Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig

Nick Craig is the Founder and President of the Core Leadership Institute, and his expertise comes from over 25 years of working with top teams, leadership programs, executive coaching, and much more, with companies like Ben and Jerry’s, Lego, Heineken, Unilever, and the US Military. What makes Nick’s approach truly unique is that he focuses on helping leaders tap into their deeper wisdom rather than giving them rote instructions on how to be a good leader. Today, Kevin and Nick talk about some key takeaways from his new book, Leading from Purpose.

• So many of us have great ideas but lack the belief in ourselves to carry them out and share them with others. Nick is no different. He briefly shares with Kevin how he went through several challenges of his own bringing his unique leadership training to the world. It began as Authentic Leadership and is known today as the Core Leadership Institute, and it all hinges on purpose, something he had reservations about from the start.
• Kevin notes the forward of the book, Leading from Purpose, and the “CAUTION” written there might give you second thoughts about reading the book. We can’t put the exact text here, but in short, once you live your purpose, you can’t unlive it. There’s no going back. Nick has his own purpose, naturally, but he defines it in two parts: the key to get into the room, and the room itself. Have you ever thought about your own purpose in this way?
• Do you have a purpose statement, and if so, does it sound like a mission statement? Or worse, is it filled with corporate speak? According to Nick, purpose is the unique gift you bring to the world – keyword ‘unique.’ He shares some of the most delightful, meaningful statements of purpose he’s heard, including one from the president of Hershey’s, that aren’t at all what you think a purpose statement should be.
• Many of us have lived our lives trying to live up to the expectations other people have of who we SHOULD be, instead of living according to the purpose of who we were MEANT to be. That’s a paraphrase of a line in Nick’s book, and he and Kevin dive deeper into what it means, and more importantly, how it can keep us unhappy with what we do. Do you ever feel like a fish trying to climb a tree? Then this will resonate with you.
• Finding the key to get into your own purpose room can be a real challenge, and Nick has an exercise for you. Sit down and write out a story of a magical moment from your childhood, but not from your own perspective. Write it like a movie script: what happened, who was saying it, what happened next. Nick shares what to do with that story, and it’ll floor you how easy it can be to locate your purpose.
• Once you discover your true purpose, you may realize that you’re in for a rough time. Think about it: are you the one who tells people what they don’t want to hear but need to? It’s not always the case, but a lot of people Nick has worked with find that their purpose is edgier than they ever realized. And that’s fantastic. Out of ‘10,000 encounters,’ there are some that really stand out for Nick, and he shares some of them. They’ll touch your heart.
• You might be Gandalf or Buzz Lightyear in your personal statement of purpose, but that doesn’t mean you should proclaim that to everyone you meet. While you should absolutely stay true to the spirit of it, Nick also advises you to keep another version of your purpose statement to share with others, once your relationship with them deepens.
• Nick closes with some very poignant thoughts on choices, time, perspective, the Divine, and more, and it’ll put you in the right state of mind to dig in and find your OWN purpose.

An Extraordinary ExperimentThank you for listening to this episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast. Remember, if you ever think that your work could be less ordinary, there’s not much between you and something extraordinary. Just 13 weeks, and a bold experiment. Find out more about the Extraordinary Experiment here!If you liked this...Then you'll like the interview Kevin did last year with Thom Winninger about Divine Gifts. You can give it a listen right here!Nick CraigLeading from Purpose AssessmentCore Leadership Institute WebsiteLinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubeLeading from Purpose Book