Beyond More : Discovering Your True Personal Aim

Dear Leader,

What are you attempting to accomplish? For what are you reaching?

We're talking personal here – not organizational. I find that many leaders don’t have a firm grasp on the answers. In this letter, the context is the personal.

When I ask this, the first answer is generally “I want more.” More vacation. More leisure. More money. But let’s imagine we are answering this for someone we genuinely love, a spouse or a child. What do you imagine they could accomplish?

For me, my wish for them is to find meaningful work. Finding that place in the world where their talents can shine and inspire and where they can be a part of something bigger. I want them to be challenged to become that person worthy of respect. I don’t prioritize money, leisure or a nice house. I know that those things will come with time, but they don’t bring meaning. What if we applied this to ourselves? We’d not only wish, we would act.

Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Write a list of all that you want, all that you wish to accomplish for yourself, what you might become. Write down those things that make you feel accomplished and fulfilled. Here is a short example: I want to race my car and improve my skill. I want the money needed improve things on the farm. I want to be helpful to leaders, improve clarity and focus. I find meaning when others find theirs. I enjoy evaluating businesses and revealing inspiration. I find beauty in bringing teams together. I want more of that.

For me, racing cars is a reward, not a purpose; I will remove it from the list. Do this for yourself too. Remove rewards so that we can focus on the items that bring depth to your life. The patterns revealed form a matrix of rules, limits and constraints that help you focus, avoiding meandering effort. This will help filter the unlimited number of opportunities in the world to those that are important to you.

Now, imagine that you are someone you love and that you have a responsibility to help. If it helps, label yourself “Pat.” Looking at Pat’s list of meaningful items, what advice would you give? Be brutally honest, direct and plain with Pat. What could Pat do to open up their possibilities? What skills could Pat improve to help maximize their impact and thereby meaning?

Many times we hold back on the meaningful in an effort to satisfy outside expectations. Other times it’s because the work will be difficult, uncomfortable and may inject some uncertainty in our lives. But in my experience, we think too little of ourselves, and those around us echo that sentiment. It’s time to break this habit. You are more than you know.

In my practice, I guide a deeper version of this process called future authoring. In 3 hours of prompted writing about yourself, your aim will be articulated. If you want a revelation, I will take you through it.

Take the challenging, unsure, difficult path. Leave comfort behind, because there is more to you than you know. Let’s live it.