building your business on purpose (special report)

8/4/2019 Building Your Business on Purpose (Special Report)

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W. Bradford Swift Building Your Business On Purpose

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Life On Purpose Institute, Inc.

Purposeful Report

Building Your Business On Purpose

The Power of Purpose in Shaping Your Business

by

Dr. W. Bradford Swift

Founder, Life On Purpose Institute

Life On Purpose Certified Coach

http://www.lifeonpurpose.com

[email protected]

© 2011 W. Bradford Swift and Porpoise Publishing, All rights reserved.

Visit Life On Purpose Institute’s web site for free yet valuable resources:http://www.lifeonpurpose.com. This report may be freely distributed or included into other

publications without written permission. For discounts on multiple copies contact Life On PurposeInstitute at [email protected].




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Before You Begin

This is part of a series of Special Reports written to help you enhance thequality of your life. I encourage you to read this material in the same manneryou would listen to a life purpose coach. Stay open and listen with a ‘beginner’smind’ approach, while you also read for the powerful nuggets that cancontribute to your life.

You may recognize one of my favorite coaching formulae for true growth anddevelopment:

Insights (nuggets of gold) + Action = True Growth & Development

Pan as much gold as possible from this report and then take action on it to

integrate it into your life. (We’ll revisit this “coaching formula” at the end of thisreport as well.) I recommend you capture these insights in one of the followingways:

• Create an Insight Page and keep it with you as you read the report,which you should be able to do in one or two sittings. Write down the insightsas they come to you. If you also realize what actions you could take to integratethe insight into your life, go ahead and jot those down as well. If nothing comesimmediately to mind, don’t worry about it. As I said, we’ll revisit the formula atthe end of the report. Or,

• Use a highlighter to make note of the insights. If you’ve printed thisreport out, you might even want to number the insights as you highlight them, aswell as jotting down any possible actions you see you could take.

These Special Reports are built on a foundation of the Life On PurposeProcess. While you are almost certain to receive value from them withouthaving experienced the Life On Purpose Process, you will glean even more fromthese reports having completed the process of clarifying your life purpose andyour inherited purpose.

To learn more about the Life On Purpose Process and the various ways totravel along the Purposeful Path to your personal life on purpose, go to:

http://www.lifeonpurpose.com

In either case, here are three foundational concepts to keep in mind:

1. The Life On Purpose Perspective suggests that a person’s life purpose ismore about who they are as a spiritual being and what they came to this life tobe and to experience. A person’s life purpose is not what one does, it’s who one

is. Another way to think of a life purpose from this perspective is that a lifepurpose is the context, vessel, or container into which you pour your life that




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then has the power to shape all that you do and have.2. The Life On Purpose Perspective also suggests that a person has not

just one purpose but two, in that we have two powerful forces that can shapeour lives. We have our true, or Divinely Inspired Life Purpose that is based inUniversal Love, or ones relationship to God/Higher Power, or ones spiritualnature. We also have the Inherited Purpose that is based in fear, lack-basedthinking and leads to unnecessary struggle and suffering.

3. Throughout this Special Report, we’ll be working with coachingdistinctions. It’s my personal view that one of the most beneficial tools a lifecoach can use to help enhance a client’s life is coaching distinctions. You canthink of a coaching distinction like a lens through which you look at life andyourself, and in the process you can often see something about both that willultimately add some quality to your life. For example, when my mechanic, Dale,looks under the hood of my car he sees a whole different world than I do. When

I look, I see mostly dirt and oil and maybe the oil dip stick and radiator cap. Butbecause Dale has many more ‘engine distinctions’ he’s the one I’m going to callon if my car won’t start in the morning because his having these extradistinctions make him more effective in fixing what is wrong. In short, the moredistinctions we have AND USE, the more powerful and effective we can be inour lives.




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The primary purpose of an organization is not to make a profit. It is to helphuman beings grow, express their creativity, contribute their life-source and make the world a better place. The purpose of an organization is to inspire thesoul . Leadership expert and Fortune 500 Business Consultant, Lance Secretan

In this special report, I invite you to stretch your mind with some mentalgymnastics as we explore a new and evolving perspective for business in thetwenty-first century that I call the Vision-Directed, Fiscally ResponsibleEnterprise, also known as a Business On Purpose.

