01Are You Deciding on Purpose - R Leider-1

7/26/2019 01Are You Deciding on Purpose - R Leider-1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/01are-you-deciding-on-purpose-r-leider-1 1/11

Are You Deciding On Purpose(extended interview)

Counselor and author Richard Leider explains his laws for ndingpurpose in your work and life.

From: Issue 13 | February 1!" #age 11$ By: %lan &. 'ebberPhotographs y: Chris Rogers

Fro( his ho(e in )candia" &innesota" $* (iles fro( &inneapolis"author" speaker" and counselor Richard Leider o+erlooks the )t.Croix Ri+er and acres of woods,the kind of natural en+iron(entthat he says contributes to better decisions about work and life. %founding partner of -he In+enture roup" a &inneapolis,basedtraining r( whose (ission is to help indi+iduals" leaders" andtea(s disco+er the power of purpose" Leider counts a(ong hisclients such high,powered co(panies as %-/-" Caterpillar Inc."eneral &otors" &otorola" and 3&,organi0ations where he bothcoaches executi+es and teaches in executi+e progra(s. is booksinclude Repacking 2our ags 4errett,5oehler" 16" with 7a+id %.)hapiro8 and -he #ower of #urpose 4errett,5oehler" 198. e alsopublishes :n #urpose" ;a <ournal about taking charge of yourwork=life.;

'hat has distinguished Leider throughout his three decades as acareer coach and counselor is the philosophy he brings to di>cultdecisions about work and life. Leider?s acti+ities as a long,ti(eboard (e(ber of :utward ound and his annual backpackingsafaris to -an0ania" @ast %frica testify to his con+iction thatinteraction with nature is an i(portant part of reAection and self,knowledge. %t the heart of his approach to counseling is a belief thateach indi+idual is born with a reason for being and that life is aBuest to disco+er that purpose.

Fast Co(pany spoke with Richard Leider about his ;laws; for

(aking decisions on purpose.

1. !i"e is a spira#$

#eople today are inti(idated by how (uch choice they ha+e. -hereare al(ost too (any career choices" too (any life choices. #eopleare o+erwhel(ed at ti(es by the decisions they get to (ake,andha+e to (ake, about their <obs" their fa(ilies" their businesses" theirfutures. -here are so (any +ariables today 'here will you workD'here will you li+eD 'hat do you want for yourselfD 'hat do you

want for your fa(ilyD If you don?t ha+e a way to sort it all out" youcan beco(e paraly0ed.

I ha+e a +isual exercise that helps you understand the choices youha+e to (ake at diEerent points in your life. 7raw a little spiral"so(ething like a

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/13

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/13



tornado going upwards. -hat spiral represents the diEerent phasesyou encounter in your life. -here are ti(es in life when you?re on aplateau" where things are well balanced. -hen along co(es atriggering e+ent that knocks you into li(bo. 'hen that triggeroccurs" you ha+e to put all your energy into handling the situation"

whether it?s an e(ergency at work" the death of a close friend" oryour own health crisis.

-hat puts you into the third part of the spiral a period ofuncertainty. )o(ething is ending" so(ething else is about to begin,but you?re between the ending and the beginning. -o get out ofli(bo" you ha+e to look at e+erything you?+e been carrying withyou. 2ou ha+e to unpack your bag and then repack it" so you can goon to the next phase of your life.

-oday (ore and (ore people are being struck by (ore and (oretriggers. :ne out of two (arriages ends in di+orce. @+ery eightseconds" one of the country?s 9 (illion aby oo(ers turns 6*. Inthe workplace" co(panies ha+e downsi0ed and reengineered" andpeople ha+e beco(e free agents. %s a conseBuence" (ore peopleare asking the(sel+es where they?re going" what they?re going todo with the rest of their li+es" and what really (atters to the(. -hese aren?t decisions you can <ust think your way through. -heyin+ol+e e(otions (ore than ideas,how we feel about oursel+es"(ore than how we think about oursel+es.

G. Answer these two %uestions$

%sk yourself these Buestions and answer the( honestly 'hat doyou wantD %nd how will you know when you get itD

#eople really do ha+e their own solutions. -he proble( is" eitherthey don?t know how to disco+er the(" or they a+oid disco+eringthe(. ut if you want to co(e up with good decisions for your workand your life" si(ply ask those two Buestions,because it all co(esdown to +ery si(ple things.

3. Feed these three hungers$

-here are three hungers that people are trying to feed throughouttheir li+es. -he rst is to connect deeply with the creati+e spirit oflife. )ooner or later" (ost people co(e to recogni0e that there isso(e sort of creati+e energy that infuses all of life. -hey feel ahunger to touch that energy and to be touched by it. -hat doesn?t(ean that you ha+e to be a creati+e person in a classic sense,to(ake your li+ing as a painter" a dancer" a writer" or an actor. Itcould (ean an experience as uni+ersal as bringing a child into the

world" or helping to nurture and shape a life. It could (ean ndingways to infuse the workplace with (ore creati+ity and (oreplayfulness.

