The conversation around having it all has gotten a bit out of hand. When I say having it all I mean having what matters. Unfortunately for so many of us, we get marketing campaigns confused with how we ought to live our lives. Traditional capitalism has thrived on telling people how to live — which has been great for the corporate bottom line, but not necessarily so good for the personal one.
As someone who has recovered from superwoman syndrome and perpetual over-striving, I can tell you that less is most definitely more. But in order to effectively shift my hyper-aspirational ways I had to get back in the driver’s seat and set a new context for my life. Enter the vision of stay true, get paid and do good.
Context matters because it guides how we approach everything from making money to choosing the right partner. And our “context” is shaped by what we believe. If we believe that there is not enough (time, money, love etc.) then we develop a scarcity based mentality that produces a reality called “not enough.” And this “reality” can encourage us to become reactive, defensive or try like hell to fix our situation by over-striving or compromising which then produces the habitual behaviors of overcompensating or settling for less! Neither creates fulfillment.
As an entrepreneur we must ask ourselves, “what is important to me and my community?” (aka “what do I truly value?”) We all need to know what matters most. If you design a life built around what matters most, then fulfillment is inevitable.
In our Move The Crowd world, success is about alignment. And being in tune with your vision-mission-purpose is the essential all-access pass to a life you love. When you engage what matters you recognize that the world is abundant and you see choice as a privilege not a consequence. Therefore when you do choose, you choose from a place of being empowered vs being deprived.
Embracing a True+Paid+Good mentality enables greater focus which supports enhanced richness and depth in your day to day experience.
So how do you discover your own True+Paid+Good?
Every successful, genuinely fulfilled person is guided by a context that enables them to make their highest contribution and receive their greatest reward. That context incorporates:
1) our most deeply held values;
2) the unique combination of our talents, gifts and abilities; and
3) the passionate impulse that guides us toward the opportunities and challenges we most want to engage in the world.
In our work we express this as an L3—how you Live, how you Love and how you Lead.
How you LIVE is about what you VALUE which defines your Vision.
How you LOVE is about what you are here to BRING which defines your Mission.
How You LEAD is about what you are here to AFFECT or IMPACT in the world which defines your Purpose.
Engaging in this kind of vision-mission-purpose clarity will not only help you focus on the “what,” it also gives you an opportunity to think about the “who” and the “how” as well. As a society we’ve been handed “what” to think and “how” to live and what is “acceptable”—however, we are living in a time where many of those traditional dictates no longer hold.
We feel so passionate about this movement because we believe that within this re-imagining of self, family, work and community lies the greatest opportunity to to achieve a more just, harmonious and sustainable world.
Iconic Detroit based activist and social political thought leader Grace Lee Boggs in her book The Next American Revolution says this:
“Instead of viewing the U.S. people as masses to be mobilized in increasingly aggressive struggles for higher wages, better jobs or guaranteed health care, we must have the courage to challenge ourselves to engage in activities that build a new and better world by improving the physical, psychological, political and spiritual health of ourselves, our families, our communities, and our cities, our world and our planet…This is a time to grow our souls.”
We Concur.
>> RESOURCE: Use our Live, Love, Lead (L3) Worksheet to create your own L3 Declaration )
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