Every man I know struggles at times to identify why he’s on earth.
What am I working so hard for, anyway? What difference do I make?
Sooner or later, our hypercompetitive natures need to take home more than just another win. We need meaning. We want significance.
If our passion is a unique, joyful desire that drives us, then purpose is what gives our passion direction.
The day I walked out of the office on my sabbatical, I knew I had lost both. I felt emotionally disconnected from what used to consume me.
But I was changing. On my sabbatical, I had tasted happiness and I wanted more. After all, a man’s purpose must be about more than portfolios and ROIs. More than about me, too, for that matter.
Campbell described what purpose means for men on a quest. He wrote, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
Another word for that is mission. My interior journey had made me aware that repressed and misdirected parts of me had been draining my spiritual tank. The more connected I was to my healthy self, the closer I got to my sense of purpose — and the more its scope grew.
This journey led me to rewrite the mission statement for my real estate development company.
I desperately wanted a statement that harnessed our passion and purpose for great things. I wanted a sense of purpose that went beyond buildings and property. I wanted to bless and inspire others as so many had done for me — to surprise people with more than they expected.
- Inspire people with the beauty of our projects.
- Impress them with the excellence of their experience.
- Improve the lives of everyone we touch.