Business Owners and Executives: Finding Joy In Your Journey And Clarity About Your Destination

When you’re running a business or leading a large organization, the level of daily activity can be so intense and absorbing, that there is little time or energy to either enjoy the work itself, or to reflect on where you are heading in the long run. Or perhaps your situation is one where you are alternately extremely busy and very bored. Yes, in the long run we are all dead, as John Maynard Keynes said. But that’s not what we consider our destination or our destiny.

These two seemingly conflicting emphases on the present versus the future highlight the importance of Purpose and Presence in achieving success and fulfillment. Purpose is the commitment to excellence and to producing meaningful results. The key word here is meaningful. Sometimes we are producing results that meet some external measure, but are not ultimately meaningful to us within the full scope of our lives. Presence is the ability to be effectively in the moment, bringing your full attention to what is happening now. This is different from being focused, which can be accomplished just by developing tunnel vision. Presence implies a joy in inhabiting your body and perceiving and mindfully interacting with people and events. Other people can see when we are truly present, and listening.

Purpose and Presence are two of what I call The 7 Dimensions of Wisdom; seven sets of skills or competencies for success. Purpose and Presence are skills that you can develop with practice. You no doubt have goals such as accumulating a certain amount of wealth, attaining positions of greater power and influence, and helping others. But to shape those goals into a life purpose requires disciplined and courageous reflection, followed by decisions and action. It includes placing these career or business goals within the context of the other aspects of your life beyond work; because fulfillment requires that integration.

As you make progress in clarifying your Purpose, you realize that Purpose and Presence are not contradictory, but rather are compatible. Clarifying Purpose actually clears a space in which you can be present. This means making decisions about how to use your limited time; rather than trying to do everything. You keep the things that are essential to your Purpose and let some other things go. With some of that available time, you can commit to practicing being present; breathing, smelling the roses, being with those you love.

It’s difficult for any of us to make these kinds of life changes on our own. As someone who built two multi-million dollar businesses, I know that from personal experience. That’s why life coaching and executive coaching can be helpful. Depending on your particular goals and situation, with the help of a coach you can focus primarily on work and business issues, or use a more holistic approach that includes balancing the other aspects of your life.

I’m Dr. Bernard Brookes, to contact me about coaching using The 7 Dimensions of Wisdom, go to www.sopphia.com.