Why a Greater Purpose Helps Us Focus

Tragedy is a Reminder

In July, my daughter lost a close friend, killed on impact by a drunk driver.  Ararat Aleksanyan was an accomplished artist who had just come from movie night with friends.  An hour later he was gone. We are reminded of Ararat’s purpose through the lens of the art he left behind and from the stories his family, friends and community continue to share. 

What struck me when checking-in with my daughter after the funeral was her comment, “I am now even more sure about and focused on my purpose.” Her tone of voice and the conviction with which she made this statement makes her purpose indisputable and beautiful.

In this way, my daughter reminds me to revisit the question, “Am I engaging in daily activities that contribute to a purpose greater than myself.  And what really is that?  Am I focused on my purpose?”  

Purpose as a Compass Point

Back in May, Deb Coviello interviewed me on her podcast, The DropIn CEO.  We touched on the topic of purpose as I had written a post in 2020 about why it is so much easier to focus when we are aligned on purpose.  

There are many definitions of purpose.  One definition, from the Psychology Dictionary, that resonates with me is, “an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world*.”  Thus, it is much more than just a goal.  Purpose embodies heart, inspiration and contributes to the greater good of humanity.

In her new book, The CEO’s Compass, Deb Coviello dedicates a whole chapter to the compass point: Purpose.  Based on her experience, she found leaders were often asking people to achieve a transactional result.  She refers to this typical approach as performance based leadership.  Instead, Deb advocates for turning point leadership with a focus on purpose. “When we ask people to fulfill a purpose, people use their minds and creativity,” writes Deb.  This elevates work from machine-like transactions to human centred purpose-aligned work.

How to Tell if you Know Your Purpose

In the chapter on the compass point of purpose, Deb asks the question, “What does lack of purpose look like?”  She offers the following symptoms that point to a lack of purpose.

• You are unable to articulate why you are doing what you are doing (I will include the side note….other than making money.)
• You are unable to align tactical work to strategic objectives.
• You are unable to communicate messages based on impact to a greater cause.
• You lack confidence in your voice and others notice it.
• You lack the foundation to inspire others.

 Do you have any of these symptoms that indicate lack of purpose?

Painting, Ararat Aleksanyan, In Memoriam

My Purpose – Re-visited

In November 2020, I shared a purpose statement. You can find it here. When I reflect on the 2020 purpose statement, it seems high level and unclear.  Here is a 2021 reframing, fully aligned with the previous one, but articulated differently: “I am here to help create energized, professional services teams. Teams who become highly focused gain the ability to sustain market & creative advantage without burnout.” 

My work contributes to the higher purpose of protecting humans from the negative impacts of our split-screen, disconnected, tech-saturated world. The more teams who have the right balance between 

• attention & distraction,
• the physical & the digital,
• human and machine,
• wisdom & intelligence,

the more we will mitigate the risk that our tools will become our masters.

How?  Via the MindEQuity 5-step Focus Better Journey, teams gain the ability to harness attention and do better work in half the time. If you would like more details on this work, please contact me at .

How focused are you?  Find out in 2 minutes.  Take the Focus Scorecard.