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Sense of Purpose

Do you have a sense of purpose today?

Assuming you are a businessperson, what exactly is your purpose today?

Is it to sell more cell phones than your coworkers? Is it to complete a corporate promotional program you have been working on for weeks? Is it to finish cutting soybeans so you can put the combine away and get the farm ready for winter?

What is Your Sense of Purpose?

As I drive to work, I find myself often thinking about the tasks I need to immediately accomplish and correlate them with what my purpose is for the day. And that is the problem I want to address-the confusion between tasks and purpose.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of seeing what we do as our purpose.

The most clarifying example I have heard about purpose is the story about when President Kennedy, in the 1960’s, was visiting NASA. While on tour he saw a man walking down the hallway with a broom and bucket. Kennedy walked over to him, introduced himself and asked, “what do you do here?” The man, who was clearly a janitor, replied, “Sir, I help put a man on the moon.”

Conveying Your Sense of Purpose

As a business owner, how do you convey your business’s purpose to your staff? How do you let them know they are not just completing tasks, but are part of a much greater purpose?

The answer is within the question.

person who is so enthusiastic about their business that it’s infectious. Even though they may have only a few employees, a small product line, or a limited number of clients, listening to them talk you would think they are part of a massive, world-changing movement.

Your employees need to know your bigger picture, in which you are Don Quixote and are out to tackle all the windmills in your path. They need to be able to quote by heart the vision and purpose of your company.

The Bible

Romans 12:2 is my reminder to continue to promote the purpose of my business.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Remember

Three things we all need to remember about a sense of purpose.

  1. God has placed you where you are in your business for a purpose, and that purpose must be as large as your perception is of God.
  2. Do not let your sense of purpose be limited by what is in this world; think big, think new, think of problems yet to be solved.
  3. Following God’s directions, whatever you accomplish will be acceptable and perfect to Him.

We have a big God, make sure your sense of purpose is up to his standards.