What is the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning? And what keeps you up and going in the night when you should be too exhausted to do anything? What is the one thing that made both Elon Musk and Walt Disney successful? Purpose!
As Mark'd Agency we want to give away a truly remarkable gift for Christmas. In our opinion, there is no greater gift than finding your true purpose.
This Ultimate Guide is meant for everyone. Business owners, employees, personal life, everyone needs a purpose to get the most out of life. It's not some kind of mumbo jumbo for hipsters. No, your purpose is a very serious matter. Science backs this up with research that will show you that purpose isn't a luxury. Purpose is a necessity! Without purpose, you will slowly drain yourself and be unhappy.
More about that later.
In this ultimate guide you will learn:
- What purpose exactly means
- Why the lack of purpose can ruin your life
- The science behind
- How to live a purposeful life
- Resources & exercises
You will receive a guideline and the tools to actively work on finding your purpose.
Let’s dive in!
The definition of purpose
So purpose is not a new word. It’s something you probably have heard about often in your life, but what is does it mean?
There are multiple definitions of the word purpose. Even when you know the meaning of the word people don’t necessarily feel the gravity behind the word. To give you the best possible definition we are going to thoroughly walk you through two definitions of the word purpose:
Now, this comes very close to what we mean with purpose, however, it misses something. Because this form of purpose can be defined within seconds and is often not very deep and fulfilling. True fulfilling purpose needs a second ingredient:
The keyword in this definition is ‘serve’. If you truly want a purposeful life filled with fulfillment, you have to serve a greater good. Now this greater good differs greatly from person to person, but it should be a non-egocentric activity. This doesn’t mean you can’t have an egocentric reason to start your purpose journey.
For instance, you could have started giving speaking in public lessons to people because you once blacked out on stage. Maybe it was at first a reason to fight your own stage fright and later on, you decided to give as many people this self-secureness.
One of the most renowned speakers about purpose is Jay Shetty. Here you will find a powerful video where Jay talks us through finding true purpose. Don't let others tell you what is good for you. Deep down you know what is good for you. After Jay, there are 4 more renowned speakers as a bonus!
Reasons to pursue your purpose
In the introduction, we already talked about purpose being a necessity. Now there are two main topics on why it’s wise to invest your time into finding purpose.
- Tapping into unlimited energy
- Prevent both physical & psychological harm
We will start with the second reason (prevent both physical & psychological harm) because it will give you a better perspective on the first reason. Our arguments are backed up by the research from Harvard Medical School about purpose.
Your energy is drained… Where has your passion gone to?
Life is a beautiful adventure but it also brings challenges to our doorstep. Through the years you may lose your sense of purpose. As Harvard describes it, life demands you to make choices that will affect your sense of purpose. What career path did you choose? Do you really love what you do, or was the paycheck attractive? Did you have to choose for your family as breadwinner and let go of your passion?
Think about these questions and wonder where you in your life. Are you feeling a desire to pursue dreams? Do have this inner flame burning inside of you that tells you are happy and enthusiastic about life?
If you don't feel this inner flame anymore, it might be time to overthink your situation and find a new purpose. Why? Because of the lack of purpose sets a negative sequence in action. You will lose motivation and stop being active. This will affect both your mental and physical health!
Harvard research: sense of purpose can prolong your life
“People who possess a higher sense of purpose also tend to live longer, according to a report in the February/March 2016 Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine. Researchers reviewed 10 studies involving more than 136,000 people and evaluated the relationship between purpose in life and the risk of death or cardiovascular disease. The participants, average age 67, were followed for about seven years. Risk of death was about 20% lower for people who reported still having a strong sense of purpose. They also had a lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke. The researchers speculated that a sense of purpose may help a person better manage stress and encourages a more active lifestyle.”
Purpose is a psychological need
Did you know that having a purpose is a psychological need? Without it, your mind will have a feeling of emptiness. Purpose is meant for the limbic system of your brain. This part of the brain is meant to process emotions, behavior, motivation, and long-term memory. Not answering this need will lead to passive behavior. You will stop doing activities. This will ultimately lead to mental issues like unhappiness or even depressive feelings.
Discover new things
The best way to discover your purpose is to try out new things! It’s impossible to know what your purpose is from theory or thinking alone. You will have to check it by actually doing stuff. For instance, if you think that entertaining people on YouTube will give you purpose, go do it! If it turns out to be a disappointment, don't worry there is a purpose for you. There really is! You just need to find it once.
