BLOGS & RESOURCES
Higher Purpose Podcast 110: The Neuroscience of Purpose
At the start of her career as a 4th-grade teacher, Melissa Hughes was tasked with teaching children how to learn, but she had never herself been taught how the brain works. Today, as a neuroscience expert, author and speaker, she finds that we all want to learn how to make our brain work better. She joins host Kevin Monroe in a lively discussion about the neuroscience of purpose on this week’s show.
Listen to the full episode
Psychological Numbing
Melissa posted a video about psychological numbing on LinkedIn that caught Kevin's attention. He asks Melissa to describe psychological numbing and the effect it has on us. She explains, when something tragic happens over and over, we feel the emotional magnitude of it less and less. It's not that we don't care; but the more we are exposed to bad stimuli, the more desensitized we get. Sadly, as the number of victims in a tragedy increases, our empathy or willingness to do something decreases, because we feel like there is nothing we can do.
Start With One
When it comes to tragedies, big numbers are really abstract but one is a real person. Melissa says that fighting psychological numbness takes intention. The answer is to look for one person and make a difference in his or her life. Kevin adds that this one intentional act of kindness creates a ripple effect.
The Neuroscience of Purpose
We are much more positive and engaged when we have a purpose, Melissa says. It's a myth that we want everything to be easy; the human brain likes a challenge but it needs to matter to us. We find joy when we are in a place where we can be both challenged and positive. When we live a purposeful life, the limbic system produces more happy chemicals - oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine - instead of cortisol, the stress hormone. Understanding why it’s important to increase these happy hormones intensifies their benefits to us.
Make Gratitude Part of Your Routine
Gratitude works the same way as the happy hormones: the more you do it, the more you benefit. In fact, the best way to get out of a negative feedback loop is to intentionally break it with gratitude. Melissa starts and ends her day by writing in her gratitude journal. Doing so sets her up for a successful day. When you envision yourself being successful, she says, you alert your reticular activation system, also known as the brain’s bouncer, to let in any opportunity that will help you reach your goal. At the end of the day, think of one thing that you are grateful for. You will feel more empowered and more empathetic towards others. We are in much more control of our brains than we think.
Resources
Subscribe to Neuroscience Nugget
Melissa’s book: Happy Hour With Einstein
Kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Phone: 678-744-5111
Higher Purpose Podcast 106: Starting Over on Purpose
Kevin Monroe talks with Maryann Kerr, a consultant, and longtime listener and the Unofficial Sponsor of the Gratitude Challenge. They discuss gratitude, the cost of toxicity in the workplace, and how to have a purpose-powered reboot.
Listen to the full episode
Gratitude
Steve is grateful for Maryann and asks her to share why he dubbed her the Unofficial Sponsor of the Gratitude Challenge. Maryann explains that it was of the little thing she did by tagging Steve Foran in a post that Kevin had written on LinkedIn. Both men connected from that post which led to their collaboration. Kevin commented that a lot of the things we do are simple, but can be so significant. Actions do not have to be big to have significance.
What is Wrong With Me?
Maryann posted on LinkedIn about how she had been fired 3 times in the last 9 years. She says that she asked herself, why does this keep happening to me? What is wrong with me? The post generated lots of feedback, with many people telling her thanks because they could relate to what she wrote. She realized she wasn't showing the same kindness and compassion to herself that she showed to a complete stranger.
Shed the Guilt
Kevin says that fear holds a lot of us back from starting over, mainly because of our responsibilities. The purpose of this podcast, Kevin says, is to help people feel free to start over, and to help them shed the guilt of doing so. Maryann adds that the most important questions to ask yourself are Who am I, What am I meant to do, and What might I have to give up to live my purpose?
Starting Over With Purpose
Maryann’s purpose is bigger than herself: there are too many unhappy people in the workplace and her ‘empathy gene’ compels her to do something about it. She comments that if you want to lead your life, nothing is more important than knowing yourself really well. Come at life from a position of strength, knowing what you're good at and what other people whom you admire, say they like about you. Build on your strengths just like elite athletes do. They focus most of their efforts on honing their strengths.
Toxicity at Work Causes Illness
Kevin states that the stress and anxiety at work is the leading cause of chronic disease in North America. Maryann quotes the statistics of toxicity in the workplace and the impact it has on people’s lives. She concludes that if governments are trying to create more productive countries and companies, they could do so by investing in creating kinder, more collaborative, productive workplaces.