Why Are You in Business?

If you’ve been in business for several years it may have been quite awhile

since you’ve asked yourself, “Why am I in this business, anyway?” What was itthat attracted you to this line of work? What did you see possible for yourself?What core values are you able to express and live true to as part of the businessyou’re in? Have you found yourself compromising some of your values due tothe challenges of the business world?

In today’s rapid pace, it’s easy to lose connection of our purpose for being abusiness owner. In fact, I’ve found this is one of the major reasons manybusiness people burnout. In a larger sense, we forget that our business can be agreat way to express our true purpose for being alive.

I still remember watching the business owner, a veterinarian, I interned withover 30-years ago clutching the countertop in the pharmacy of his hospital, hisface crimson red with anger and frustration, and my vow to never end up likethat in my practice, only to find myself in a similar situation about ten yearslater. Let’s face it; owning a business has its challenges.

In this report, we’re going to start with the end in mind and work back fromthere by first distinguishing what a Business On Purpose is. We will then outlinethe steps to building such a business. Let’s start our journey along the

purposeful path by exploring the quote of business consultant, Lance Secretan,in which he claims:

“The primary purpose of an organization is not to make a profit.”

Now, this may fly in the face of everything you’ve learned about business, buttry it on. What if it’s true? What if your business’s primary purpose isn’t to makea profit, but instead it’s to “help human beings to grow, express their creativity,contribute their life source and make the world a better place?” Could it bethat the business world has had the cart before the horse all this time? In other

words while it’s important to make money from our business, it may not be ourbusiness’s primary purpose, or at least it doesn’t have to be now, as we move




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fully into the 21st century.

I’m suggesting that a key piece of the puzzle that has been missing for manybusiness owners is realizing that a business can be an integral way to express

their life purpose, and that it’s through this expression of our life purpose that wegrow, contribute and make the world a better place. Without this realization,many of us burn out in our work because we’ve lost sight of the primary purposethat we went into business for in the first place — to make a difference in theworld.

It is possible to design your business where your life purpose is the core of your business’s vision. Your purpose is like an ounce of plutonium at the heartof a nuclear power plant. Your purpose radiates out to impact and shape allaspects of your business, and then continues to radiate out to be a positive

influence on your community and ultimately the world. When you take the timeto design or redesign your business in this way, you have the makings of aBusiness On Purpose.

The first step is to reframe what we mean by a life purpose.

Redefining Purpose

When we start considering what is our life purpose, we run into the firstobstacle because most people don’t have a clear sense of their purpose, or

they’ve misidentified their purpose. According to the popular book, Cool Careersfor Dummies: 46% of women and 52% of men don't have a clear sense of purpose in life. When William Marsten, a prominent psychologist, asked 3,000people, “What have you to live for?” 94 percent responded by saying they hadno definite purpose for their lives -- 94 percent!

Since clarity of purpose is key to building a Business On Purpose, we need toreconsider what a life purpose really is because many people have been misled.Over the past 16 years, in asking hundreds of people the simple question, “Whatis a life purpose?” I’ve found a large majority of the responses have a common

theme to them:

“A life purpose is what I’m meant to do while I’m here on earth.”

The key word is “do.” It’s as though right out of the starting gate of life we seethis sign that says, “This way to your life purpose,” and it points to the doing partof life. Since it’s a well-worn path we assume it’s the correct direction to go.Unfortunately, where most of us end up is with a very busy life, but without a lotof deep satisfaction and fulfillment. From this “doing perspective” many peoplemisidentifying their job, careers or professions as their life purpose. For others,

they mistakenly believe their primary roles in life, like being a good spouse,parent, employer or employee, to be their life purpose. To correct these




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misconceptions, it’s important to redefine what a life purpose is.

Instead of this “cultural perspective” of a life purpose, try on this perspective:

“A life purpose is the context, vessel or container into which you pour yourlife.”

