Dostoevsky Was Right
Why are you here? What’s your purpose?
I’ve seen many people – myself included when I was a wobbly brand strategy pup – make the mistake of conflating purpose with mission or vision. They’re closely related for sure; one can’t exist without the other. But without core belief, i.e., a purpose, the most protein-packed mission is pointless.
Your purpose is your core belief. It inspires action.
Your mission is what you’re doing to put that belief into practice.
Your vision is what will happen when your mission, driven by purpose, comes to fruition.
A genuine purpose moves hearts and, eventually, mountains. Here are a few examples; the last two are purpose statements I’ve written with clients of mine.
No child born to die.
– Save the Children
Living outside makes us more alive inside.
– SWT Design
Design builds people.
– Walker Architects
Can you write or tell someone your purpose, mission or vision? Can you put each statement in a simple, single sentence?
Sounds like a tall order, I know. But when you do – I’m not being hyperbolic when I say this – it will transform your life. Tangible change will take time, but the way you see the world and your place in it changes immediately. Faster than I could write that sentence.
All of the above is every bit as true for organizations as it is for individuals.
Why am I, or we, here? The question is a fearful one. It bears slow contemplation and fearful answering.
I’ve learned over time and through much prayer that (as far as I can tell) my life’s purpose can be summed up in two words: beauty and healing.
As a sentence expressing my essential belief or becauseness – I’m here because X – I can’t put it better than Dostoevsky –
“Beauty will save the world.”
In terms of action (mission): God put me here to reflect His beauty and to help others whistle in the dark.
Beauty and healing, healing and beauty. Beauty heals and healing is beautiful. Not for me, but for God’s kingdom.
To that end, my ambition is the same as His. Christ is in me and I am in Him. I know this through faith and experience, though the how of it is mysterious. Darkness to my mind, as Thomas Merton puts it. Though every day I fall short, my deepest desire is to be one with God as the Father, Son and Spirit are one. How, then, could my vision differ from His in any way?
In Revelation 21:5, the penultimate chapter in the last book of the Bible, Jesus tells his vision for all creation: “Behold, I am making all things new.”
My contribution to that vision is inexpressibly puny, faulty, awkward and twisted. But if, when I come to die, I can look back and see that I made one quintillionth of a dent in the world’s ugliness, inspired a flash of awe in just one person and walked with only one other soul through the valley of the shadow of death, it will all have been worthwhile. I’ll be able to say, “That was a life worth living.”
Purpose is everything.
Identity is everything.
Beauty will save the world.
The wounded will heal the earth.
God is making all things new.
I’ve staked the vocation, relationships and life God has given me on these beliefs. When fear, futility, sin, death, depression or anxiety overwhelm me, these beliefs have, at times, literally saved my life.
So how about you? What have you staked your life on, and how firm is that foundation? What’s the one irreducible, essential belief that sows your life with meaning, imbues your suffering with dignity and points you in a worthy direction?
And for the entrepreneurs: how about your business? Are the purpose, mission and vision of your organization a seamless extension of what gets you out of bed in the morning?
If your answers are “No” or “I’m not sure,” don’t worry. Most people have never asked, let alone been able to answer, why they exist.
If you want help answering these questions for yourself or for any enterprise, grab 45 minutes on my calendar and let’s talk. Whether you need an Enneagram coach to help you find and articulate your personal purpose or a brand strategist to build a purpose-driven foundation for your brand, I’m here for it.
P.S. If you are curious about working with me or know someone who’d be curious, you/they’d best get a move on. Unless the sky falls on our heads, I’ll be booked solid from December through at least the first half of 2024. (Cuh-razy, right? Praise God.)