Find Your Own Purpose - the Easy Way

Yet another article on purpose. I know. But maybe this one should be the one you should read if you're still not convinced by the importance of a purpose. 

Purpose of A Company 

When I ask people what the purpose of a company is, I generally get the same answer: to earn money. Unfortunately, that's an accurate statement. The very first purpose of a company is to survive. Ask Jeff Bezos, who told to his employees, "One day, Amazon will fail." Money is just a way to avoid death, or in a company's case, bankruptcy. For some companies, like Amazon and Tesla, have not always been profitable, so clearly, earning money is not the purpose. 

Purpose of An Individual 

When I ask people why are they working? They all answer "to earn money." No, you don't want to earn money, you want to live in the society (we could call it survival, if you want). Period. 

Recursive Absurdity

So, people are working for companies who have a goal to make money, for a company that wants to make money. And in order to make money, companies must employ people. And you as an individual, in order to make money, you must work for a company. So everybody is just joining a company that wants to make money, in order to make money. What an atmosphere! What if your discussions at the coffee machine were about the dollars that everyone will earn? Imagine the scene: "You made good money this year?" "Oh yes, I was able to go on holiday." 

A Simple Path for Recursive Goodness?

I guess your coffee conversation became more interesting! If so, it means that you don't just have money as the goal, and if you're lucky, the one who created your company is not only interested in money, either. I can't imagine that anyone who works passionately does so just to make money. Maybe is it the very first step to understand the goal of your company. Why did your boss create a company? Maybe he wanted to change the world. Maybe he's passionate about his job. Maybe he wanted to make a difference. Perhaps stinging by the pride of Enzo Ferrari's response, he created Lamborghini to make the best sports car.

The next time you have a job interview, ask why the company was created, and only accept the job if you are interested. Because if you fit into the why, the why of the company will be yours. And in this case, you will be much more involved in your work, more interested, and most certainly better, because you'll be completely aligned with your company, on a true purpose. Not just to make money. Money is a tool, not a purpose.

What is your goal right now?