What's Your Purpose?

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose – a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

The most successful businesspeople genuinely care about what they're doing. They wake up in the morning looking forward to the day ahead. They take great interest in every aspect of the business, because they view it as an extension of themselves. They have a sense of fulfillment that sees them through the tough times and makes the good times that much sweeter.

And then there are those who are just going through the motions. They halfheartedly trudge through their to-do lists each day. They look to the bottom line to tell them how they should feel about the company. And when things aren't so great, they are quick to start looking at other options.

What does the first group have that the second is lacking? Frequently, it's a sense of purpose.

Everything we do has a purpose. We breathe so that our bodies get the oxygen that they need to live. We pay the bills so that we may have a place to live, a car to drive, electricity and so on. We sit down in front of the television to be entertained.

The question is, why do you get up and go to work in the morning? For those who work for others, the answer is often quite simple: “To make money.”

But for entrepreneurs, it has to be more than that. Starting and running a business is hard work, and if it were all about the money, working for someone else would be a much easier way to earn a living. There's got to be something driving you to take the risks associated with going it on your own. If there isn't, it's hard to justify the time and effort invested in the beginning.

No one's saying that earning a living, or even getting rich, can't be a part of your purpose. Of course it can. But if that's your entire purpose, how fulfilled are you going to be when it's all said and done? And, perhaps even more importantly, how are you going to motivate yourself along the way? Every business experiences an economic downturn on occasion, so if you don't have some purpose other than money, you'll be hard pressed to find a reason to keep going when the money is not coming in.

Freedom as a Purpose

“Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward.”
Patricia Sampson

Aside from the moneymaking potential, one of the top personal reasons that people become entrepreneurs is because they want freedom from the 9-to-5 grind. They want to be able to set their own schedules, to spend more time with the important people in their lives, and to play golf whenever the urge strikes.

Freedom is a powerful motivator for those who dance to the beat of a different drum. Instead of trying to conform to someone else's idea of how they should do business, they can do things the way they see fit. They make the rules, for better or worse.

Freedom is something that we all desire to some degree. For the most independent of entrepreneurs, it may be what drives us to keep going in the face of adversity. But once you've obtained that freedom that you so desire, then what?

The point is that as wonderful as freedom and money are, they do not serve well as long-term purposes in business. Imagine yourself many years down the road, looking back at your life. Will you feel like it was worthwhile because you made lots of money and were able to take a day off on a whim? Or will you find yourself wondering just what the point of it all was?

A Meaningful Purpose

“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Helen Keller

When it comes to your business, its purpose is its reason for existence. Part of that reason may very well be to provide you with money and freedom. But those things can be obtained in an infinite number of ways. So why did you choose to start the specific business that you're running?

Perhaps you wanted to make a living doing something you love. Few people would rather spend their days slaving away at something they hate than make a living doing something that they would gladly do without pay. If you've got that entrepreneurial spirit, it's entirely possible to turn a hobby or interest into a business. Those who choose to do so tend to have have all the drive they need to succeed, and many stay in the same business until they retire.

Or maybe you started your business to help others in one way or another. You don't necessarily have to run a non-profit organization to do so. Many Internet marketers get into the game because they want to share their knowledge with others. They make a profit by doing so, but they're still providing a valuable service that they can feel good about.

Whatever your business's purpose may be, it must mean something to you. If it doesn't, you will eventually lose interest. If you're a serial entrepreneur at heart that may not be a big deal, because you can just sell out and move on to your next project. But if you want to be in it for the long haul, a purpose that you can stand by is essential.

If you haven't really considered your business's purpose, take some time to do so. Even if it's a business that you inherited or bought from someone else, you need to define a purpose in it that is meaningful to you. Doing so will give you a reason to keep going when the going gets tough, and will give you even more reason to celebrate your successes.