In other words, you can think of your life purpose like a cup into which youpour your life. Just like a cup shapes and forms the water inside it, your lifepurpose shapes and forms your life. So, while there is a close relationshipbetween what we do and our life purpose, just like there's a close relationshipbetween a cup and the water within it, they are both distinct. From thisperspective we can see that our life purpose isn’t what we do, but is instead thisgreater force in our life that shapes what we do. This subtle difference can

make all the difference in the world in how satisfying and fulfilling youexperience your life. It also makes a huge difference in helping you bring clarityto your life purpose. There's an old joke that points to why making thisdistinction is so important.

One evening two friends found Joe on his hands and knees under a streetlamp. When asked what he was doing there, Joe replied, "I lost my car keysdown in that dark alley and I'm trying to find them." The two friends glanced ateach other in a confused manner before one of them asked the obviousquestion, "Joe, if you lost your car keys down in the alley, why are you looking

for them up here under the street lamp," to which Joe replied, "Oh, the lighting ismuch better here."

Are you like Joe, looking for your life purpose under the street lamp of doingsimply because it's easier? If so, it may be time to start looking elsewhere,particularly if you’re interested in a life purpose that could be a powerfulshaping force for your life and your practice. What are the basic elements oringredients that can be blended together to make up a life purpose that canpowerfully shape your life?

Recipe for a Powerful Life Purpose

As a personal and business coach for the last 22 years, I have discovered thatthere are three basic ingredients that can be blended together with a fourthcomponent that acts like the glue, resulting in a life purpose that is a powerfulshaping force in your life. Let’s look at each of these basic ingredients.

VisionWhat is your unique vision of what you see to be possible for your life, your

loved ones, your community, and ultimately the world? Answering that questionis important because your vision is the first basic component of a life purpose




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Often times, determining your vision of what's possible is more of a process of remembering, since we all start off in life with a sense of possibility, thoughmany of people may have lose that sense of awe and wonder as they grow older.

ValuesEach of us have a set of core values, those intangibles of life that matter the

most to us, that we're willing to give our lives for. Perhaps we're not quite readyto stand in front of a firing squad for our core values, but we are willing to giveour life in service of having these values be more present in the world in whichwe live.

BeingWho are you at the core of your being, your very soul? It’s valuable to answer

this question since who you are is the third basic component that makes up your

life purpose. This essence of who we are can be challenging to discern since it’sso much a part of ourselves that it’s often invisible, but is often more apparent toothers. Some examples of ‘ways of being’ include: being compassionate, fun-loving, serious and introspective, or loving and kind.

When you blend these three components together you begin to get themakings of a force that can shape your life in each moment in time as you goabout doing whatever you’re doing. But the mixture isn't complete yet. We'restill missing a key ingredient -- the glue that holds it all together.

Interestingly enough, it’s an aspect of life that is almost never talked about inthe business environment, yet it’s key to a Business On Purpose. I like to refer toit as the Universal Attractive Force of Love that truly does connect us to eachother and to the rest of life. It’s probably what attracted you to your chosenbusiness. For example, it was my love of animals and my wanting to contributeand make a difference with them that led me to becoming a small animalveterinarian in my first career.

It’s also a key ingredient often missing for people on the verge of burnout.

What’s In It for Me?

At this point you may be realizing that clarifying your true purpose in life andthen building around it a Business On Purpose can take some effort, so whymight you want to take the time and energy to do so?

There are many benefits to doing the work to clarify your purpose. In thisnext section, we’ll explore the top 10 benefits reported by people who havemade the effort and who are living on purpose and who have built a BusinessOn Purpose.




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Top Ten Benefits to Knowing Your Life Purpose

The top ten benefits that follow are the ones that I’ve realized as I’vecontinued along my own purposeful path over the past sixteen-plus years as wellas hearing my clients claim these same benefits.

For maximum benefit, I encourage you to make a list for yourself of the top 3or 4 benefits that you feel would be of most value to you. There will be a shortcoaching assignment at the end that will help you leverage the value from this“short list” of benefits.

Focus

When you clearly know your life purpose, it becomes a truing mechanism

allowing you to focus more clearly on what matters most to you. Many peoplereport that this has been one of the most valuable benefits to clarifying their lifepurpose, especially when they begin to use their life purpose to make theirdecisions and choices in where and how they are going to invest their time,energy, money and talents.