How to Have a Purpose-Powered Reboot
Maryann outlines the three steps to take to give yourself a purpose-powered reboot, and shares some stories about how they can work for you.
There may be things we have to give up, but what we are getting in exchange for those tradeoffs is of far more value than what we are giving up. Energy that is directed from purpose is transformative. If you want to have a purpose-powered reboot Maryann advises you to be brave, be kind to yourself, and embrace the support of the people you love and trust the most. Most of all be grateful: if you can step back and look at all the things you're grateful for, it will remind you that you are living in an abundant place and that the world is full of hope and possibility and that we're all here to help one another.
Resources
The Power of Gratitude by Steve Foran
It’s The Manager by Jim Clifton
Higher Purpose Podcast 103: The Problems with Purpose
You know Kevin as a Purpose Guy (or Guide) - that’s what this show is about, after all, but today he talks about how sometimes the pursuit of purpose isn’t actually all that easy. His pursuit of purpose often means plowing through or persevering through problems. Sometimes many. This episode is all about helping you navigate through the maze of purpose. All of these problems and their solutions can be useful in your personal life - but the main focus is going to be how purpose applies to business.
Listen to the full episode:
The Bottleneck Problem - there are all sorts of different shapes of bottles - but the neck is always at the top. Similarly, with purpose in businesses, the problem is at the top - people perceive purpose as the privilege of the few rather than the many. Often, many employees in an organization feel disconnected from it, and it is the opposite of how it should be. When every person in an organization has a purpose, they are mobilized in many ways.
The World Peace Problem - or the beauty pageant problem. If you have to look at the entire world and all the problems in it - thinking about how to move forward is paralyzing. The problems are so big, and the pursuit of purpose within that is so grandiose. We want to make our purpose granular, and actionable. Kevin shares some strategies on how to make purpose closer and more personal.
The Plaque Problem - when purpose is enshrined on the walls, but never seen in the halls. You see this when company discussions of purpose are all about PR, and not about actions. This filters down to how team members think about purpose. Kevin talks about the worst version of this - purpose-washing. Purpose should permeate the environment, and be a part of every day’s activities, rather than just the marketing departments.
The Megaphone Problem - this is when purpose is more talk than walk, something we've all seen, unfortunately. The solution is to start *doing* it before you start telling people about it. Put your plans into action, and then talk to people about how they’re experiencing it.
The Rainbow Problem - you see this problem come up when purpose is seen only as a dream, and not a reality, or something you can see in the abstract - but isn’t tangible. This is hard for people to connect with individually - it seems like something impossible to achieve. Kevin talks about how you can bring purpose into the day-to-day by breaking it down into something more actionable.
The (Jackson) Pollock Problem - when purpose is too abstract and open to different interpretations in your organization. Kevin points out that while everyone should have their own understanding of purpose when it’s too abstract, people can’t work towards the same goal. Put purpose into practice, instead.
The Marshmallow Problem - when purpose comes up at special occasions - but has no impact on the rest of the year. Purpose needs to be substantive and transformative - the main course rather than the appetizer.
Kevin talks about how these problems, when taken together, can make purpose something that gets eye-rolls and lip-service rather than the immensely powerful tool it is. There are concrete ways for your organization to use and take advantage of purpose, and when purpose permeates your organization, everything you’re trying to achieve becomes possible.
Right now Kevin is available to work with a select number of organizations as a Strategic Purpose Partner and Advisor, to help them identify, experience and enjoy the results that are possible. Call 678-744-5111, or email Kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com to put purpose to work in your organization.
Resources TheGratitudeChallenge.Community
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 81: The Future of Work with Dr. Heather Hanson Wickman
What does the future of work look like? According to our guest, the future of work is ‘Love in Action.’ Heather Hanson Wickman is the co-founder of Untethered Consulting and the author of “The Evolved Executive,” and today we’re talking about what it means to lead with love, not fear. Heather shares that her purpose is to awaken the souls of leaders to create soulful organizations. So how can we do that? Listen to the full episode:
Why are so many people uncomfortable talking about love in the workplace?
There are still beliefs and baggage around what it means to love. In our language, we don’t have a distinction about what love means at work, but what this kind of love means is human connection.
How can we make love an easier topic to explore?
