A client recently explained to me that he is struggling with purpose. He doesn’t feel that his purpose is big enough. The truth is that the problem is not size.
The problem is around depth. Let me attempt to explain.
At BUILT TO LEAD, our purpose is as follows:
“We transform a collection of individuals, leaders, and teams into ONE. ONE that is BUILT TO LEAD.”
This purpose is the singular defining statement of this work. The size of our revenues does not give this meaning. The size of our Band doesn’t either. The size of our customers doesn’t do it. The size of our rewards and recognition doesn’t matter. The size of our online audience doesn’t. Nope.
We don’t struggle with our purpose at BUILT TO LEAD for one reason. Here it is. Do NOT miss this. We don’t struggle with our stated purpose because we have. Huh?
We each have struggled with defining our individual purposes. We each have authored our own CORE purposes. Each of the BTL band is as different as you and every member of yours. The difference is the depth of the struggle. Over time, through adversity, through rinsing and repeating, through writing, through good arguing, and through experience both good and bad, each of our CORE purposes has been refined.
Yea, BABY.
We don’t share the same CORE purposes. In fact, the health of any system is measured not by their “alikeness,” but instead by their ability to embrace and even build on their “differences.” As you embrace this individual and collective struggle, you will begin to realize that size doesn’t matter. Depth, however, does.
Funny, huh?
BUILT TO LEAD 
…AND, as always, we must remember the age-old truth “it’s not the SIZE of your purpose, but how you USE it!”
;-]
“I am here to connect others–to each other, and to this idea–that the POWER to achieve their full POTENTIAL lies in living true to their core PURPOSE.”
Yea, BABY. Another great and from Mr. Sully, the only man I know that can pull off wearing a blue blazer with just about anything…
Me, not so much.
I have found the StrengthFinders instrument very helpful in giving individuals vocabulary suitable for writing their unique purpose. Remember “strengths” according to this definition is what gives you ENERGY. So for example, Sully’s #1 is Connectedness — so re-read his comment about his Purpose with that in mind.
My #1 is “Relator”. My core purpose is helping others RELATE to who they are, to their Creator, to their God-given strengths & gifts and to fulfill those in work & life in a way that inspires others to do the same. I am at my best when I’m doing that in my different ROLES — whether in my marriage, as a parent, a neighbor, a Builder, friend or pastor — even a teammate on my baseball team. It just doesn’t matter what the role is, the purpose is the same.
p.s. and part of my passion is that others don’t have to wait until they are nearly 50-something like I did to figure it out!