Sessions

The Power of Purpose in Life and in Business

Roy Spence got lucky and got on the road to Purpose early in his life -- although he did not know it at the time. His older sister, Susan Spence, was born with a severe birth defect called Spina Bifida and she never walked. So, he would push her to school every day and around town on the weekends. When she passed away he was in her bed and that is when he had his first Purpose epiphany. All those years he thought he was pushing her, she was actually pushing him. 

Life: When you have Purpose in your personal life you have both an anchor of great strength in the tough times and a mighty North Star to catch the trade winds in the good times. George Bernard Shaw said it the best “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one… being a force of nature”.

Business: In our best-selling book, It’s Not What You Sell It’s What You Stand For, we prove again the idea so brilliantly articulated by my great friend Jim Collins, best-selling author of Built to Last and Good to Great, when he talked about the great businesses all have a Purpose beyond making money and because of that they not only make more money -- they make a difference. Plus, when you have Purpose in your business life you NEVER have a job; you just always have work to do. That’s not a bad way to spend your life at work.

Life of America: America was born different. Born with a mighty Purpose that was anchored in America’s first motto “E pluribus unum…out of many one” and this grand promise: It doesn’t matter where your come from or what class or zip code you were born into, if you are willing to work hard and take responsibility, here in America you should have the chance to live up to your full potential. But in today’s America the politically driven forces on all sides have deliberately created a destructive culture of US vs Them here in America. So, he launched the Promiseland Project -- a long-term, purpose-inspired marketing and grassroots campaign to share the great things about America to America, to find common ground on higher ground and in the process, begin building a high-performing, job-creating, inclusive and purpose-driven culture of US. As in USA.