So go sign up for that writing class, guitar lesson, learn about blogging. Widen your horizon and kick that comfort zone barrier down. Nothing will happen inside that area. Expand and go on adventures, it will give you perspective and purpose!
What’s the true purpose of Mark Verwoert (Mark’d Agency)?
To give you a practical example of true purpose, we are going to take a look at my personal purpose in life. I truly believe in this and it fills me with fire to keep pushing, learning, and growing. It gives me the energy to write to you even when it’s 1 am. And yes that’s exactly how late it is right now!
But that's the thing if it important enough you will keep going no matter what.
Let’s take a look at my purpose below!
"It's my purpose in life to help entrepreneurs get the reach and respect their brand deserves. Helping them grow so they can enjoy life from a stable financial position. Automate their business so they can spend more time with their loved ones and have a happier and healthier life."
Purpose-driven is the secret ingredient behind success
The health and mental arguments should be more than enough to get you searching for your true purpose. But we will give you one bonus reason why it will serve you well. A purpose-driven lifestyle will get you better results!
Purpose-driven has the side-effect of creating success. Even when it's not necessarily the main goal of the person.
The purpose of the founders of Google was to make information accessible to everyone and anywhere for free. When they started in their garage they didn't know how big the company would become or how much money it would make them. Their purpose was to spread knowledge and serve society. And boy do we pick the fruits from their purpose! My entire business wouldn't be possible without their purpose!
It's a funny thing. When people are actively looking for getting rich quickly they tend to not find it. When people create businesses to serve others, they often end up being financially independent. Now, what is the difference? The first is money-driven and the second one is purpose-driven. Purpose enables your limbic system to boost your motivation and emotions. Making you happier and more energetic. Therefore it will easier for a purpose-driven person to keep going in the late hours than for someone who doesn't really feel purpose.
Purpose-driven beats money-driven any day of the week.
Purpose examples of successful entrepreneurs
Did you know that Elon Musk worked and lived in a small office for years? He didn’t have the money to rent an apartment, that’s why he and his brother lived inside their office, slept on the couch there, and showered at the local YMCA.
In this chapter, we are going to look at the results of living a purpose-driven life. What will you get from it?
Elon Musk – the real-life Tony Stark
Elon Musk needs no introduction. The founder of Tesla and SpaceX is a well-known figure in our modern society and is often seen as the real-life Tony Stark! Why? Because the man makes rockets… He couldn’t find a first engineer for his rockets that’s why he decided to learn it himself. Do I need to say more?
Elon Musk revolutionized the electric vehicle market with Tesla. Tesla is conquering the market with force. The designs are futuristic and represent people with a vision. That’s why people love to have a Tesla and be part of Elon and his visionary Tesla. In late 2020, Tesla skyrocketed like the Falcon 9 (SpaceX rocket) on the stock market.
The success of Tesla made Elon very rich (144 billion dollars rich). Surpassing the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffet. But all this success, did it come naturally? Is everything Elon touches turning into gold? No. Not by a long shot.
How it all started
When Elon started, he applied for jobs at tech companies. One of these companies was Netscape where he decided to apply. Too bad for Elon that he got rejected. After his rejection, he went on and founded his own company called Zip2. Zip2 was an online version of the telephone book. It was a bumpy road and finally, when things started to look up, Elon got outed as CEO from and by his own company.
With the money he received from Zip2, Elon founded PayPal. It's crazy to think about it now but PayPal was voted the worst business concept of the year. The original plan for PayPal was to function as security software. Later on, Musk and his co-founder changed the idea to an online wallet. This new concept became very popular and set musk financially free.
After selling PayPal, Elon founded Tesla. With the knowledge we have today we know that Tesla is working and changed the complete car industry. However, it took a very long time before Tesla became profitable. There was even a moment in which Elon had to choose between keeping Tesla alive or SpaceX. He did the craziest thing you could do and split the money. Either Tesla and SpaceX both survived or they both died.
Luckily for both Elon and all of mankind, Tesla and SpaceX came through and are leading the way towards future-proof transportation. But what was it that kept Elon going? Getting outed from your own company… That could easily break a person. So what’s Elon’s secret?