-he second hunger is to know and express your gifts and talents. -he people I ha+e (et in (y 3* years as a career counselor are



always absolutely sure that they ha+e so(e uniBue talent. -hey(ay not know what it is yet. -hey



(ay not know how to express it. It (ay ha+e nothing to do withhow they earn a li+ing or what they do at work. ut they know thatthey ha+e so(ething within the( that they ha+e to contribute. %ndthis feeling lasts throughout your lifeti(e -he healthiest seniorsI?+e (et continue to explore their gifts and abilities" long after

they?+e left the workplace.

-he third hunger is to know that our li+es (atter. @+eryone wants tolea+e behind so(e kind of legacy" so(e kind of personal (ark. Itdoesn?t ha+e to be great or (agnicent. ut hu(an beings knowthat at one le+el" we each ha+e a own uniBue thu(bprint" and weall want to lea+e that print behind for others to see that we?+e beenhere. 'e can be successful" (ake a lot of (oney" reach a certainstatus" but it will be success without fulll(ent.Fulll(ent co(es fro( feeding these three hungers.

$. Discover the "our "actors o" every decision$

Ho (atter what decision you?re facing" the sa(e four ele(entsapply. First" disco+er how to li+e fro( the inside out. 2ou absolutelyha+e to start with yourself" not with the external de(ands of thesituation. )econd" disco+er your gifts. 'hat is it that (akes youuniBueD 'hat song do you want to singD -hird" disco+er what(o+es you. 'here do you nd <oyD % decision that connects withyour own e(otions is (uch (ore likely to succeed. %nd fourth"disco+er solitude. o to a special place where you can nd Buiet. If

it?s the (ountains" take the ti(e to get there. If you can?t go there"create a space in which you can nd a si(ilar peace of (ind. Insolitude" you?re (uch (ore likely to deal with the rst threeele(ents of this process.

6. Answer the u#timate %uestion$

-he ulti(ate Buestion is" 'hat is your +ision of the good lifeD In thisculture" there?s a tendency to talk about the good life inconsu(erist ter(s. It?s all external. 'e (easure the good life bythe car we dri+e" the )cotch we drink" the designer brand we wear"

the co((unity we li+e in. In doing research for (y books I askpeople for their denition of the good life. Re(arkably" I hear thesa(e answer -he good life (eans li+ing in the place where youbelong" being with the people you lo+e" doing the right work,onpurpose.

2ou can boil it down to those four ele(ents. 2ou li+e in a placewhere you feel you belong. 2ou?re with people you lo+e" and yourrelationships are working,including your relationship with yourself. 2ou?+e got the right work 2ou?re using your talents on so(ething

you belie+e in" in an en+iron(ent that ts who you are. %nd you?redoing it all on purpose It ts your o+erall philosophy.

'ith all of those ele(ents" you look at your life and work fro( theinside out. -hey?re all about you as an indi+idual" about creating(eaning for yourself" rather than ha+ing the outside world create itfor you.



. &a'e every o search an inventure and an adventure$

Looking for a <ob is so (uch a part of e+eryone?s experience" and isso i(portant to each of us" that not only is it worth talking about onits own ter(s" but it also relates to the (uch larger issue of personal

direction. )tart with a fairly si(ple fact If you don?t know whatyou?re looking for" al(ost any <ob will look great. %nd if you don?tknow where you?re going" a lot of paths will take you there. ut ifyou do care where you work and where you?re going" how do youassess what?s right for youD

'e all need good infor(ation to (ake good decisions. -here are twoparts to good infor(ation gathering. -he rst is internal,I call it ;in,+enturing.; It (eans taking a long look inside yourself. For so(epeople,particularly tough, (inded" old,school businesspeople,thatcan be +ery di>cult. -his personal reAection stuE is not their cup oftea. -hey?re not interested in it" and they?re not co(fortable with it.For others" it?s not only part of who they are,they?+e built ti(e for itinto their life. y participating in progra(s such as :utward ound"they try to li+e a (ore conscious" reAecti+e life.

'hether you?re co(fortable with it or not" to (ake a good lifedecision" you ha+e to answer so(e hard Buestions about who youare and what you want. I belie+e we all ha+e answers to thoseBuestions,we all ha+e (ental (aps that express our inner(ostsense of oursel+es. In,+enturing gi+es us the Buiet and the ti(e to

disco+er those (aps.