The other side of this coin is that often times a life “off purpose” is unfocusedand scattered. Much like a boat without a rudder, when you don’t know yourtrue purpose your life tends to be tossed about by the currents of circumstances.As the old saying goes, “If you don’t know what you stand for, you’ll fall for

anything.”

Passion

For many people clarifying their life purpose is the key to unlocking a renewedpassion for life. That passion becomes the fuel that propels them forward inexpressing their life purpose, often in extraordinary ways beyond anything theywould have considered possible before they knew their purpose.

A life off purpose is often devoid of any real passion. The experience can be alittle bit like the movie, Pleasantville. At the start of the movie, everyone inPleasantville was living a dull, black and white life, but over time they began totap into their passion and learned that life could be a beautiful, multi-coloredexperience, filled with passionate moments.

If each day in your business feels pretty much like the day before, and youspend much of your time dreaming about what you’ll do on the weekend, youmay want to add passion to your short list of benefits.

Being Unstoppable




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People living on purpose become unstoppable, particularly the longer they livetrue to their purpose and the more they allow their purpose to shape their life.Yet, at the same time purposeful people aren’t positional in their beingunstoppable. They have learned that it’s not necessary to go through life like abull, ramming through anything that tries to get in their way. They’ve found thatoften times a little patience, coupled with persistence can go a long way alongtheir purposeful path.

People without clarity of purpose often finds themselves stopped or stuck inlife, which isn’t surprising because they often haven’t tapped into their passionso they’re like a high powered automobile without any fuel in their tank.

Fulfillment

Living a life where you are regularly expressing your life purpose and allowing itto shape your decisions, your thoughts, feelings and actions is simply a wholelot more fulfilling. A life on purpose is filled with meaning, and people onpurpose realize they are making a difference simply by being in the world. Then,whatever they choose to do in the world to express their life purpose is icing onthe cake.

People living off purpose often have a life filled with meaning as well.Unfortunately, the meaning that they have ascribed to life stems from fear andpreoccupies them with the need to struggle and suffer. Remember, “suffering is

optional” in this world, and knowing your purpose is the key to making thisimportant shift.

Living a Value-based Life

As we discussed previously, an integral component of a person’s life purpose istheir “core values” -- those intangibles of life that mean the most to them. Ourcore values are at the heart of all the values we’ve been taught we “shouldvalue.” Think of it like three concentric circles. The largest circle is composed

of your “should values;” the next circle is your “chosen values” -- the valuesthat you’ve actually chosen to hold onto and live from. The inner circle is your“core values,” -- those chosen values that truly matter most. Since these corevalues are an integral part of your life purpose, when you are living a life onpurpose, you are living a “value-based” life, rather than a life shaped by aparticular lifestyle.

People living off purpose are often focused on living more from the outer circleof their “should values”, what often is described as “keeping up with the Joneses.” In a lifestyle-based life, the focus is on life looking a certain way -- theway we were taught our life was supposed to look. The focus is often more onstuff and doing what’s expected of us, not what gives us the most joy.




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Fun

Let’s face it, living on purpose is simply a lot more fun than living a life based infear and “shoulds.” People who know their life purpose and are living it have arenewed zest for life. They can bring purposeful play to almost any situationand find or create ways to have each day be a reflection of their true joy andpurpose.

A few years ago, I took time off from my normal work routine to take in anafternoon matinee. The movie I saw was The Legend of Bagger Vance. While Ithoroughly enjoyed playing hooky from work and the movie in general, therewas one line that stood out above all the rest, and the main lesson I was there tolearn that day. The caddie, Bagger Vance, said, “God is happiest when his

children are at play.” I keep that line on my desk lamp so I won’t forget.Whenever, I’m feeling like my work is drudgery, or there’s a heaviness involved,I know in those moments my life isn’t being shaped by my true purpose.

People who live off purpose have bought into the idea of “no pain, no gain.”It doesn’t have to be that way. Sure, there may be times when you need to exert

yourself more diligently, but that doesn’t mean you need to suffer while doing it.I lift weights three times a week as part of my health and fitness routine. Part of the object to lifting increasing amounts of weight is to fatigue the muscles sothey will grow and become stronger.