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”
If you have a purpose, you have a reason to keep on fighting. When all the odds are against you. If the whole society is against you. Even when your own family is against it… True purpose will guide and enlighten you. It will fuel you like it did Elon.
Want to know more about Elon's journey?
Mark Cuban – legendary entrepreneur and owner of the Mavericks
Mark Cuban was broke at 27 and a millionaire by age 32. He sold his first business MicroSolutions for 6 million dollars. He used that money to start a new company named Broadcast.com and sold that business for an astonishing amount of 5.7 billion dollars.
Now how the heck did Cuban pull that one off?!
Work harder than anyone else. Yes, I know. It’s that simple. However, it isn’t simple at all! Ask yourself the following question: how consistent are you really? Didn’t you promise yourself to do that certain task a while ago?
If your competition is working 50 hours a week then you should work 100 hours a week. Hard work and dedication are a proven plan for success. But how do you keep going day after day at such a high pace? Exactly, purpose! If you are working on something of incredible value, you will keep going with almost delirious enthusiasm. Your purpose will fuel your tank with a limitless resource. You will never feel empty again.
Entrepreneurs are the only people who are willing to work 80 hours a week so they don’t have to work 40 hours a week for someone else.
Want to know more about Mark Cuban?
Walt Disney – the birth of animation
No, we are not going to watch a Disney movie (I'm sorry!). Walt Disney is not only the name of a company but also the name of the person who founded Disney! Walter Elias Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor, and film producer.
Walt Disney is the founding father of the animation industry. His most famous animated cartoon being Mickey Mouse. Nowadays Disney is a gigantic company that impacts almost everyone’s childhood. That’s why it is hard to believe that we almost had no Disney! What would your life look like without having Mickey Mouse, The Lion King (my favorite), or Peter Pan?
Source: Walt Disney Fandom
A rocky start
Walt Disney started his first cartoon business in 1920 with his brother Roy Disney. Unfortunately for Walt, the business went bankrupt in a couple of years. Because the cartoon business failed Walt went on and wanted to try something else. He moved to Los Angeles and with only $40 in his pocket he tried to enter the acting industry. Once more Walt failed.
Walt's first success came when he created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald the Rabbit became incredibly popular. You could say that Oswald was very lucky… Get it? However, Walt wasn't so lucky. During the negotiations for his contract, he found out that his producer took over all the legal rights. Leaving Walt with nothing.
Now in my opinion this would have been plenty of reason to give up and start working at a McDonalds', but Walt didn't give up. No, he had a purpose to animate and knew deep in his heart that he could add value to the lives of people. So instead of moaning about the loss of Oswald he went on and created a new character. We now know this character by the name of Mickey Mouse!
Walter Disney truly revolutionized the animation industry. He was known for his experimental approach and belief in his purpose to animate. His ultimate achievement was the creation of a physical place where his characters came alive. Maybe you have been there? It's called Disneyland.
"I think it's important to have a good hard failure when you're young. I learned a lot out of that. Because it makes you kind of aware of what can happen to you. Because of it, I've never had any fear in my whole life when we've been near collapse and all of that. I've never been afraid. I've never had the feeling I couldn't walk out and get a job doing something."
Want to know more about Walt Disney?
[Exercise] Let’s define your purpose!
You know the importance of purpose. You know what results it will give you. But how do you find your true purpose? Where do you start? In this chapter, we are going to dive into your true purpose. This will take form in a series of questions that will go deeper into the reasoning why you do the things you do.
Are you ready to discover your true purpose?
The Golden Circle by Simon Sinek
To find your purpose and give you a clear overview, we will make use of the Golden Circle model from Simon Sinek. This model is used within branding to discover the inner reason why people start businesses, but this model can be used by anyone for every inner drive. Not solely for business but also if you would like to pursue your purpose through a hobby or art.
The Golden Circle is made out of 3 layers:
- Why: inner reasoning (purpose)
- How: how will you fulfill your why
- What: what will you be doing
Why
The why is undoubtedly the most important layer of the Golden Circle model. ‘Start with your why’ means what is your purpose and why do you do the things you do. It’s not easy to define your why and it will require time and patience to properly define your inner why, but it is definitely worth it.
There is nothing so powerful as the power of purpose.
