Find and share your gift by working out loud #wolweek 2016

This is the first day of this year`s Working Out Loud Week #wolweek and Simon Terry has recommended to reflect about PURPOSE.

First I was contemplating about the term “purpose” and what it exactly means in German. Is it more about intention, a goal, aim, only a task or it more about a higher meaningful purposeful goal with significant core values which makes the world a better place? Well, I guess this question exactly triggers the right aspect and to starts my and your own journey (‘The way is the goal’ — Confucius) into a purposeful (work) life where I am first discovering my own gift:

my talents and skills: am I using them to help others?
my (working) time: how should I prioritize my time?
my power and influence: How I could I have a larger positive impact on the life of others?

I have made the experience that joining a Working Out Loud Circle as described by John Stepper is really helpful to discover my own gifts because of this impressive feedback culture which should exist in every great circle. A circle is a protected and confidential space (video conference or on-site meetup) where a group of people meet every week for 12 weeks to reach their goals. Using public social media channels is part of the exercises but not an isolated goal without a senseful meaning behind it.

Working Out Loud is not a wild and uncoordinated broadcasting of news or random (personal) information. That is what I hear a lot as major concern: “Why should I want to read that others are currently eating a cookie?”

For me it is a learning space with very concrete purposes: helping other people and organisations to achieve more. That is the main focus. It`s all about supporting others and reaching own goals is a secondary gain.

I have modified the famous quote from Pablo Picasso: “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

Find your gift, share your gift

Bruno Winck

June 7, 2016 at 11:31 am

Nice combo of Picasso and John Stepper. I don’t remember where I found a definition of purpose as being what is above the reachable skyline. Below are SMART goals, above are unreachable targets. An added assumption is that it will benefit to more than us, which makes sense as we will not see it completed or benefit from it. For me, it’s a (positive) contribution to our Karma. I’m using this term as I see many mentions of Dharma on the page.

Back to #WOLWeek I’m pondering if the purpose of #WOL could be different as one’s long term purposes. My guess is no. Being at least a bit generous and open minded eventually tap into the same source. So it brings us to this question: what is my purpose for the coming years ?

Which German word did you use for purpose ? I was surprised to discover for other terms that there are not always universal names for such basic concepts. http://winck.org/blog/2014/12/indian-and-greek-philosophy/

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Ragnar Heil

June 7, 2016 at 11:37 am

Great feedback and thoughts, Bruno!
Depending on the context I use the word “purpose” in German for: Zweck, Absicht, Ziel

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Ragnar Heil

June 7, 2016 at 11:39 am

And yes, it is all about our Karma, that’s my main understanding.
BTW, First I had the intention to write about SMART goals but then moved to Picasso

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Bruno Winck

June 7, 2016 at 11:54 am

Zweck, Absicht, Ziel

Got it, IMHO Ziel is really the target, it doesn’t embed intention and don’t separate from goals. I prefer “Absicht” as it links to “Sicht”, something you can see and look forward without ever reaching it. My take here is that purpose is really above the goals like an envelope of our successive trajectories toward SMART goals. OK I’m doing intensive use of metaphors.

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Ragnar Heil

June 7, 2016 at 11:57 am

I had exactly same thoughts when I wrote it. I thought about different layers and that purpose is more than a single goal like a task/todo. Let me now reflect about envelope as a new metaphor – I like it!

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Stephen Danelutti

June 7, 2016 at 3:41 pm

Great original post Ragnar and indeed additional input Bruno :) Really has made me think deeply about the point.

I would like to say I think about it in terms of how Confucius did, as you quoted Ragnar: “The way is the goal”. Which to me means no purpose or letting go of the purpose, focus just on the being or doing, on the path or way.

Whether towards our ultimate life purpose or for our #workingoutloud purpose, I would say do your work with mastery without too much concern for what purpose it serves and share learnings (of success and failure) generously. If somebody benefits from that sharing awesome – but that is purely incidental.

As mentioned, I would like to say this is how I approach it but I cannot say that is the case 100% of the time. So if any purpose is needed, then mine is to improve in that :)

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6 responses to “Find and share your gift by working out loud #wolweek 2016”

Bruno Winck

June 7, 2016 at 11:31 am

Nice combo of Picasso and John Stepper. I don’t remember where I found a definition of purpose as being what is above the reachable skyline. Below are SMART goals, above are unreachable targets. An added assumption is that it will benefit to more than us, which makes sense as we will not see it completed or benefit from it. For me, it’s a (positive) contribution to our Karma. I’m using this term as I see many mentions of Dharma on the page.

Back to #WOLWeek I’m pondering if the purpose of #WOL could be different as one’s long term purposes. My guess is no. Being at least a bit generous and open minded eventually tap into the same source. So it brings us to this question: what is my purpose for the coming years ?

Which German word did you use for purpose ? I was surprised to discover for other terms that there are not always universal names for such basic concepts. http://winck.org/blog/2014/12/indian-and-greek-philosophy/

LikeLiked by 1 person

1. Ragnar Heil
  
  June 7, 2016 at 11:37 am
  
  Great feedback and thoughts, Bruno!
  Depending on the context I use the word “purpose” in German for: Zweck, Absicht, Ziel
  
  LikeLike
  
  1. Ragnar Heil
    
    June 7, 2016 at 11:39 am
    
    And yes, it is all about our Karma, that’s my main understanding.
    BTW, First I had the intention to write about SMART goals but then moved to Picasso
    
    LikeLike
    
  2. Bruno Winck
    
    June 7, 2016 at 11:54 am
    
    Zweck, Absicht, Ziel
    
    Got it, IMHO Ziel is really the target, it doesn’t embed intention and don’t separate from goals. I prefer “Absicht” as it links to “Sicht”, something you can see and look forward without ever reaching it. My take here is that purpose is really above the goals like an envelope of our successive trajectories toward SMART goals. OK I’m doing intensive use of metaphors.
    
    LikeLike
    
    1. Ragnar Heil
      
      June 7, 2016 at 11:57 am
      
      I had exactly same thoughts when I wrote it. I thought about different layers and that purpose is more than a single goal like a task/todo. Let me now reflect about envelope as a new metaphor – I like it!
      
      LikeLike
      
  3. Stephen Danelutti
    
    June 7, 2016 at 3:41 pm
    
    Great original post Ragnar and indeed additional input Bruno :) Really has made me think deeply about the point.
    
    I would like to say I think about it in terms of how Confucius did, as you quoted Ragnar: “The way is the goal”. Which to me means no purpose or letting go of the purpose, focus just on the being or doing, on the path or way.
    
    Whether towards our ultimate life purpose or for our #workingoutloud purpose, I would say do your work with mastery without too much concern for what purpose it serves and share learnings (of success and failure) generously. If somebody benefits from that sharing awesome – but that is purely incidental.
    
    As mentioned, I would like to say this is how I approach it but I cannot say that is the case 100% of the time. So if any purpose is needed, then mine is to improve in that :)
    
    LikeLiked by 1 person

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