At the same time, this doesn’t mean that I need to suffer while I’m straining. Ihave the choice to sweat with enjoyment or to sweat while complaining abouthow hard it is, or how unfair it is that I have to be stuck in my gym, etc. Ichoose to bring joy and fun to my life and so can you.

Integrity

For me, a life on purpose is a life of ultimate integrity -- a life that is whole andcomplete. People who know their purpose and are living it, know who they areand why they are here. They live true to their core values as they serve

themselves and others through the expression of their life purpose.

People who are living off purpose simply haven’t found themselves yet. There’snothing wrong with them, there’s simply something missing -- knowing their lifepurpose.

Trust / Faith

As people clarify their life purpose and begin to live true to it, many of themreport a surprising increase in synchronicity and serendipity in their lives. It’s as

though the Universe is rewarding them for the courage to live true to theirpurpose. With this comes a deepening in trust and faith as they realize that




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indeed there is a greater force in the Universe than themselves and yet they areat the same time an integral part of that force.

People living off purpose are often slow to trust anything they can’t see andtouch. Coming from fear, trusting looks like a bad idea, and they often haveplenty of evidence for not trusting -- all the times they did and were hurt.

That’s why it takes real courage to live on purpose. You will never hear mesay that a life on purpose is risk free -- anything but. I will say from my ownexperience and from the experience of the hundreds of people I’ve met living onpurpose, the risk is well worth it.

Grace

According to the dictionary, grace is “the unmerited divine assistance givenman...” and people living on purpose often report living a grace-filled life.When you commit to living true to your purpose, something amazing begins to

happen. The Universe lines up with your intention and commitment.Perhaps this quote says it best:Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always

ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creativity t here is oneelementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendidplans:

That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising ones favor all manner

of assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. Ihave learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it; boldness has genius, powerand magic in it. W. H. Murray

Flow

And perhaps we can summarize the other nine benefits under this last one.People living on purpose live in the flow of the Universal stream of

consciousness. Rather than fighting against the current, they allow the currentof what’s wanting to happen to happen. They allow what wants to flow to flow.They know that while they may never completely understand or comprehend

the grand design and plan for this Universe, they can still be an integral part inits realization.

Your Coaching AssignmentHave you picked the top three or four benefits you feel would be of most




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value to you? If not, take a few minutes to review the list, writing down the onesyou’d want to be sure to include in your life and practice on purpose.

Next, write down a description of what your life and your business wouldlook like if these benefits were more present. Make the description as multi-sensory as possible. What would you see, hear, feel, even taste and smell. Asmuch as possible write the description in the positive, what would be presentrather than what wouldn’t be present.

In this way you’ll be creating what’s known in coaching as “the gap”between where you currently are and where you long to be.

Next, we’ll explore a second shaping force that prevents us from living andworking on purpose. It is a primary force in causing us to have such a gap in ourlives. It’s called the Inherited Purpose, and not only do we as individuals allhave an Inherited Purpose but so do businesses. As you will learn, it’s just asimportant to uncover the Inherited Purpose as it is to clarify your true life

purpose because otherwise, the Inherited Purpose becomes a master atsabotaging your efforts to live and work on purpose.




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Let’s review where we started this special report:

The primary purpose of an organization is not to make a profit. It is to helphuman beings grow, express their creativity, contribute their life-source and make the world a better place. The purpose of an organization is to inspire thesoul . Leadership expert and Fortune 500 Business Consultant, Lance Secretan

Secretan suggests that the primary purpose of an organization isn’t to make aprofit but is, instead, to grow and develop people including ourselves. I termsuch an organization a Vision-Directed, Fiscally Responsible Enterprise, or aBusiness On Purpose.

Now, let’s explore how to build a Business On Purpose by first looking at oneof the primary obstacles that can prevent us from ever getting around to building

such a business. I refer to it as the Inherited Purpose of Business.

What’s Shaping Your Business and Life?

Earlier, we outlined that the recipe for a life purpose is made up of:

• Your unique vision of what’s possible,• Your core values,• The essence of who you are,

• All bonded together by the universal attractive force of love.

