Hey folks!

I’ve been ripping and running but wanted to share some thoughts as we slide into the New Year.

It’s right around this time I hear more conversations around being stuck. The charity or foundation someone wanted to start five years ago, but never got on. Or the business started to help its community that just doesn’t seem to have the impact its founder was hoping for.

There are a number of reasons why we get stuck, and for why it feels near impossible to pop ourselves out of the rut. In fact, I’ll cover a few of these reasons (along with tools and exercises to help) this Friday ***psst, sign up here***.

Yet, I consistently find the biggest cause for getting stuck is not fully understanding where we’re trying to go.

When we’re not clear on our purpose, our bodies instinctively tell us, “Hold up homie. I’m not expending any more energy until you get this figured out.” But, because we’re drowning in a culture of “do”, “push”, and “be productive” we take this very natural reaction and translate it into a failing.

If you’re having trouble with moving on an idea or existing project, consider taking time to really understand what you’re trying to accomplish. More importantly, DON’T CONFUSE YOUR PRACTICE WITH YOUR PURPOSE.

I had a mentor tell me this months ago, and it was life-changing. Here I was trying to rally behind specifics (I do X, Y, and Z) rather than understanding the bigger context in which those specifics came from and rallying behind that. For example, I offer a community, resources, and tools to the businesses, charities, movements, and institutions looking to create a positive impact on the world. Great. But who is staying pumped about tools? Nobody, that’s who.

Taking a step back, and working with my mentor, I realized my PURPOSE is not that literal. My purpose is to help people use their superpowers to create the world they want to live in and I ACCOMPLISH this by offering tools, community, and resources…etc.

As soon as I found a bigger purpose that excites me I was immediately catapulting forward. Even better, because I’m not super attached to “how” I do things I give myself the flexibility to shift and change and adapt as I go along. Sidenote: I often find rigidity (“I have to do this thing this way”) is another reason people get stuck.

Here’s another great example…

This is the mission of LIFE WTR. Keep in mind, this is theoretically A WATER company folks. But doesn’t their mission make you want to hit an eight count? Bottling and selling quality water  wasn’t enough…no. This company exists to, “…advance the sources of creation and creativity…”

I LOVE THIS!

And because they haven’t circumscribed themselves to be a ho-drum water company, because they’re all about powering inspiration they can do other impactful things like cover their bottles with art created by a person of color. This is how you do business. **This company is owned by Pepsi, so there are many layers here but keep with me.**

An oldie but goodie on “greater purpose avenue” is also Wholefoods. I spotted this when I walked into their store recently. Not only is it posted for everyone to see, but it is literally one of the first things you see walking in.

Again, Wholefoods is theoretically a grocery store. For them, however, they’re much more than that. To Wholefoods, they’re a catalyst for changing community, work and environmental conditions.

The point of all this is to stay, if you’re feeling stuck or coming up with excuses  (i.e. my margins are too thin to build in impact or I don’t have time to work on this project) I’d be willing to bet it’s because you haven’t really hit on a purpose that resonates with you.

Don’t look at your charity or business for what it is, look at it for all of the things it could be. Do that, and you probably won’t want to work on anything else.

So, if you’re feeling stuck check out the upcoming webinar and:

– think about what success looks like if your business or project does what you want it to do.

– pan out on your purpose, and encompass the world you want to create, the impact you want to have or how you want people to feel

– find ways your business or project can achieve the purpose you want to have and identify one thing you can do in the next 24 hours that moves you closer.