Defining my purpose

I just finished reading "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School (and also a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). 


In his book, he demonstrates how the theories (concepts that explain "what causes what") can be applied not only to our careers but also to our personal lives. [Remember that Professor Christensen is deeply entrenched in the theories that explain which companies succeed and why.] This blog captures my thoughts on the principles and concepts that he addresses.  It also demonstrates the application of those principles and concepts to my own life.


In the Epilogue of the book, Professor Christensen discusses the importance of establishing a purpose (both for businesses and personal lives), and explains that a purpose is comprised of three things: 1) a "likeness", 2) commitment to that likeness, and 3) a metric ... to measure our success to achieving our likeness.

Likeness

So, what does he mean by "likeness"?  Professor Christensen demonstrates by example.  He asks the reader to think of a master artist and how that master artist will sketch out (either in his mind or on paper) a "likeness" of what his masterpiece will look like.  Said differently, the likeness is the sketch of the person that we want to become.  It is an outline.  It is what we use as the model for the creation of our masterpiece.


With that said, who is the person that I want to become?  I spent a bit of time this morning trying to answer this question.  I started by trying to answer some similar questions:

• What do I want my legacy to be / how do I want to be remembered?
• What are the guiding principles in the following four aspects of my life ... spiritual, intellectual, physical, social?
• How do I NOT want to be remembered?
• What does God want me to become?

 After pondering those questions and jotting down my "snap" answers to each, I was able to summarize my preliminary "likeness" in the following three points:

1. To be the person that God wants me to be: loving, kind, selfless, and honest
2. To enjoy the journey by helping myself and others reach our full potential … spiritually, physically, intellectually, and socially
3. To establish and cultivate lasting, enriching relationships with God, my wife, family, and friends

Of course, this is my first pass at articulating my likeness; so, I'm sure it may get refined along the way ... especially when I start thinking about the second ingredient of purpose -- commitment. 

But before I move on to that, let me jot down a few other points that Professor Christensen discusses about purpose.  First, we need to be intentional about defining our purpose.  Purpose serves as a guide for everything else in life.  It is a compass that helps us choose what to do and what not to do.  It serves as a beacon as we make decions about how to "allocate our resources" ... our time, energy, and effort.  If we do not choose our purpose ... our goals ..., then what is life really all about?

Second, once we have defined our purpose, we need to be aware that the world will come crashing in trying to disrupt it.  Don't let that happen.  Revisit it.  Think about it.  Remember why you chose it.  If we aren't vigilant, the waves of the world will erode what we hope to become. 

I encourage you to think about your own "likeness".  What does the sketch of who you want to become look like?  But just remember ... this is not a "passing thought" exercise.  This one requires you to dedicate some time to truly think it through.  At the end of the day, if you don't have purpose (or vision), then what are you really doing with your life?

-Sean