-hen" after you know (ore about your (ap" you?re ready for thesecond part of good infor(ation gathering ad+enturing.%d+enturing takes you out into the world" prepares you to nd thepeople and en+iron(ents that t your needs" suit your talents" and(atch your (ap. :f course" in reality" you don?t rst do in,+enturingand then do ad+enturing they happen si(ultaneously.

ut freBuently" in,+enturing doesn?t happen at all,people si(plya+oid it. %n e+ent will trigger a change" but instead of taking ti(e

for reAection" they go back out into the world. %nd what they nd isthe sa(e kind of <ob" the sa(e kind of situation that didn?t work forthe( before.

2ou see the sa(e pattern in both work and (arriage 2ou lea+e a <obthat (akes you unhappy,and then nd the sa(e kind of <ob. 2ou getdi+orced,and then (arry the sa(e kind of person. %nd typically"you bla(e the world for these bad experiences" rather than doingself,reAection or nding so(e coaching to break the pattern.

9. *se this "ormu#a "or a good career decision$

:+er the years" I?+e de+ised a +ery si(ple for(ula that lays out thecritical factors to consider when you?re (aking a career choice - J #J @ x K.



- stands for talent" and it?s where you should begin when you?reconsidering a career choice or a career change. Kery si(ply" theBuestions are" 'hat are your strengths and weaknessesD ow canyou focus on your strengths and (anage your weaknessesD

&ost people aren?t using their talents. -hey didn?t choose theircareer their career chose the(. -hey got into a line of workbecause they had to get a <ob" or so(ebody told the( they?d begood at a <ob. -hey were young" they started down a certain path"and they ne+er stopped to ask what their calling (ight be,not <usttheir <ob" but their real calling. -hen before they know it" they hit(idlife" and they?re asking the(sel+es" ;'hy a( I doing thisD 'hydid I start down this path instead of following (y real talentsD;.

# stands for passion" or for purpose. -alents de+elop best in thecontext of interest. %ristotle said it a long ti(e ago ;'here theneeds of the world and your talents cross" there lies your +ocation.;%sk yourself" ;'hat needs doing in your organi0ationD 'hat needsdoing in the worldD; -hen put your talents to work on so(e area ofneed that you belie+e in. Choosing your work is your chance to doso(ething (ore (eaningful than getting up in the (orning" puttingin your ti(e" doing what it takes to pay the bills.

-he @ stands for en+iron(ent 'hat work en+iron(ent best suitsyour style" your te(pera(ent" your +aluesD I often (eet peoplewho ha+e identied their talents and their passion" but who are

working in an en+iron(ent that doesn?t per(it the( to expressthe(sel+es. 'hen they (o+e to a new en+iron(ent" one that usestheir talents and honors their +alues" they suddenly nd analign(ent that works. -hey disco+er new energy and new purposein their work.

K stands for +ision,how you see the rest of your life. -alent" purpose"and en+iron(ent are all about work style and work choice. Kisiondescribes how work ts into the rest of your life. 'here do youwant to li+eD ow (uch (oney is enoughD ow i(portant are yourrelationshipsD 'hat are you doing to stay healthyD

!. !ive in the rea# wor#d$

In an ideal world" you would do what you lo+e" and you would getpaid handso(ely for it. ut in the real world" you?re often pulled intwo or (ore diEerent directions. It?s beco(e popular to say" ;ustfollow your bliss and the (oney will co(e.; I don?t belie+e that atall. -hese decisions take hard work. 2ou can?t si(plify life into thatkind of wishful thinking.

ut what does work is so(ething called natural producti+ity. Ithappens when the ele(ents of that for(ula ,- J # J @ x K, are inalign(ent 2ou do your best when you?re using your talents onso(ething you belie+e in" and when your en+iron(ent supportsyour eEort. -he nu(ber,one factor that holds people back is theiren+iron(ent. #eople ha+e real talents that they?re



prepared to apply to so(ething they belie+e in" but theiren+iron(ent is toxic. -hey take their talents and sense of purpose toa <ob across the street,and they shine.

&ost people who feel a tension between what they say they want to

do and what they nd the(sel+es doing si(ply ha+en?t done theirho(ework. -hey?re waiting for so(eone else to (ake the choice forthe(,or for the world to present the( with a corner o>ce" a lot of(oney" and a life of tra+el.

