Finding Meaning and Mission in Your Entrepreneurial Career
Do you know what your mission and purpose are? According to our latest interview guest, writer and speaker Valorie Burton, it is vital for entrepreneurs to get clear about their own personal mission first, after which that mission can be channeled into meaningful business success.
Valorie’s story will probably sound familiar. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master’s in Positive Psychology, she did a very short stint in the corporate world before realizing it wasn’t for her. At the age of 24, she left to become an entrepreneur. Her first business, launched in 1997, was a PR firm.
Valorie was good at PR; she set lofty goals and received considerable publicity for her business success, but she wasn’t very passionate about it. After years in the business, she realized that communication was her gift and she should be using it in an entrepreneurial way. But not in the field of public relations.
The problem, Valorie realized, is that she had not yet figured out her mission in life. As she explains in the interview, when you are not doing something you love, you can be good at it yet not really enjoy it. You can set and reach goals, but they won’t keep you excited because there is no underlying mission for why you are trying to reach them. And when times get difficult, it will be hard to push forward because you don’t understand why you should persevere in the first place.
This led Valorie to the realization that her mission is to inspire people to live better lives. Through speaking and writing (11 books, including the latest, titled Successful Women Speak Differently), she helps people discover their mission and find the tools they need to fulfill it. As she explains in the interview:
Click to listen to the interview below where Valorie shares tips on how to find your mission, what if what you are doing right now is not your calling, four core fears that hold you back, and practical tips for improving your confidence and communication skills.