Working On Purpose

People ache to find their purpose. And often, it’s been with you your whole life – you just didn’t know how to recognize it as such. That persistent, niggling part of yourself that just won’t let you alone? Probably your purpose. That thing that everyone recognizes as being uniquely you and they count on for? Probably your purpose expressed. For Sheryl Lynn, her purpose was ultimately recognized as that insistent calling toward anything that brought her joy. She recognizes she needed it, and so does everyone else. And now, she’s built a platform around her brand called JOYELY. And she’s supporting a Joy Movement set to serve 1 billion people as they find, be, and share their joy with the world. Take a seat, you’re worth it.

When you’re UP to something in life, you’re going to need a good dose of resilience to push through the inevitable hurdles that stand between the place you are today and where you strive to be tomorrow. That’s when you lean in on your inner “sisu” the Finns gave us to reach for that gritty, can-do spirit to unleash creativity and better problem solving. There, you’ll find your inner bravery and bravado, ferocity and tenacity to keep fighting when the going gets tough and you most want to quit. Learn how in this episode.

What does leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic look like? The answer greatly depends on the leader and has massive ramifications as life and business have been turned upside down. In this episode, Leadership Women’s president and CEO shares straight from the trenches how she refocused her leadership to reassure the team through her presence and cast a vision for their brighter future. Together, they are forging a path to innovate new ways to serve their members and unite the 42 years of cohort participants who have gone through their programs. A nurturing testament to the power of women at the helm.

Doing business in today’s increasingly interdependent marketplace on one shared planet calls for conscientious and enlightened leadership. Adherence to sustainable business practices that are economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally friendly is the order of the day. In this episode, we talk with a sustainability and ethics expert about essential high-impact corporate sustainability leadership attributes and how they are being applied by well-known and successful companies to produce profit while tending to the lives they touch.

The coronavirus pandemic has provided a forced hard re-boot. Everything has now changed in the way we live, work, and do business. And in confronting COVID-19, we’ve finally realized that we are a planet of people unified and interdependent as one and that we must steward our way forward very differently. Rooted in higher purpose, servant leadership, and a multi-stakeholder orientation, individuals and companies alike now have the opportunity to create a conscious culture that ushers in a better future for our everyday lives and the way we do business across the world. Let’s dig deep into our passion, purpose, ingenuity and grit and make this new and much improved future a reality.

Want to vastly improve the quality of your life, relationships, and work? In this technological age when gadgets handily separate people from meaningful connection, embracing the Japanese concept of ichigo ichie offers a richness to the everyday moment and encounter. Learn how you can harness this simple practice to become aware of and in tune with the magic and wonder in everyday interactions and enjoy greater peace, fulfillment, and creativity.

Turns out there’s a simple, yet powerful dynamic that enables business to thrive today: Purpose as the crucial foundation and execution as the catalyst to fulfill it. Striking the right balance is the opportunity. And when leaders help employees align with the organization’s purpose and facilitate their experience of work as a meaningful and a worthy way to spend their precious lives, fulfillment and committed work effort result. And the glorious cycle is reinforced as employees passionately contribute their talents and more revenues and profit are generated.

This episode offers an inspiring and compelling promise. If we want to live in our diverse world with ease and joy, we all must re-evaluate the ideas we accepted as naïve children observing biased adults. Our future depends on us making this effort and committing to a journey of uncovering the truth about ourselves and others. There we will be part of creating a world based on compassion for all, rather than small-minded perspectives that limit the potential of many for the favor of a few. We can all learn to employ curiosity and wonder when encountering others who seem different from us on the surface. And in doing so, we will be delighted in the wonder of each unique person we encounter while helping create a connected, peaceful world that beckons us home.

What would your company – and the world – look like if you as a business leader or owner managed to help each employee recognize that his or her individual contribution made a meaningful difference to the world, every day? And you as a leader were focused on how to position your company or department to help solve some of the stickiest problems facing the globe today – and let your employees devote 10% of their time to these special projects? I’ll tell you: Each individual employee would go home at night knowing their one, precious life was being spent in service of worthy causes and give mightily of their talents to make the company succeed. A worthy aspiration for any company, I so applaud DSM’s model of the promise of enlightened business and enriching workplace.