Unfortunately, many people’s lives and businesses aren’t shaped by their truepurpose, but are instead shaped by another force which is formed early in life;that part of our life the old Wonder Bread™ commercials used to call the“formative years.” I call this second shaping force the Inherited Purpose. Justlike we each have a unique true purpose, we also each have an InheritedPurpose, and guess what? The same is true for a business.

To get a better sense of what an Inherited Purpose is, let’s look at the 4

primary points that characterizes one:

1. The Inherited Purpose is based in fear, a consciousness of lack, and aneed to struggle to survive. It’s what life fabricates for us to keep us safe andsecure.

2. Unfortunately, when our lives are primarily shaped by the InheritedPurpose there are some key elements missing such as a sense of true satisfactionand fulfillment.

3. One of the aspects of the Inherited Purpose that gives it such power inshaping your life is that it operates in the background of your awareness. It’s like

water to a fish. A fish doesn’t spend much time thinking about water because itspends all its time in water. In the same way we grow up with our Inherited




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Purpose being quietly formed around us, unaware how much it shape our lives.4. The Inherited Purpose is also the one of the “default mechanisms” of

human beings. It’s like the screen-saver on a computer that cuts on if thekeyboard isn’t used after a set length of time. The Inherited Purposeautomatically begins to shape your life whenever you’re not consciously havingyour life shaped by your true purpose, and especially whenever you feelthreatened. Nowadays we don’t need to be chased by a hungry bear or tiger tobe threatened. More common, modern day threats can include receiving anunexpected bill, a notice from the Internal Revenue Service, or one of your bestemployees giving their 2-week notice.

For example, my true life purpose is:

To live an inspired, inspiring and courageous life of purposeful, passionateand playful service, a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity andspiritual serenity.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the context that shaped the first 30 to 35 years of my life. My inherited purpose began to be formed when, at the age of six, mydad suddenly died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip, leaving us with nolife insurance and very little savings. Over the next several years I watched mymother struggle to “pay too many bills without enough money.”

During this time, my Inherited Purpose became:

I must be smart and know all the answers (or pretend that I do), I mustwork really hard so that I won’t be poor and so people won’t leave me.

And it was this Inherited Purpose that shaped much of my life and how Ioperated my business, so it became a key piece of the Inherited Purpose of mybusiness. Think of it this way.

Since a business is made up of people, each business also has an Inherited

Purpose that is a composite of the people’s Inherited Purposes, especially theowner and key managers who shape the culture of the business. The InheritedPurpose of a business is also based in fear, lack and a need to struggle to survive.Therefore, to transform your business to a Business On Purpose, it’s important touncover your own Inherited Purpose and the Inherited Purpose of the Business.

The Steps to Building a Business On Purpose

While all the specifics of how to build a Business On Purpose is beyond thescope of this report, here are the basic steps I recommend taking:

Distinguish and “Own” the Inherited Purpose of the Business




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Unless you know what is shaping your business when fear, lack and struggleare present, you will find yourself consistently being under-mind by the InheritedPurpose. Bringing the Inherited Purpose from the background of your awarenessto the foreground is a key first step.

Build a New FoundationOnce you’ve begun to be responsible for the Inherited Purpose, you can

begin to build a new foundation for your business by next clarifying your truelife purpose that is a blending of your vision for what’s possible, your core valuesand the essence of who you are.

Create the Business VisionThe next step is to integrate your life purpose into the vision statement for

your business. For example, my life purpose is to live a life of purposeful,

passionate and playful service, mindful abundance balanced with simplicity andspiritual serenity. The vision of Life On Purpose Institute is creating a worldwhere all people are able to live a life of purposeful, passionate and playfulservice, mindful abundance balanced with simplicity and spiritual serenity.

Your Business as a Meta-Purpose ProjectOnce you’ve accomplished these first three steps, you’re ready to create or

recreate your business as a Purpose Project.

A Purpose Project is defined as a project or goal with specific, measurable

results that is also a natural expression of your life purpose. While working tofulfill the project you are naturally being and expressing your life purpose. Mostbusinesses are actually a number of different inter-connected Purpose Projectswith each one having their own specific results that can be measured.

You might have a Purpose Project entitled, Attracting New Perfect Customers,and another called, Playful and Passionate Team Players, or one entitled ServingOur Community.

