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GL MONTHLY e-NEWSLETTER - February 2005

Brought to you by Jeff Thoren, DVM  

“You were born an original.  Don’t die a copy.”  - John Mason

Last month we looked at the requirement of leaders to forge meaning and purpose for an organization and its employees.  This month we’ll look at where it all starts … in the heart of each individual leader.

Dave Wondra, a personal renewal and leadership development coach, shares his point of view about purpose, explained from the perspective of the prairie.  Great stuff!

Here’s this month’s feature …

The Purposeful Prairie – by Dave Wondra

From The Inventure Group’s On Purpose Journal – Vol. 7, No. 1

Highlights from the article:

  • It all begins with a seed.  Each seed contains deep within it the code that describes what it is meant to become, its ultimate purpose.  This code is the key to transforming the seed from ordinary to extraordinary, from nondescript seed to beautiful, unique flower.  The seed of purpose resides deep within each of us.  Each of us bears a uniqueness that asks to be lived.
      

  • A seedling thrives in the sun.  In a sense the seedling is called by the sun and must answer the call to reach its full potential.  Everyone has a calling.  A calling is the small, unsettling voice from deep within our souls, an inner urge, which hounds us to live out our purpose in a certain way.  A calling implies a Caller who has already identified the purpose that best fits our gifts.
      

  • Plants within a prairie community support the growth and survival of each other.  Alone they are just individual plants fending for themselves.  Woven together, they join in a way that leaves little room for invading weeds.  They form a bond greater than the sum of their individual parts that ensures survival and prosperity.  As citizens of the human community, we have a shared purpose for helping each other make the world a better place.  Through a “we” instead of “me” attitude, we can use our gifts to make a difference for those around us.
      

  • Each prairie plant has a unique purpose.  Each plant is singular, has a specific role in the prairie ecosystem and/or specific benefits to humans.  We are born to make unique contributions to the world that cannot be made by anyone else.  We pursue our singular calling through the demonstration of character and passion.  Expressing our character in daily life means that our actions match what is etched into our souls.  Passion is enthusiasm that comes from the inside out.  Passion is a strong source of motivation because it comes from the heart, not the head!
      

  • A plant is rarely aware of its full impact in the world.  It sends out seeds without knowing the final destination or result.  We may not see the result of our interactions with others in the near term, or in our lifetime.  We sometimes think that only the achievements of those on the covers of magazines matter.  However, everyday, people take actions in less visible ways that make a real difference in the lives of others.
      

  • The prairie moves through a cycle of renewal.  Before it can further its growth, the prairie must regularly renew itself.  We move through a renewal cycle throughout our lives.  As our lives evolve, our purpose evolves.  Renewal helps us reconnect our doings with our being so that our activities can be aligned with our real core.
      

  • “What determines eminence is less about a call to greatness than a call to character, that inability to be other than what you are at the core, following it faithfully or being desperately driven by its dream.”  - James Hillman

For the full text article, go to …
http://www.wondragroup.com/pdfs/purposefulprairie.pdf

Are You Working On Purpose?

What does meaningful work mean to you?  How important is it for you to do work that is meaningful to you?  Your degree of agreement (or not) with the following questions will give you an idea of your power of purpose at work.

  1. I wake up most Mondays feeling energized to go to work.

  2. I have deep energy - feel a personal calling - for my work.

  3. I am clear about how I measure success as a person.

  4. I use my gifts to add real value to people’s lives.

  5. I work with people who honor the values I value.

  6. I speak my truth in my work.

  7. I experience true joy in my work.

  8. I make a living doing what I most love to do.

  9. I speak my purpose in one clear sentence.

  10. I go to sleep most nights feeling that “this was a well-lived day.”

Source: The Inventure Group

Go to http://inventuregroup.com/Resources/Quiz.aspx to take the interactive version of this quiz and receive specific feedback on your unique responses to the questions.

“The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.”  - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Next Month

Find out how to “Orbit the Giant Hairball” as we start a series on creativity and innovation.

      

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