Purpose Evolves, So Should You

Overtime, most of us exchange the big P for the little

The examples abound. I’m thinking three specifically at the moment: JD Roth, Tanja Hester, and Physician on FIRE. What am I talking about you ask? Today, I want to discuss the evolution of purpose that occurs with financial independence. In other words, what does not only reaching financial independence, but also remaining there do to our overall sense of purpose and how we pursue it?

For illustrative purposes, I am going to stick with some names in the financial independence world that were not only known by most of us in the community, but also decided to create content or even platforms around the concept. JD Roth is the genius behind Get Rich Slowly and the author of The Money Boss Manifesto, Tanja Hester created Our Next Life and is the author of two fantastic books (Work Optional and Wallet Activism), and Leif Dahleen (Physician on FIRE) is the man who built and sold the Physician on FIRE platform and blog.

Years after reaching financial independence and pursuing big P purpose, I would argue that all of them have settled into a life of the little p. First, let me start by saying that their platforms and books were at least partly purpose of the big P kind. They had big audacious goals of reaching a lot of people, changing a lot of lives, or (to a much lesser extent) making money. These goals added to the stress of their lives and I bet, at points, made the process much less enjoyable than many of the more lofty goals.

As time has passed, however, each of them has moved away from their big P activities and settled for other more enriching activities. Today, JD spends much less time interacting with the public and I believe, almost no time writing about money. Watercolors and painting, it turns out, are what really lights him up.

Tanja Hester who recently wrote her first blog post in years talked about how she pretty much has left social media and has been filling her time, among other things, graduating with a certificate of achievement in German language and won an award for visual art at one of the colleges and will get a gallery exhibition in the fall.

And Leif (POF) sold his blog and recently posted his summer itinerary on social media which included several trips to exotic locations.

The point I’m making here is that changing the world globally, building a platform and garnering followers, or making lots of money can all be examples of big P purpose. They all sound like great goals in the beginning, but the real boon of financial independence, at least based on these three individuals, seems like it is pursuing their own unique and individual sense of purpose in what appears to be a quiet but gratifying way.

I believe it is natural, as human beings, to evolve past the larger and more shiny goals to a place that feels a little more peaceful. It is not that we stop striving, it is just that the striving becomes more joyful and inwardly motivated. We strive to be more authentic and intentional versions of ourselves.

It doesn’t mean that we completely want to abandon changing the world, we just want to do so in a more local and sustainable way.

Today’s Poll

Did you catch this week’s episode of Earn & Invest (Click to listen)?

Path to Purpose Coaching

Over the last year, writing my new book The Purpose Code, I have spent a huge amount of time thinking about, writing about, and discussing purpose. I have offered one-on-one and group coaching to my mastermind group, Wealth With Purpose. These discussions stem from my real life encounters with dying hospice patients as well as the numerous interactions I have had with people after reading Taking Stock.

What I've found is that most of us who listen to the Earn & Invest Podcast struggle with three basic issues:

1. How do I define purpose in my life?

2. How do I transition to a more fulfilling career?

3. What is enough money look like? Enough life?

To help navigate these waters, I have decided to offer the Path to Purpose coaching program. This is one-on-one coaching with me to help you further define purpose, direction, and career. Sessions will be spread over five weeks with a goal to provide a more concrete and enjoyable path to crack the purpose code and start living your life now whether you are broke, pre financial independence, financially independent, or beyond.

https://www.earnandinvest.com/coaching