It starts with a one-on-one connection and conversation. Heather usually begins by defining what love means to her: the absence of fear, having freedom and autonomy, and human connection. And then they begin a conversation about what it means for them as a leader, what it is that they’re trying to create in this team or organization, and then creating a message that fits them and their voice.
What does a workplace rooted in fear look like?
There are many stories of things people do to maintain their power, control, ego, or status in such inhumane and debilitating ways.
It can show up in leaders like:
- Public humiliation
- Being passive aggressive
- Calling someone out for an error in front of their peers
Or
- Being unable to tell the truth, e.g. feeling like you can’t be constructive and honest when your boss asks for feedback
- Feeling like you need to keep up appearances, like looking busy or staying at the office late, even if there’s no extra work to do, otherwise something might happen to you
- Gossiping
Any of these scenarios say “it’s not safe to be here.”
What would you say to somebody under the weight of a toxic boss?
You can continue to try different strategies and solutions, like connecting with trusted peers and collectively trying some new initiatives. But there’s also a personal inventory that needs to happen internally. What’s this going to cost you, and are you willing to pay that price? It’s a choice between what you can do, and what’s best for your purpose going forward.
Can you share a few practices of love?
Know that practicing love at work is not easy, and it’s major kudos to you to try small experiments of love with your team. Heather also shares:
- How one organization approached gossip and made that approach a team effort that was embedded in their culture, and...
- How leaders can practice vulnerability in three small words
When it comes to changing culture, which comes first: the team’s desire for change, or the leader’s?
Both. But it’s most effective when the leader is out front leading the charge. Many times a team starts gaining momentum down a path of change — until the leader finds out and squashes the effort. Having a leader who’s open to change is a much easier path to success.
What’s needed for a leader to evolve?
The awakening is unique to every individual. For some, it’s slow and gradual. For some, it’s something as sudden as getting fired or having a heart attack. The important thing is to pay attention to the feelings when they’re alive within you: they’re there to tell us something.
How do people respond to this awakening?
In the beginning, people can be confused, but a few months down the road, when behaviors are continuing and growing, people become alive. They can stop hiding, and they can show up and contribute. It just takes some time for them to trust that this shift is real.
How can you guide leaders through this awakening?
It’s not about being good or bad. It’s solely about a belief or thought patterns, and we can have absolute permission to change those thought patterns once we understand what they are, and who and what they served.
Final thoughts
Continue the climb because this work is not easy work. It’s a revolution, and we need people like you to be on the journey with us, recreating the way that we work. Find people who can support you and move you forward, because nobody climbs Mount Everest alone.
Resources
The Evolved Executive: The Future of Work Is Love in Action by Heather Hanson Wickman, Ph.D
Becoming the Chief Joy Officer of Your Company with Rich Sheridan
Putting Humans First with Mike Vacanti
Creating a ‘Humans First’ Workplace with Marcel Schwantes
Making Work More Human with Renée Smith
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 80: Making Work More Human with Renée Smith
What's needed to create HumansFirst workplaces and make work more human? Renée Smith serves as the Director of Workplace Transformation for Washington State as part of the Governor’s Results Washington Office. She leads the ‘Make Work More Human’ project, and she’s here to answer the question: “What’s love got to do with it?” Listen to the full episode here:
What are some of the developments you’ve seen relative to the Make Work More Human Project?
There has been a continuous growth of this movement, and people are embracing the big idea that people want less fear and more love in their lives -- work lives included. We flourish when we create more love in our workspaces, and making work more human-centered is the key to creating the kinds of organizations that prosper, both for people doing the work and the customers that we’re serving.
Renée shares two poignant encounters with people related to love — an exclamation of relief during a summit, and a sadness for years lost from an old gentleman, who had spent his entire career not thinking it was okay to be fully human.
What’s love got to do with it?
Love is the heart of the matter, even if people may not choose to use the word. Joy, gratitude, belonging, inclusion, respect, trust — these human experiences are wonderful, essential, and emanate from love.
The more brave and bold you become with using the word love, the more you invite other people to say, “You know, I actually as a human being want love in my life, both personally, and the versions of love that live squarely in my professional life.”
Renée shares stories about the different and concrete ways love shows up in the workplace. She underscores that listening is love in action. As leaders, the higher up we go in an organization, the greater our capacity and capability for love have to be.
