What’s your purpose?

Clayton Christensen is a smart guy. Really smart. He does econometrics. He teaches at Harvard, writes books, researches, and sets trends.

He also said that “the single most useful thing he’s ever learned” was this:

His life’s purpose.

The single most important thing?!

This is a bold statement and I couldn’t agree more. So important that he tells his Harvard Business School students that if they can figure that out during their time at HBS it will be the single most important thing they will learn there as well.

The reason, he says, is that he applies the tools of econometrics several times a year, but he applies the knowledge of the purpose of his life every single day.

This quote from Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” is a favorite of mine:

“This uniqueness and singleness which distinguishes each individual and gives a meaning to his existence has a bearing on creative work as much as it does on human love. When the impossibility of replacing a person is realized, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude. A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the ‘why’ for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any ‘how.'”

Inspired by this, I wrote this statement:

I exist to show people the best in who they are and actualize their potential.

It’s what drives me every day. It’s the purpose for my work, my family, my religion, my hobbies, and this blog.
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What’s your purpose?

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