Have you read the famous Stanford commencement address by Steve Jobs in 2005? It was a powerful speech, with Jobs sharing 3 personal stories about connecting the dots, about love and loss, and about death. One of Jobs’ key messages is this: ‘You’ve got to find what you love’. When Jobs was fired from his own company Apple, his love for what he did kept him going, eventually bringing phenomenal successes with his companies NeXT, Pixar and Apple. ‘Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life… have the courage to follow your heart and intuition,’ said Jobs. And these were indeed wise words for the Stanford graduates. So, let’s explore how to find what you love to do.
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FINDING WHAT YOU LOVE: INSIGHT FROM TONY HSIEH
In the book, Delivering Happiness: a Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose , Tony Hsieh shares some really cool insights about how Zappos grew to a billion-dollar- business by investing in customer service, culture and training, and how he found his own path to happiness while creating one of the world’s happiest workforce at Zappos.
For this article, let’s focus on one of the four happiness frameworks that Hsieh shared in his book.
The idea is simple: the most lasting form of happiness comes from being part of something bigger than yourself.
For Hsieh, it’s about bringing happiness to the world. Jobs’s goal was to make technology simple and accessible to everyone. For us at ReadinGraphics, it’s about spreading actionable insights to empower breakthroughs.
So, what is the higher purpose that will guide your choices in life, such as your career path and day-to-day actions? If today were the last day of your life, what would you wish to focus on to make it a more fulfilling life?
Find that purpose, and you will find it easier to align your passions and daily pleasures toward fulfilling a human life with a broader purpose.
TIPS ON FINDING YOUR HIGHER PURPOSE
Remember What You Loved as a Kid
Think about what you enjoyed doing when you were a child. Perhaps you were interested in beauty, nature, or science. While it is true that you may be very different from who you were as a child, studies show that the things that fascinated you then may still interest you as an adult. So, think about what activities brought you joy and excitement without pressure from the outside world. This can give you hints about your true passions and career options.
Forget About the Money
We all need money to live, but when it comes to finding your purpose, thinking about money can make it harder to see clearly. Imagine a world where money doesn’t matter. What would you choose to do with your spare time if you had no financial worries?
Get Feedback from Your Friends
Sometimes, we’re too caught up in our own lives to see our strengths and passions clearly. Our friends and family, on the other hand, can provide valuable insights. They see us from a different angle and can point out talents and passions we might not realize we have. Consider asking them specific questions about what they see as your core strengths and personal passions.
Find Your Hero
Do you have someone you really look up to? What makes them so inspiring to you? Identifying your heroes is important because they can help you determine what qualities and achievements you value. Research from the Journal of Economic Psychology on entrepreneurship and role models supports this idea by emphasizing the importance of prior exposure to role models for individuals interested in entrepreneurial careers. Your heroes could be famous people from history, successful people in your field, or even someone you know personally. They can help you clarify things in your life like your ideal career journey or lifelong career aspirations.
Combine What You’re Good at with What You Love
Finding your purpose often happens when your passions and talents align. Think about the things you do that not only make you happy but also come naturally to you. These are the areas where you are likely to do well and find fulfillment. This combination of skills and interests can lead to extraordinary experiences and a fulfilling life.
GETTING STARTED
After reflecting on the tips we’ve just given you on finding your purpose, it’s time to get to work with a journaling exercise. Writing down your feelings and thoughts through journaling exercises gives you a clearer picture of your needs and what needs to be done to fulfill them.
So, for this excellent exercise, take a notepad and write down your thoughts about the following.
- Are there any childhood interests that still resonate with you today?
- What dream job, activities, or projects would you pursue if financial constraints were removed?
- What strengths or talents do your friends and family frequently compliment you on?
- Who do you admire most and why? It can be a list of people
- What activities bring you the most joy and satisfaction?
In addition to this exercise, continue journaling whenever you feel energized, inspired, and performing at your peak. As you start to pay attention to what you love, you will inevitably find the answer to your questions.
MORE ON FINDING WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO
If you haven’t yet read the book Delivering Happiness, we strongly recommend that you grab a copy. Or, if you have already subscribed to our Reading Graphics, a shortcut should be to take 5 minutes to finish “reading” the book in graphics, identify just one key idea that you resonate with, and commit to start implementing it right away.
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If you have already completed the book and wish to know more about how to find what you love to do, you’ll probably want to check out these 3 titles:
• In The ONE Thing by Gary Keller, he explains how to use the “focusing question” to find our Big Why and align our daily activities to achieve the most meaningful results.
• In Finding Flow by MihalyCsikzentmihalyi, he outlines how to improve our quality of life by creating flow to maximize enjoyment and excellence from our everyday activities.
• In Good to Great by Jim Collins, he shares the Hedgehog Concept that great companies use to identify the 1 core thing that they should focus on. [The same principles apply for finding what you can focus on in your life]
If you still haven’t found your higher purpose, don’t fret. It takes time. As Jobs said, ‘If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.’
