Working with Purpose.

Today’s marketing Cookie is about finding fulfillment by aligning your personal passions with your professional work.

We often equate “our work” with our jobs. We show up when we’re supposed to, stay late when we must, and do our best to fulfill our duties and responsibilities. In this context, the work we do every day is really "their work," driven by organizational goals and external expectations. When you perform “their work” well and achieve “their goals,” the success you achieve may come with a nice bonus, but it's really “their success.” This is what people refer to as “just a job.”

Occasionally, a once-in-a-career opportunity arises when the stars align, and you find yourself in a job doing "their work" that resonates with your passions, aligns with your values, and connects with your whole heart. When this extraordinary alignment occurs, "their work" transforms into "your work," driven by what you genuinely care about. The tasks you perform each day become meaningful extensions of yourself, fueled by intrinsic motivation and a deep sense of fulfillment. In such instances, if you’re lucky enough to find it, the job itself is its own success.

You may be doing an outstanding job at "their work," getting promoted, earning pay raises, and receiving recognition. Even if the job never truly aligns with "your work," that's okay. You can find success in "just a job" and can take pride in the impact you’ve made.

But wait. There's always an opportunity to pursue "your work" outside the four walls of the job. People do it all the time. You can kick off personal projects, volunteer, engage in community service, or partake in creative activities like writing, painting, or music. These pursuits allow self-expression and growth within the dream of accomplishing “your work.”

But that’s not all. There may be a way to sneak “your work” into “their work.” Here’s a little story:

I wanted to be an actor. It didn't matter if it was in the park, on stage, on TV, or in movies, if I could find a good story, a role, and an audience, I was all-in. I was chasing my dream in New York, interning with a director-producer couple who made a movie with River Phoenix and was introduced to their next-door neighbor, who directed Silence of the Lambs and was working on Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. This was big. I could feel my career path forming with every step I took.

On the closing night of a production of Godspell a director offered me the starring role in an off-Broadway musical written by William Gibson called The Butterfingers Angel. During rehearsal, I had my first scene with a woman playing the Cherry Tree. I was immediately smitten. When the producer announced a 15-minute break, I gathered the courage to offer her part of my fluffernutter sandwich. We were married one year later.

That moment marked the beginning of something beautiful and the end of "my work" as an actor. Or was it? 

It’s been more than 30 years since I stopped doing "my work" as an actor to get a job doing "their work." Looking back, I see many times I found ways to do "my work" while doing "their work." For years, I traveled the country, speaking from center stage at marketing conferences. Every time I write content for our clients, I get to tell a story. When I help clients build campaigns, I help them read the room and develop messaging that resonates with the audience. When I have connected a small part of “my work” to “their work,” I light up, my whole heart is in it, and all types of success follows.

While your job may be a necessary aspect of life, when you nurture "your work" into “their work” you will experience incredible self-fulfillment and it will lead to a more fulfilling career. This is a great way to achieve a sense of harmony and purpose when doing “their work”, making your efforts more meaningful and rewarding. When you transform “just a job” into “your work,” it can be as today’s fortune says, “Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed.”