The purpose driven pursuit
As a sales and success coach, so many of the conversations I find myself having are centered on this idea of lack, of deficiency. This does make sense to some degree. A person seeks out a sales coach because they want to make more individual sales or to increase the average size of the sales they are already making, and this naturally implies some lack of satisfaction with how things are currently going. There is, however, often this more serious undertone of a feeling of lack that runs much deeper than just salesman's production numbers. I believe that this is often caused by a misalignment of purpose.
A salesman (or any professional, for that matter) can work all day every day at becoming the absolute best there is at what they do and they may even succeed in rising to the top of their peers, but if they are misaligned with their purpose, it will never feel like enough. We've all heard the often repeated catchphrase "find your WHY" so many times that at this point is sounds like a cliché, but I would advise you take that idea step further. Don't just find your "why", find your PURPOSE. If you have found yourself on my blog, chances are you're here to learn how to become more successful and make more money, and that is a perfectly reasonable desire, but simply making more money is unlikely to help you align with your purpose. So what is the difference between desire and purpose? And how do you find yours? I will give you an example from my own life.
I am from Northern Nevada. I moved to Las Vegas in Southern Nevada when I was 20 years old and I lived there for 14 years. During those 14 years I met my husband and his children from his first marriage and was blessed to become part of a wonderful family. I still wake up most days wondering at my good fortune for this miracle. This time in my life also exposed me to many different opportunities and kinds of work, and as I tried so many different things, I found myself in the profession of sales. I took to it like a fish to water and it felt amazing to finally be making some real money doing something I truly enjoyed. Things were going well, but there was still something missing.
You see, I have a genetic disorder called porphyria. Among many things, porphyria causes an extreme sensitivity to sunlight, and prolonged exposure makes me very sick. You read that correctly, I was essentially allergic to sunlight and living in the Mojave desert for 14 years. Like many people in Las Vegas, I moved from one air conditioned space to another without ever spending much time outside. For a lot of people, this causes no issues and they can thrive. For me, an avid lover of the outdoors, it genuinely wore down my spirit and weakened my morale. I had a wonderful husband and family, a fantastic job and life was good, but I was unhappy because I was misaligned with my purpose.
Then, in 2021, my husband was having trouble with his eyes and getting severe headaches. I'm talking the kind of headaches that forced him to take entire days off from work and lock himself in a dark room. When we finally got him to a specialist, he was diagnosed with a rare eye disease that caused an extreme sensitivity to UV light. I couldn't believe it! What were truly the odds of BOTH of us having rare medical conditions which made Las Vegas such an unsuitable environment for us to live? At that point, it was clear that a change needed to be made. I got permission from my employers to work my sales job remotely on a permanent basis, and we began house shopping with our family and friends encouraging and supporting our choice to relocate for a healthier life.
Fast forward a bit, and we bought our first home here in Forks Washington, the rainiest place in the United States. My husband's headaches went away, and I found myself with plenty of cloudy days where it is safe for me to enjoy being outside without getting sick. Our new home came with a large yard, a green house and a raised bed garden, and I nearly immediately began gardening. Every day before logging on to my sales job, I was sowing seeds and pulling weeds. Every evening I was reading about the science of growing my own organic produce and watching gardening vlogs, voraciously and joyfully learning everything I could. The tension and malaise that I felt all cooped up inside in Las Vegas was gone. THIS was my purpose. To not only pursue excellence in my sales career (gearing up for my next Presidents Club trip as we speak!), but also to spend time outside in nature, to pour my energy into my garden and provide my household and few others with home grown food. I am also feeling like I am part of community here in Forks. I volunteer as the announcer for West End thunder, the local small town drag racing association, and I have met so many incredible people through this joyful enterprise!
This is my story of finding purpose. Not everyone is going to experience a series of medical diagnoses that force them to relocate and stumble upon their bliss. Your own journey will be different. I am sharing this story with you to illustrate that career success is not enough. Yes, making a lot of money and being recognized as among the best in your profession can and will provide a lot of personal satisfaction, but if you have no other purpose, you are likely finding yourself feeling a bit empty, a bit let down even as you achieve milestone after milestone in your career. I am not here just to help you make more money. I want to see you attain true SATISFACTION.
If you're ready to take the next step to finding your purpose and building a purpose driven life, it might be time to schedule your first FREE coaching session. I look forward to helping you become the best possible version of yourself!
~Kat Jack