Why: very few persons know why they do what they do. What motivates and inspires them. Your why is your purpose. Why do you exist? What is the reason you are on our planet? What purpose do you serve to those around you?
How
You could see your ‘how’ as the tactic on how you are going to fulfill your purpose (or your why). This will be your battle plan to achieve the goals you set for your purpose. What makes your approach different?
How: will you do it? What makes you special or different?
What
The what is exactly what it says: what will you be doing? What are the tasks or actions that you will be performing? For instance, you might want to do painting, writing, help the homeless.
What: will you be doing?
Source: Golden Circle by Simon Sinek
The purpose exercise
This exercise will require 30 minutes of your time to start with. To boost your thinking you should look for a quiet area where you can only hear your own thoughts. Lastly, grab a piece of paper and something to write with.
Now do the following:
- What would you love to do? What is your passion? Write it down
- Why do you want to do this?
- And why?
- And why?
Keep asking yourself: why? Why? Why? It might sound stupid at first but trust me, this really works. By repeatedly asking yourself why you will keep diving deeper inside your own thought process.
If you live together you can ask the other person to ask why. The question will have more effect and you will think deeper than if you do it yourself. The person joining you must listen and be quiet when you think.
Now that you are at the center of your purpose, we are going to fill in the Golden Circle Model:
- Why do you want to do what you just wrote down? What is your purpose and inner motivation?
- How do you want to make it a reality? What makes your purpose special? How will you realize your why?
- What is it you are going to do?
Ideally, you will draw the circle with your answers on paper. This will make it easier for your brains to digest the gravity of your findings. Afterward, it's wise to work your model out in Word and keep it around. You now have a plan to fulfill your purpose. Use and adjust it when necessary.
Resources to build the new you 2.0
Now that you are getting closer to finding your purpose and live a fulfilling life, it's time to add more perspective. In this last chapter, we will talk you through resources that will give you the guidelines to change your life.
These books are fantastic and will give you knowledge and insight to work with. However, nothing will happen if you are not taking action and actively attack your lifestyle and thinking. The books are great guides but you have to do the work.
21 Problems for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah Harari
This book is endorsed by both Jack Dorsey (CEO Twitter) and Bill Gates (Microsoft founder). Bill Gates describes this book as: “this book will help you to stop worrying.”
21 Problems for the 21st Century is about the many challenges and fears we face during these crazy times. From climate change to terrorism, 21 problems will walk you through our fears and show you how to control them. Fear isn't necessarily a bad advisor, but you need to control your fear. Fear is useful when you apply it to the right things. However, too much fear will cripple you and hold you from reaching your full potential. That's why it's important to learn what to fear and what to fear less!
This book is a must-read for every human being!
Unstoppable Self Confidence – Andrew Leedham
Your purpose might conflict with society. Maybe your sense of purpose isn’t accepted or people will try to talk you out of it. That’s why it’s crucial to work on your self-confidence. No matter what people will say, you need to be your own number 1 cheerleader. If your purpose is that important, you shouldn’t let anyone talk you out of it. Even if the whole world seems to be against it.
Unstoppable Self Confidence by Andrew Leedham is a book that will help you to grow indestructible, natural confidence. Andrew will show you why 99% of the people will never feel good about themselves. Instead, he will show you how you can be like the 1%. This means you will need to unlearn a lot of bad habits and start rewiring your own brain.
Andrew wasn’t born with an indestructible self-confidence. No, he was at his absolute worst when he knew he had to change. That’s why he went on a mission to find out what makes the 1% differ from the rest. What are their secrets?
The book is very easy to digest. Andrew knows how to truly touch you with his words. You will know and feel why you have to change. His words make sense and feel like they are directed to you.
This book will open your eyes and boost your self-confidence!
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill wrote this classic in 1937 and it’s the father of all motivational books. This book is as good today as it was 70 years ago. Napoleon Hill spent his entire life perfecting the “ Law of Success” formula which is the essence of his book.
To create the law of success, Hill had to study very successful people. Therefore he focused on the greatest millionaires of his time like Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and many others! Hill didn’t only spent a lot of time on his pursue, but also a lot of money. He invested great amounts in knowledge and mentors.
The combination of research, knowledge, and mentors ultimately became: Think and Grow Rich. This is the founding father of motivational books. An absolute classic that applies to the 21st century just as much as it did in 1937.
