Purpose

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

I’ve long been a teacher, scholar, and practitioner of purpose (or vocation, or calling, or whatever you want to name it). Parker Palmer says vocation is the thing we can’t not do. We are all pulled toward something, even though that pull can be redirected by need, trauma, opportunity, health, work culture, or a million other things. We fall short all the time, and we learn to be generous with ourselves and often to find other ways to “give back” — board service, charitable donation, mutual aid, sitting with those in pain or in need. But much of my life’s work is about helping people actually live out their sense of purpose, through or around or in spite of the challenges that poses. You’d be surprised how many people in nonprofit and higher education sectors struggle with these questions and can use support in figuring out how to make it all work.

Sometimes, this “purpose” work is about building a culture and community among people who feel “othered” in the mainstream:

Example: building a year-long community of practice for scholars who insist on connecting their academic work to their public work (sometimes despite advice to focus more on grants or publishing)…together we can support one another in doing what feels right, and through our successes, demonstrate the power of purpose.