Purpose Driven Work

By Paul Yung

As the reshuffle of the economy continues, more people are being forced into work out of necessity rather than choice. This is a worrying trend, after all, studies show that we will spend around 90,000 hours of our lifetime or 1/3^rd of our lifetime at work. This month I want to discuss with you about purposed driven work.

When I was working as a recruiter in Singapore for Apple, there was a term being tossed around called purpose driven work. At big corporations like this, credentials and education background are secondary to the passion a candidate has for the role. What a lightbulb moment! The differentiator between a good and a great candidate is the passion they have to contribute to their role in Apple. As a matter of fact, some candidates turned down positions even though there was a higher salary because they felt the role offered by Apple didn’t align with their values or purpose.

Many hires in FitLine didn’t join us thinking that they wanted to be in direct sales. They were, however, excited about our vision of making a difference. This is my most important value, I need to know that whatever I do makes a difference to people. With the FitLine products, we help people to better health, fitness, beauty and build a part time or full-time income. I help people build a career they can be proud of and a business that can be passed down generations by helping others get healthier. I like to believe, that the people who join us either as staff or as distributors align with our values, and this alignment gives energy to everyone within our organization.

How can you find out what your values are? There are many free resources online such as MBTI, my favorite being 16 personalities.com. There is a great NLP technique called values elicitation that I would highly recommend as well. Finding your values will help you find the right organization and career for yourself. When you are engaged in what you do, you will engage in deep learning, take risks and grow as a person. You will contribute daily to new ideas and in short, love what you do.

The reality is that unfortunately, what you love to do might not pay off in the beginning. However, the positivity and energy that you show when you are doing what you love will come through. I have hired all-stars for FitLine including waitresses, people that were shampooing my hair in a salon, you name it. I saw their passion for service and offered them a job. Find your passion, your purpose and you will be in your element and others will take notice.

You will begin to take ownership of what you do, and your work will feel more aspirational than transactional. A study by Harvard shows that working with people who are aligned with your values in an organization with a clear purpose that inspires you increases productivity, reduces stress and even has health benefits like lower blood pressure and better sleep.

Let’s spend our life productively and look for purpose driven work. Take the time to find your values and purpose, find a career that aligns with those make those 90,000 hours count.