What does it mean to be human-centered? (A workshop)
They run a workshop that guides people to explore the kinds of love that belong at work. During the workshop, different kinds of love are assigned at the tables (kindness, empathy, compassion, respect, inclusion, belonging, and trust) and people are invited to share stories and have dialogues about them. They come away with their own definitions of that kind of love, and the benefits that come to them as an individual, to their team, to their customers, and to the work.
What people come away realizing is that they’ve already experienced love at work. Here are all the different forms it shows up in. It’s not weird. It’s not squishy. It’s normal.
Love when it’s difficult
You can discipline the human way and resist the harshness that you’ve seen, or maybe even experienced, in the past. When having to tell someone that you can’t keep them in their position, for example, you don’t have to wall your humanity off in those moments and put up a shell. Leaders have to be in a space of emotional discomfort in the moment and be real. Being real helps them move along and you shouldn’t sacrifice your humanity.
The business value of love
Love changes how you interact with your team and how people behave from day to day. Go from being hesitant to becoming more centered and comfortable. From that comfort comes the ability to communicate, a sense of inclusion, and being able to argue and disagree in a healthy way to come up with better solutions. It’s all around being able to do better work.
Final thoughts
Don’t be afraid of love, and don’t be afraid to put that into action. It’s what we need to be fully ourselves and to bring our best selves into the world.
Join the conversation
How do you feel about love at work? Join me in the Higher Purpose Community or on Twitter, or you can email me at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com - or pick up the phone and call me at (678) 744-5111.
Resources
Make Work More Human (Website)
Radical Loving Care: Building the Healing Hospital in America by Erie Chapman (Amazon)
Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear (Amazon)
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 79: Life Through the Lens of Purpose
I want to invite you to a different kind of episode today: a thinking-out-loud session on seeing the world differently when looking at it through the lens of purpose. Please join the conversation! I'll share more about how you can provide your feedback at the end of this episode.
One of my favorite quotes is from Anaïs Nin: “We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.” So I’m inviting you to look at life, the world, and your journey through the lens of purpose.
What looks different through the lens of purpose?
Time
It’s easy to see life as a blurred series of events. Many of our moments are similar. But at the same time, each moment is unique.
Through the lens of purpose, you realize that there may be something incredibly unique about this moment, and you may cross paths with a person who may desperately need even the smallest act of kindness, a word of encouragement, or even just recognition that they exist and that they matter, right now, in this moment. The lens of purpose allows us to see that now matters, and no kind word or deed
People
There are no little people: everybody matters.
- Always seek to engage your server (or anyone with a nametag) by name — and watch what happens when you do. That’s an opportunity to elevate and lift others.
- If you’re in a leadership position, give people a seat at the table, especially those who have been excluded from the conversation.
- In creating humans-first workplaces, remember that your boss is human, too.
Purpose helps us recognize that all people have value, and they’re all in need of our love, kindness, and respect.
Work
There are parts of our jobs that are repetitive and mundane at times, but purpose allows you to discover the magnificence in the mundane, the bigger quest to your menial tasks.
Helen Keller said: “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” Love and compassion elevate even the most mundane acts of service.
Leadership
The traditional view of leadership is based on perks, privilege, and power. Now, how does the lens of purpose invite you and me to see leadership differently? It allows us to see leadership as a responsibility to use power: to serve, elevate, and develop others, rather than for self-advancement, self-aggrandizement, or personal enrichment. It allows us to use leadership as a platform for serving.
Success
How do you define success? In many places it’s fame, fortune, travel, and fun. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those, but is that the ultimate definition of success? Or does success give way to significance? Success is all about you, but significance benefits others beyond you.
Mother Teresa gave my friend a plaque with three words: Faithfulness, not success. As a person of faith, I believe I’m called to live a life faithful to the principles and practices Christ taught.
I’m not saying you have to define success the way I do; what I’m suggesting is that you find your own definition of success that’s consistent with your values and priorities. How do you define it?
Failure
I grew up with the understanding that failure was final. It’s not.
Failure is an assessment about an outcome — that’s all it is. It’s feedback about a hypothesis. In fact, we shouldn’t even say you failed. It just didn’t work. And taking the real scientific approach means going ahead trying something else.
Through the lens of purpose, we see that failure is not the flip side of success. It's part of the journeyto success.
Adversity and Suffering
When you’re suffering through difficulties and challenges, this is the area where purpose is most potent. It helps us gain a fresh perspective when we believe there is purpose and meaning even in suffering and adversity. There are things we learn by going through difficult seasons of life and enduring trials and difficulties that we don’t learn any other way.
