I've been thinking a great deal lately about a question that seems to occupy an increasing amount of attention in business, education, and personal development: How do we find our purpose in life? After more than five decades in business, reviewing over 1,000 books, mentoring thousands of people navigating career transitions, and interviewing extraordinary leaders on The Mentors Radio, I've developed a hypothesis that challenges much of conventional wisdom. Perhaps we're asking the wrong question I believe we're confusing three fundamentally different things: purpose, gifts, and calling. Our Purpose Is Universal Alan Mulally, the legendary former CEO of Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airplanes, has been a guest on my radio show. Recently, at the 30th anniversary celebration of Leader to Leader, he reiterated something that has stayed with me: Our purpose in life is to love and to be loved - in that order. Mulally explores the relationship between love, leadership, and service in his foreword to Work Is Love Made Visible, edited by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, and Sarah McArthur. His insight resonates deeply with my Catholic faith. Christ's commandment to love God and our neighbor establishes a purpose that transcends careers, accomplishments, wealth, and recognition. We don't need to discover this purpose. We need to live it. Our Gifts Are Personal While our overarching purpose may be universal, our gifts are uniquely our own. Don Clifton, the father of strengths-based psychology, devoted his career to understanding why people flourish when they develop their natural talents rather than concentrating primarily on correcting their weaknesses. I explored this with James Asplund, Gallup's Chief...
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