. Don+t se## yourse#" short$

'ork can and should gi+e you a sense of <oy. 2ou spend *M of yourlife doing work or getting ready for it. )o to dis(iss your work bysaying" ;I?( <ust doing this to pay the bills; see(s like an enor(oustrade,oE. %re you really willing to trade oE *M of your ti(e <ust toha+e (oney to spend in the ti(e that?s leftD -hat?s not a goodin+est(ent. %nd if (oney is what (oti+ates you" ask yourself this'hat if you could in+est in yourselfD 'ould you in+est (ore if youknew you were working on so(ething that used your talents andtapped your passionD If you could in+est in yourself" why not in+estin your ti(eD

1*. Find motivation "rom withoutand "rom within$

I?( not nai+e about (oti+ation. @xternal rewards like (oney play an

i(portant role in (oti+ating people. ut so does getting recognitionfor (astery. I know a lot of people who ha+e (ade a lot of (oney"and what they want now is the recognition that co(es fro( being atthe top of their profession. %nother (oti+ator is a chance to workwith a tea( that you +alue in a place where you feel +alued. 2oulo+e going to work because of the people you?re working with. -ogether you ha+e a chance to create so(ething that really(atters. :n an internal le+el" recogni0ing your talents can be agreat (oti+ator 'hat you want (ore than anything else is theopportunity to express yourself. For purposes of self,(oti+ation"nothing is (ore powerful than the desire to de(onstrate your

talents.

11. ,et advice "rom withinand "rom without$

I start with one si(ple truth %ll change is internal change.Nlti(ately" e+ery decision co(es fro( within you,and you can?tseparate yourself into a work ;you; and a life ;you.; @+ery decisiontouches all of you.

-hat said" it?s <ust as critical to ha+e other people you can turn to

for ad+ice and perspecti+e,a personal board of directors. 2ou needa +ariety of people" each with a diEerent outlook. %s you go downthe boardroo( table" you see your fa(ily you see so(eone who?sbeen a (entor to you.



I reco((end at least one or two people who are ;go,to; people,regular sounding boards. 2ou need at least one person you see allthe ti(e" so(eone



who?s a great listener and who allows you to (ake your decision. 2ou?re not asking that person to (ake the decision. 2ou?re askingthe( to listen and to help you with your decision process.

2ou (ay e+en ha+e so(eone on your board who?s no longer ali+e,

but whose opinion you +alue and with who( you can ha+e a +irtualcon+ersation about the decision you?re facing.

1G. &a'e your decisions the way senior citi-ens wish theyhad$

For nearly G6 years" I?+e been doing inter+iews with senior citi0ens"asking the( to look back o+er their li+es and talk about whatthey?+e learned. I?+e conducted (ore than 1"*** inter+iews withpeople who were successful in their <obs" who retired fro( leadingco(panies after distinguished careers. %l(ost without exception"when these older people look back" they say the sa(e things,things that are instructi+e and useful for the rest of us as we (akedecisions going forward in our li+es.

First" they say that if they could li+e their li+es o+er again" theywould be (ore reAecti+e. -hey got so caught up in the doing" theysay" that they often lost sight of the (eaning. Nsually it took a crisisfor the( to look at their li+es in perspecti+e and try to reestablishthe context. Looking back" they wish they had stopped at regularinter+als to look at the big picture.

-hey also sounded a warning Life picks up speed. -he rst half ofyour life is about getting prepared and getting established. -henti(e shifts gears. 2ou hit the second half of your life" ande+erything (o+es faster. 7ays turn into weeks" weeks into (onths"and all of a sudden" you?re 6 years old. Looking back" they say"you reali0e that ti(e is the (ost precious currency in life. %nd asthey got older" ha+ing ti(e for reAection beca(e e+en (orei(portant.

)econd" if they could li+e their li+es o+er again" they would take

(ore risks. In relationships" they would ha+e been (orecourageous. %nd in expressing their creati+e side" they would ha+etaken (ore chances. I think it was :li+er 'endell ol(es who said";&ost of us go to our gra+es with our (usic still inside us.; &any ofthese people felt that" despite of their successes" their (usic wasstill inside the(. %l(ost all of the( said that they felt (ost ali+ewhen they took risks. ust being busy fro( business (ade the(nu(b.%li+eness ca(e with learning" growing" stretching" exploring.

-hird" if they could li+e their li+es o+er again" they wouldunderstand what really ga+e the( fulll(ent. I call that the powerof purpose doing so(ething that contributes to life" adding +alueto life beyond yourself.#urpose is always outside yourself" beyond your ego or yournancial self, interest.



'e all want both success and fulll(ent. )uccess is often (easuredin external ways" but there?s an internal (easure of success" andit?s called



fulll(ent. Fulll(ent co(es fro( reali0ing your talents,adding+alue and li+ing by your +alues. Fulll(ent co(es fro( integrity"fro( being who you are and expressing who you are as fully aspossible. It doesn?t ha+e to do with your <ob description or thespecics of your work. It has to do with how you bring your self to

your work" regardless of what that work is.

Richard Leider is a+ailable on the Internet atwww.in+enturegroup.co(.

http://www.inventuregroup.com/




Documents

01Are You Deciding on Purpose - R Leider-1