Magic in the Room #7: Chris - On Purpose

March 30, 2020

In this episode, Chris shares his personal definition of purpose and the crucial moments that helped him become intentional about designing his life in a way that fulfills his purpose. He shares the way in which he articulated his purpose has evolved, and what difference it has made in his life and career.

For Chris, it’s all about intention. He begins by asking himself, what is my intention for the day? His purpose outlines that for him and puts a lens on every behavior accordingly. As long as he has this overarching sort of strategy, it ensures everything he is doing is contributing to the achievement of that purpose. Chris believes that everything we do, every effort that we put forth, either contributes to or discounts from us achieving that purpose.

Michael Posner inspired Chris to explore big questions such as what do I want out of life? What does it have to look like? What should it not look like? What are the things you must have? And what are your absolute requirements for life? Ultimately, he became focussed on the story he wanted to write, instead of the story that’s happening to him. But he wasn’t always this way.

Chris admits that he fell into that camp of life where if something happens, he just put some efforts forth to see if he can get good outcomes. His philosophy was simple, do no harm and try not to suck. But for the first time, he started journaling. Crafting his own story of what was and what wasn’t important to him.

These simple tweaks enabled him to begin building strategies to achieve the things he had written down. Essentially, Chris got intentional about life and designing his perfect way of living. He had discovered his purpose. But what tied it all together in a corporate world, was working with Dr. Bob schooler was his professional coach.

Chris reveals the enormous value of that class. The final deliverable consisted of a personal strategic plan where he documented all the way to purpose and values to identify for what he wanted his life to look like in words. The document still lives with Chris today.

Luke, Hannah, and Chris also discuss the importance of constant reflection and envisioning. When was the last time you asked yourself, what did I learn from today? What are my takeaways? And what does tomorrow need to look like? If you can break that down day by day, week to week, month to month, year to year, you can make a big difference.

It all begins with connecting with others in a meaningful way. You will learn the necessary habits to deliver on your purpose, and how role clarity and energy generation are critical to perform and live a life with purpose. Chris advises that it’s about creating new habits that help you to keep improving. Today you’re the best version of yourself, but not as good as you will be.

After listening to this podcast episode, we invite you to share your experiences and insights on how you focus your time and attention on intentionality.

 

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