And when you get to the other side of adversity and suffering, you have a degree of moral authority that you didn’t have before. You’re able to comfort others with the comfort you received when you went through something, which allows you to have empathy on a whole other level.
Join the conversation
Would you add to this list? What would you see differently? Join me in the Higher Purpose Community or on Twitter, or you can email me at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com or pick up the phone and call me at (678) 744-5111.
Resources
Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care
Episode #72: Hospitable Leadership and the Discipline of Hope with Terry Smith
Episode #78: Creating a ‘Humans First’ Workplace with Marcel Schwantes
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Amazon)
Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Amazon)
Phone: (678) 744 5111
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 77: Putting Humans First with Mike Vacanti
We’re at an inflection point and it’s time for a business culture shift. Today we have Mike Vacanti, the founder of the HumansFirst Club, here to share about the movement, the community, and what happens when you bring like-minded and like-hearted people together to put humans first. Listen to the full episode here:
What is the HumansFirst Club?
It’s a consortium of people interested in understanding and recognizing that we can create business environments where people can grow and thrive. Its simple mission is to ‘ignite and accelerate a shift in business culture that values humans first.’
Where did this idea come from?
When Mike first started his consulting work, he zeroed in on some key phrases: “people are your business,” “it’s much more than what we accomplish, it’s who we become along the journey,” and “the intent to lift others.”
He’s always had a human-centered approach to helping companies, and it was his idea to get a bunch of people in the room together and talk about being human. That was the first HumansFirst Club event.
How do you describe the HumansFirst Club?
It’s a movement. People are raising their hands from different cities and countries asking for this to take place there. It’s time we started the dialogue because we can do more collectively than any one of us could do alone. There’s a collection of talents coming together and combined, it’s a wonderful playground.
What does it mean to be human first?
It’s re-prioritization, not a replacement. We’ve created processes and systems, and at some point, the human element — the employee — has become just another part of that process.
We can’t squeeze any more capacity out of humans, so now it’s time to see how we can expandcapacity. Take an element from your systems and processes, then prioritize people over everything that goes on: does that change the process? Does it enhance it? Break it? Can we make it better?
What might people expect at a HumansFirst Club event? How is it different?
Where most events are “talk-to” events, a HumansFirst Club event is interactive. Participants are leaders who are volunteeringto hang out and have real conversations about their experiences in their daily work as leaders.
Participants get the chance to let their guards down, engage and connect, and belong. There’s so much value in the back-and-forth with everybody: it’s comfortable, it’s unique, and it’s needed.
What kind of feedback have you received from these initial meetings?
“Something so simple and obvious apparently wasn’t.” The statement is a testament to how powerful it can be to make “humans first” the focus and address just that. And everybody knows they stand a great chance of enjoying work the next day better than they did today.
If somebody wanted to host or organize a HumansFirst Club meeting in their community, could they do that?
The answer is always yes.
What’s your hope for the world if this movement takes off and flourishes?
Mike would love to see the overall concept continue to bloom and grow, but at the same time, bring the seeds from that and plant them into the hearts of new leaders, our corporations, and our communities. These are principles that need to be in place for businesses to be sustainable as we go through this era of rapid change.
Final thoughts
Set aside your expectations of what you’re going to experience. This really is a true heartfelt connection to other human beings with a desire to do better. You’re welcome. You belong. So take down your guard, come with curiosity, share your voice, and bring your ideas.
Resources:
HumansFirst Club Calendar of Events
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 76: Unwrapping Your Purpose Package
We’re kicking off the new year with another solo episode. For many, this is a time of New Year’s resolutions, transitions, or taking those next steps. For this episode, we’re exploring the idea of purpose and using new language to frame it: What does it mean to unwrap your Purpose Package? Listen to the full episode:
What is the Purpose Package?
The Purpose Package refers to two things: (1) purpose as a gift that arrives in your life and that you have to share with others, and (2) the benefits you receive when you choose to embrace and express purpose through your business and your life.
The joy in the search
Take joy in the search for your purpose. It’s a journey. Enjoy it and don’t rush to your destination. And the destination is not the end journey, it’s a doorway. The goal is to live and lead out of your room of purpose as much as possible.
