In his book, The One Thing, Gary Keller talks about discovering your “Big Why.” He says that discovering what drives you, what gets you up in the morning, and keeps you going when things are tough is an important part of achieving happiness and success.
Living with purpose—it’s all the rage. You know that already. Then you should also know that it is way too easy to drift and get off course, and it happens more than any of us would like to admit.
That’s why living with purpose requires more than just an occasional dose of motivation and happy quotes on your Facebook newsfeed. It needs to be thought out and expressed with words, (preferably in writing), and frequently referred to. Then you can assess whether your actions align with the big picture purpose of your life.
For example, if your purpose is to accumulate as much wealth as possible, then your actions are along the lines of learning about wealth and money and success, and associating with successful people who you can emulate and learn from. (However, Keller warns not to make your purpose a bottomless pit of desire where what you achieve or acquire is never enough, or only provides temporary satisfaction.)
Our One Thing
If you’ve received any of our marketing swag, you would have quickly noticed our slogan: Breathe LIFE into your DESIGN.
For us it is a simple reminder to always do our work with purpose. When you breathe life into something, you give it purpose, value, and meaning.
As living, breathing creatures endowed with eternal qualities, we have the power to give meaning and purpose to not only our own lives, but to anything and anyone we interact with.
In our corner of the world here at Zine, the work that we do is not just about “making the next buck.”
Sure we need to make a living, but more importantly, we want to make a positive impact on the lives of everyone who deals with us, including our clients, our vendors, our employees, the UPS delivery guy, and anyone else who interacts with us. This is defined more precisely in our Vision and Mission Statement.
It is our “big picture,” our governing philosophy that determines the “why” and “what” of our daily activities.
What is your overriding purpose? Your governing philosophy? Your Big Why? And more importantly, does it determine your daily actions and priorities?
Our lives are driven by the purpose we give it. Without purpose, your decisions are haphazard, your path is unclear, and your future is out of your control.
I hope our slogan serves as a little reminder to “Breathe Life” and give meaning and purpose into everything you do.