader starting out, I didn’t even know I was a leader. You could say that my most important value besides determination was wealth because I wanted to make money. However, through the discover of my values my purpose became to form, shape, and evolve. I didn’t start my career after college with my diploma in hand thinking, “OK, time to go empower women to be the leaders of their life and hopefully, learn from all my mistakes.” Um, no. I even laugh to myself just writing that. But, I did understand my values because I knew what felt aligned with me.
A mistake we all make as leaders is we go along with our companies’ values, mission, vision, and even, its purpose. The trouble there is that it’s so important that it’s the other way around. That’s why I started this series, group, and will be releasing more information about being the leader of your life. We have it all wrong. It’s all about your values, mission, vision, and definitely, your purpose as you move through life. You must ask yourself if that aligns with the company you are working for, and yes, even if you have built your own company because everything evolves and changes, companies that even you have founded, and you will definitely grow and evolve many times in this life. Your values build your purpose.
Go to https://mayapinionpodcast.com/be-the-leader-of-your-life-purpose/ to read the full blog
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XXX
Maya
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