Finding your Purpose Package
Purpose is like a Russian nesting doll. There are many layers to exploring, unpacking, and understanding your gift:
1) The first area to look at is your gifts, talents, and abilities. Everyone is gifted, but most of us don’t recognize it in ourselves because it comes so naturally. To help you identify your gifts, ask those close to you: What is it that they see you doing effortlessly that they wish they could do?
2) Another element of purpose is your life experience. Map out the milestones of your life journey and think of three types of moments as you’re doing this:
- Defining Moments, or moments that changed the trajectory of your life for good or bad.
- Refining or Crucible Moments are the hardships you’ve encountered. These are some of your greatest gems because you have the ability to comfort or encourage others with the lessons you’d learned going through these moments.
- Confining Moments are moments that alter your perception of yourself or some aspect of your life. It’s what Brené Brown calls Creativity Scars, and they seek to seal up the gift that’s in you and close you off from others.
Now, others may have similar gifts, talents, and abilities as you do, but when you bring your personality, life journey, experiences, and perspectives to the table, that allows you to make a contribution in the way only you can make it.
3) The next area is your joy and your genius. Genius is putting your gifts to work and spending as much time as possible doing what you are most gifted to do. And that produces joy.
4) The last thing to consider is your values. You might be using your gift and tapping into your genius, but if you have to compromise your values in the process, you’re living in frustration. Understand what matters most to you and never sacrifice it for what’s convenient.
The benefits of sharing your purpose with others
Shining your light invites others to do the same. People are waiting for you to share your gift, so they can benefit from it. And the benefit for you is living in joy from sharing that gift.
Another benefit is the love, peace, and harmony we experience from living in rhythm with who we are created to be, and doing what we are created to do.
It’s not all rainbows and unicorns though: tapping into your purpose helps you persevere through tough times, and may mean
Final thoughts
Purpose thrives in
Resources
Episode 75: 7 Hopes for You in the New Year
Living Your WHY – a Mini Manifesto on Purpose
Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig
Episode 12: Interview with Thom Winninger
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown (Amazon)
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 75: 7 Hopes for You in the New Year
This is the first episode of 2019, and it comes with a disclaimer. This one might be a little weird. In fact, it could be the weirdest episode we’ve done yet! While the actual New Year only comes, well, once a year, these seven hopes should be with you every month of every year, starting right now. Listen to the full episode:
That you are awakened to purpose, and that you awake and arise to purposeful living
Purpose is a choice that we all make on a daily basis. Do we live for ourselves or for something larger? Living for yourself is a very small life. A year of purpose is lived 365 days a year, one day at a time.
That you live authentically, and that you live in authenticity
Poet E. E. Cummings has several quotes that Kevin shares which drive this hope home:
- “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
- “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
- “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
That you displace the limiting beliefs that hold you back
We all have limiting beliefs; some we are aware of and some we aren’t. Kevin invokes another poet, Marianne Williamson, and her work, “Our Greatest Fear.” In short, many of us aren’t really afraid of failing. What we’re really afraid of is being very successful. Instead, liberate others by liberating yourself.
That you ride the waves and make ripples
We did warn you this would be a little weird, but think about it. We’re all riding waves that began long ago, but are you aware that you’re making ripples that will one day become waves? Kevin shares some anecdotes you might be able to relate to about both waves and ripples.
That you will be present more often in the next 12 months
What’s the value of living in the now? It’s the only time we truly have. We might be blessed enough to live tomorrow, and that will be another ‘now,’ but it isn’t guaranteed, and it won’t be the same as THIS ‘now.’ You won’t have the same opportunities as you have in this ‘now.’
That you flourish and thrive in the next 12 months
You might think this is Pollyanna, airy-fairy, but if you want the truth, flourishing isn’t ‘fluffy.’ Instead, a state of flourishing is how we were created to live. This is how we express the great concept of ‘shalom.’ Kevin explains what it really means.
That you enjoy community
If you’ve listened to the podcast, there’s no doubt you’ve heard Kevin’s rallying cry: “Purpose thrives in community and starves in isolation.” Be intentional about who you surround yourself with, perhaps now more than ever before. Check out the Higher Purpose community on Facebook!
Transform YOUR Team!
If you're a leader who is, or wants to be entrusted with the transformation of your team, join me and 6 other leaders for a year-long journey of transformation that will help you release your brilliance, and help others do the same. Email Kevin@Kevindmonroe.com to begin the application process.