In this way, your business becomes directed primarily by the vision that is in

turn a reflection of your true life purpose. At the same time you continue tomaintain the financial integrity of the enterprise so that the vision and your lifepurpose can continue to be realized.

Remember, Secretan’s quote, “The primary purpose of an organization is notto make a profit.” doesn’t mean it’s not important to show a profit. It’s just notthe primary purpose.

Develop Your Purposeful TeamIt’s really not enough for you to know and be living true to your life purpose.

You also need to develop a team of purposeful people who realize they areliving and expressing their own life purpose as they assist you in fulfilling the




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vision of your business. An employee’s life purpose doesn’t need to be identicalto yours for them to be a good team player. It just needs to overlap well enoughwith your own that they can fully express their purpose while working in yourbusiness, helping to fulfill the the business vision. In my estimation, one of thebest investments you can make is in your personal development and that of yourfellow teammates.

Building Your Business Operating SystemJust like a computer needs an operating system, the same is true for a

Business On Purpose. An operating system will give your business the structuresand systems necessary to keep it on track and on purpose as well as helping tokeep the vision of the business alive and in your team’s awareness. Otherwise, itwon’t be long before your vision is simply a nice platitude that has no realshaping power in your business.

Besides dividing your business into various Purpose Projects, additionalcomponents of your business operating system can include Purpose Principlesand Practices. A principle is a standard or guideline that you establish in aneffort to bring a certain consistency to the business. It may be something assimple as, “the customer is always right, or “anything and everything can beresolved through communication.” Similarly, a Purpose Principle is a principlethat expresses the purpose or vision of your business thus providing you andyour team with a way to be sure your actions, decisions and choices arecongruent with the overall vision of the business.

Purpose Practices can be thought of as a principle in action. If one of yourPurpose Principles is “everything can be resolved through communication”, aPurpose Practice consistent with that principle might be: Whenever there is adispute or disagreement with a client, we will keep all the communicationchannels open until the issue is resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

Taking the time and effort to create an operating system of Purpose Projects,Principles and Practices will give your vision the added strength necessary sothat it can indeed be a primary shaping force in your life. In the process, you

and your team will have the opportunity to live true to your life purpose eachday in your business. Now, that’s a Business On Purpose




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Time for Action

Remember, the formula for true growth and development that I introduced atthe start of this report:

Insights (nuggets of gold) + Action = True Growth & Development

I trust you’ve gleaned a number of insights/nuggets of gold from this report.Now, your last and most important Call to Action Assignment is:

• Look over your list of insights that you captured either on your InsightPage or from highlighting.

• Pick from 1 - 3 of the insights that ‘speak’ to you most loudly — thatyou feel would make the biggest difference in enhancing your life.

• Determine what action or actions you need to take to integrate theinsight into your life.• Commit to taking those actions within the next seven to ten days.• Share this assignment with another person who will help you hold

yourself accountable for taking those actions.• Act!




19

A b o u t t h e A u t h o r

Since founding Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. in 1996 Dr. Brad Swift has become oneof the country’s foremost authorities on personal life purpose. He is the author of

Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life, an award-winning finalist in theSelf-Help: Motivational division of the Best Books 2007 Awards sponsored by USANews. It’s the first and only how-to book that guides people from confusion toclarity about the most important question: “Who am I and why am I here?”

To learn how on or off purpose your life is, take the fun and engaging Self Test at: http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/selftest

To learn more about additional books by the author go to:

http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/books

http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/amazonpage

http://www.wbradfordswift.com




Porpoise PublishingFlat Rock, NC 28731

www.lifeonpurpose.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Building Your Business On Purpose: The Power of Purpose in Shaping Your Business

ISBN-10:1. Self Help 2. Personal Development 3. Spirituality 4. Business

Copyright © 2011, W. Bradford Swift

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopy, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from Life On

Purpose Institute, Inc / Porpoise Publishing, with the exception of short excerptsused with acknowledgement of publisher and author.

Cover photo & Design by Ann T. Swift

Author’s photo by B. J. CondreyEdited by Ann T. Swift

Typeset in Palatino

Printed in USAFirst Edition

building your business on purpose (special report)

Documents