Distracted by Fulfillment Factors
Last week I introduced the idea of identifying your fulfillment factors to help you be a better content creator, business owner and even liver of life.
In this post, I’m going to talk about how that’s not enough.
The pursuit of fulfillment can fall victim to distraction. Distraction leads to a lack producing concrete results. I don’t think I’m alone amongst business owners when I say that when I don’t experience concrete results, my sense of fulfillment wanes. When your fulfillment wanes, so does your motivation and creative output. So how do you avoid this vicious cycle?
Refocusing the Fulfillment Factors
I realized recently that that it was time for me to rein things in again in my own business. I needed to refocus my fulfillment factors to define a more precise purpose. It was necessary to construct a filter to gauge opportunities and ideas against and make sure that I was accomplishing what I wanted for to bring myself and my community/audience.
There are a number of things that can bring provide you with your fulfillment factors, but do they work towards and specific ultimate purpose. This is something that Jeremy Frandsen, my business partner in Internet Business Mastery, talks about a lot. He calls it your Definite Major Prupose (DMP).
In the last few months, (with Jeremy’s help) I’ve re-defined this purpose more concretely based on my fulfillment factors.
I asked myself the proverbial question: what would I do even if I had a million dollars in the bank right now? I have to admit, in addition to what I am doing now the thought came to my mind that I would start another band and tour the U.S.
So Jeremy added a couple other useful questions to help me focus. One fo them was this: which would you be saddest about if you didn’t do it again in your whole life?
The answer was teaching…which is what I do now.
My Purpose
Here is the purpose statement that I came up with.
My purpose is to teach entrepreneurs and business owners how to find more…
- Freedom – living life on their own terms; enjoying their pursuits (e.g. business, cause, goals, etc.) rather than being a slave to them.
- Fulfillment – achieving their fulfillment factors.
- Recognition – establishing a position as a trusted advisor in their field; earning the attention and loyalty of their market.
In essence, I want to bring to business owners what I have found (and am continually seeking) for myself.
This purpose plays to my strengths, offers value to others and provides for my fulfillment factors. Every time I go to make a decision or create a piece of content, I ask myself if it move me and my community closer to this purpose.
This purpose also provides for my fulfillment factors while at the same time providing value to my community and my peers.
I could have a beach house in Maui, travel the world on a monthly basis (i.e. freedom) and be a celebrity in ten countries (i.e. recognition), but eventually the fulfillment would wane without a purpose to work for.
The purpose statement above is what naturally guides my thoughts on a daily basis. It feeds my creativity for producing new content. It motivates me to act. It influences my decisions.
What is Your Purpose?
So let me ask you this: why did you start your podcast?
I hope you have a good idea (or at the very least a vague one) of what pushed you to start expressing yourself through internet media such as podcasting.
I imagine you have at least one or more goals like the following:
- To attract new leads to your business
- To creatively express yourself
- To connect with new friends
- To create a business of your own
- Just to hear yourself talk
But what is the deeper purpose that you want to accomplish. Do you have something defined that is more like this?
- To raise awareness of human rights around the world and motivate people to act donate money, share their thoughts or contact their politicians on the behalf of those who suffer from infractions on human rights.
- To help people create and maintain more meaningful relationships with their family members.
- To help people improve their grammar hence giving them more confidence in their communications
So now let me ask you this: what is your major purpose for producing a podcast? What is your major purpose in your business? What is the major purpose in your life? I’d love to hear yours in the comments.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Hi Jason,
Lovely post. My purpose is to help leaders align with their potential. I love working with leaders because they can then go on and influences many hundreds of others, through the insight and inspiration they achieve when they’ve worked with me.
On my website I have an article on Purposeful Living and some exercises people can do to help them get clear on their purpose. The page is here.
Look forward to hearing about when you’ve put your band together and attending one of yoru concerts when you are doing your world-wide tour. Make sure you put the Gold Coast Australia on your itinerary! :))
Love n laughter
Shelley
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Hi Jason
Your recent posts have helped me focus on what I’m trying to achieve with my podcasting.
About ten years ago I read of a young Chinese student who committed suicide on the first day of his exams at one of our universities here in Perth West Aust. He was an excellent student in his mainland Chinese school but his problem was that his English was limited and he had trouble understanding the sophisticated language associated with higher level academic study. In addition the lecturers accents and speed of talking made it even more difficult to master his studies.
Later I taught some Asian students who had the same problem and I noticed that they continually chattered among themselves as I was lecturing. At first I took this as inatentiveness but after some time I found that the students with the stronger English were interpreting for the weaker ones.
On a visit to Europe I realized how inadequate my knowlwdge of French was when I spoke to a house maid in a Paris hotel and was left embarrassed and unable to understand her accent and speed of talking.
It was then I recognised the students dillemma and became motivated to find a strategy to train students on a mass basis.
I’ve found a technique that will let me help these students with limited English. Now I need to find a way of making the people who need my product aware of it.
Even though blogging and podcasting in English language will meet obstacles in Asia, I hope that if I do it right it will expose my product to the Asian market.
Thanks for helping me focus on my goals
Bob
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Jason,
I agree your podcast needs a mission statement. No matter what happens if things go well or if times fall bad, your mission statement will help remind you why you got into this in the first place.
I am currently developing a new podcast. It’s basic criteria is that all parties have to benefit. When I mean benefit I don’t mean monetarily. In other words how will this improve my life today and tomorrow.
Great Post,
Marc
May 9th, 2008 at 10:40 am
@Shelley,
I love your purpose statement. I checked out your page on personal purpose development–awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing that.
When my wife and I form our next band, we’ll be sure to hit Australia :).
@Bob,
Thanks for sharing your very powerful story. Taking these media into Asia puts you on the forefront. That’s very exciting.
@Marc,
Your absolutely right. It really helps you avoid burnout when you can remind yourself why you are doing something. I like your criteria for your new podcast.