Resources:
kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 74: The Top 10 Books on Purpose
Welcome to the last episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast for 2018. This special release is coming to you on Boxing Day and we’re wrapping up this year with the 10 most influential and inspirational books on purpose Kevin has read this
Leading from Purpose by Nick Craig
Purpose is defined as the unique gifts you bring to the world that only you can bring, the way you bring it.
“Purpose is most valuable to us when there are no right answers, just choices for which time alone will give us the clarity to choose wisely.”
Find that life of purpose and occupy it as much and as fully as you can.
The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness by Emily Esfahani Smith
Happiness is better as a byproduct than as the main search. People who live meaningful lives have satisfied three conditions: Number one, they evaluate their lives as significant and worthwhile — as part of something bigger. Number two, they believe their lives make sense. And number three, they feel their lives are driven by a sense of purpose.
How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen
“The first step down the path is taken with a small decision. You justify all the small decisions that lead up to the big one, then you get to the big one, and it doesn’t seem so enormous anymore.”
If you have life principles and values, and those are how you say you're going to live your life, stick with them 100% of the time.
Story Driven: You don't need to compete when you know who you are by Bernadette Jiwa
“Great companies don’t try to matter by winning, they win by mattering.”
If you're always focused on what others are doing, it’s hard to be great at what you do, in the way only YOU can do it. If you’re a business owner, you need to give customers a reason to be loyal to your brand, rather than 100 reasons you’re better than the competition.
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
In this book, Dan goes behind the curtain of some of the groups who are known for their legendary accomplishments and teamwork that’s so fantastic, it’s an outlier. He shares the secrets of how they do it, and how you, too, can have that kind of amazing culture.
“Culture is a set of living relationships, working towards a shared goal. It’s not something you are, it’s something you do.”
Chief Joy Officer by Rich Sheridan
This is the follow-up to the book, Joy Inc., and it shows how to put those priciples into practice. Rich believes a leader’s primary job is to ‘pump fear out of the environment.’ But the biggest takeaway from the book is the story of the book, and Kevin explains why.
“If we get the definition of success right, leading becomes much easier.”
The Hospitable Leader by Terry Smith (special link for HPP Podcast listeners)
The message of The Hospitable Leader is a topic we need more now because polarization happens not just in politics, but in the world at large: people are shouting at one another, instead of having a conversation. The Hospitable Leader is a strategy for humanizing the workplace and being intentional about being hospitable.
“If you really want to see people flourish, you invest in the environment.”
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
Shame is the intensely painful feeling of believing that we're flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection, and Brené goes into that and unpacks it. Where shame exists, empathy is almost always absent, and that’s what makes it so dangerous. Belonging and connection is what heals, and we all have a longing for belonging under the banner of culture.
“Daring leaders must care for and be connected to the people they lead.”
The Abundance Loop by Juliana Park
Fear leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to poor choices, poor choices produce negative outcomes. If you want a different outcome, start with gratitude. Gratitude produces peace of mind, peace of mind leads to wise choices, and wise choices allow you to have a positive outcome. That’s the abundance loop.
Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words by Oscar Trimboli
Listening is a critical skill, and is an accelerator for greater opportunity. The single greatest barrier that most of us have to listening is the conversation that’s already going on in our minds. We can all become better listeners, and the biggest productivity gain comes from listening more, not learning more.
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman
Would you rather be known as the genius — the smartest person in the room — or the genius maker —the person who unleashes the brilliance of the people around you? A Multiplier can get twice the productivity from their team by making everyone else smarter, and I believe you're listening to this podcast because you want to be a multiplier and bring out the best in others.
What books have you read, and what would you recommend to other listeners of the Higher Purpose Podcast?
Let Kevin know at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com.
If this book list has got you thinking about your plan for personal and professional development as you go into 2019, Kevin has created a simple resource and a reading list to help you develop your plan. Just send him an email.
If you want to do a deep dive into a year long, transformational journey with a very small group, email him as well.
Resources
Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig
Episode 37: Story Driven with Bernadette Jiwa
Episode 72: Hospitable Leadership and the Discipline of Hope with Terry Smith
Episode 63: Abundance and Scarcity Loops with Juliana Park
Episode 64: Experiencing and Cultivating Abundance with Juliana Park
Episode 57: Becoming a Deep Listener with Oscar Trimboli