A leader is the person literally “out front,” which means being on display and in full view of an array of discerning parties affected by your decisions. It takes courage and conviction, but what an incredible difference you can make to the lives of those you touch in this capacity when you are consciously looking to positively impact all the stakeholders you serve and challenge paradigms. In this episode, we talk about “enlightened leadership,” and hear how Dr. Cary Israel completely overhauled Collin College where students and staff flourish; business, government, and education work together, and the surrounding community is enriched and lifted.

Business and the system of capitalism can do so much better than narrowing the focus on profits over people and the environment. When governed by conscience and tapping into the collective magnificence of the human spirit, imagine a world where business leads the charge to heal what ails society by unleashing its vast access to human and material resources. When we aspire for greater heights, we’re more likely to achieve them, so let’s. Why would you want your life as an individual or an organization to stand for anything less?

Social enterprise as a business structure is increasingly being chosen by conscientious people to do business while living key values. Capitalism can be such a force for good and when a business is designed with intention to serve all stakeholders, the social impact it cascades can lift entire communities and change lives. In this episode, we learn how Jin-Ya Huang has been championing social impact and community development her whole life and became an accidental entrepreneur along the way.

The “broken rung” in companies, where 72 women are promoted to their first level management position, next to 100 men, is a problem Dr. Keithline Byrne and team are hard at work to help women overcome. In this conversation, she shares the secret sauce Her New Standard takes to developing leadership in women. And she challenges women to cultivate their own leadership brand and promote it, develop and exercise strategic thinking competency, and solicit constructive feedback for continuous improvement – a few catalyzing agents that accelerate the journey.

Passion and purpose often come from the most surprising places. Tom Hulsey found his passion to help serve others combatting cancer after the winning mindset he’d leaned on to perform Ironman competitions got him through his own bout with prostate cancer. In this episode, we talk about the parallels between cultivating an intentional mindset to support extreme physical endurance competitions and how it can also be leveraged to pursue your purpose. We are also quite purposefully evangelizing the cry for men to monitor their health and get screening for cancer. Men, we want you around and healthy!

What do you suppose could be possible if you learned to tune in and listen to that inner urging voice that so desperately is trying to guide you in life? And you stop “shushing” it going about your busy routine? What miracles, what new heights, what new possibilities could be present for you – if only you were able to tune in? This, my friends, is the urgent call of purpose. Answer it.

Life offers spectacular opportunities to achieve dreams, realize potential, and suffer through hardship. The attitude we adopt in response to what life serves up can be the difference between a fulfilled and victorious life or one registered as disappointing and the victim of circumstance. Yet, the magnificence of the human spirit to persevere, take responsibility for choices made, and create a desired future to step into is positively captivating. In this episode, we meet a woman who went from Super Woman business executive, to burdening life spectator, to fulfilled writer and speaker, a marvelous and inspiring transformation. Life is for the living – yes, let’s!

Tired of trying to distinguish yourself and navigate a career in a large corporation? Consider a tech start-up! Today’s tech start ups have big ideas, are well-funded, and they need people who can join the team to bring their vision to fruition. Start-ups offer fewer barriers to entry, versatility in roles, and can provide a very handsome financial return, when the right start-up with a sound product and growth plan is considered. And if you seek a role as executive leader, consider there are 500 CEO opportunities in Fortune 500s in contrast to the numerous leadership roles in the 46,000 start ups across the US.

Mike Coles loved reading stories to his young son, but his frequent travel schedule and subsequent divorce introduced a dilemma that inspired a creative solution to maintain the cherished tradition. Turning to technology, what began as a way to record himself reading stories to his son to hear in his absence, would ultimately become a new product that teaches children to read and speak various languages while also strengthening families across generations. In this episode, Mike shares how his love and desire to remain connected to his son ultimately took him on the quest to building a mobile application which also allows him to realize a powerful and personally meaningful vision that betters the world.

Mother Nature is calling her daughters, and Homeward Bound answers with a 10-year global leadership initiative, set against the backdrop of Antarctica. This initiative aims to heighten the influence and impact of women with a science background in order to influence policy and decision making as it shapes our planet. In this episode, Dr. Jeanette McConnell shares her 2019 experience alongside 99 other women from 33 different countries and takes us into the epic last three weeks of the program – in Antarctica.

Want to make a profound difference in this one, precious life you’ve been granted? Learn how to change someone’s life for the better in a single conversation. It will take a certain mindset, a clear heart, and being fully present, among other essentials discussed in this episode. And sometimes timing is critical – being able to have this kind of dialogue with someone in their hardest times can be incredibly valuable. The world needs more people who can change a life in a single conversation. Are you – or can you become – one of them?