The Me of We
"It's a fine line between me and we. Me is ok if it does not get in the way of we." - Howard Behar
In the early light of this Monday morning, as I begin to write to you, the fall winds of change are most definitely swirling all around and it is starting to get a bit chilly! Time to put on some warm socks, sip some coffee as we blast into a new week and the season of fall that lies in front of us. While fall officially doesn't start until tomorrow, in this part of the world here in Colorado, it is getting a full day head start today.
Last week I found myself participating in a number of teleconferences. As a Solopreneur I love teleconferences because they allow me to connect with some pretty incredible people without ever leaving my home office. There seems to be a wide variety of teleconferences available these days that are absolutely free. Sure they are usually trying to sell a book, workshop or idea of some sort but most times totally worth listening to a small sales pitch. In exchange I get to walk away with some new thoughts or ideas.
During this particular teleconference last week I was attracted by the title, Purposeful Leadership, as well as one of the speakers, Howard Behar, the former President of Starbucks. Howard was instrumental in growing Starbucks from an entity with 40 stores in the Northwest to over 400 across the globe. I figured he understood leadership with those kinds of credentials.
Many things were said over the course of the conversation including today's quote. He also talked about when it came to opening successful Starbucks in other countries across the globe, that the countries that did not succeed were the countries that did not get the overall purpose and vision of Starbucks. This really got me to thinking about the whole aspect of others "getting" our purpose.
Think about it on so many levels of your life. There are those people who totally get you, those that for the most part get you, and then the one's who act like you just walked off a jet liner from Mars. Those who are doing the "getting" normally fully understand and resonate with who you are and your purpose on this planet.
So what is purpose anyway? Perhaps the best way to think of it is when all of your internal engines are at full throttle and you are engaged with full passion and fulfillment in whatever you are doing.
Your meaning or intentions, the why for getting up each morning that is attached to what you do each day and how it fully occupies your thoughts and actions.
With it being such an internal experience perhaps the next key is the communication piece in getting others to fully understand what your purpose is all about, to have enough excitement to have them actually feel your passion. Now keep in mind that this purpose could be everything from a personal purpose to ride your bike across America, to a business purpose to create a new widget for the betterment of all mankind. The cool thing is that the choice is ours as to what our purpose really is all about. Big or small it does not matter - it is what drives us from deep inside that matters the most.
Okay, so with this said - I have to ask the question - what is your true purpose and passion at this point of your life? You know the goals and desires that you have stretched out before you, those elements of your life that puts a smile on your face. How often do you talk about it? Who do you talk about it with? How do others fully understand your purpose? Do you verbally speak of it or do you have something in writing?
If you don't have a purpose - what could you do today to find out what is at the core of you? Who could assist you on that journey? Are there in facts some key elements about your life that you have been ignoring to this point? Time to perhaps brush off the dust of ideas and ideals that you let fade away?
So as we move towards this new season of change - keep in mind that power that each of us possess with the power to think, create and envision the possibilities in our lives. Who are the people that encourage you? In other words, who is the we of your me? Who are the people who "get" you? Finding them and hanging with them on a regular basis can give you many happy hours to enjoy that which you most desire.
