Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 75: 7 Hopes for You in the New Year

This is the first episode of 2019, and it comes with a disclaimer. This one might be a little weird. In fact, it could be the weirdest episode we’ve done yet! While the actual New Year only comes, well, once a year, these seven hopes should be with you every month of every year, starting right now. Listen to the full episode:

That you are awakened to purpose, and that you awake and arise to purposeful living

Purpose is a choice that we all make on a daily basis. Do we live for ourselves or for something larger? Living for yourself is a very small life. A year of purpose is lived 365 days a year, one day at a time.

That you live authentically, and that you live in authenticity

Poet E. E. Cummings has several quotes that Kevin shares which drive this hope home:

• “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
• “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”
• “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

That you displace the limiting beliefs that hold you back

We all have limiting beliefs; some we are aware of and some we aren’t. Kevin invokes another poet, Marianne Williamson, and her work, “Our Greatest Fear.” In short, many of us aren’t really afraid of failing. What we’re really afraid of is being very successful. Instead, liberate others by liberating yourself.

That you ride the waves and make ripples

We did warn you this would be a little weird, but think about it. We’re all riding waves that began long ago, but are you aware that you’re making ripples that will one day become waves? Kevin shares some anecdotes you might be able to relate to about both waves and ripples.

That you will be present more often in the next 12 months

What’s the value of living in the now? It’s the only time we truly have. We might be blessed enough to live tomorrow, and that will be another ‘now,’ but it isn’t guaranteed, and it won’t be the same as THIS ‘now.’ You won’t have the same opportunities as you have in this ‘now.’

That you flourish and thrive in the next 12 months

You might think this is Pollyanna, airy-fairy, but if you want the truth, flourishing isn’t ‘fluffy.’ Instead, a state of flourishing is how we were created to live. This is how we express the great concept of ‘shalom.’ Kevin explains what it really means.

That you enjoy community

If you’ve listened to the podcast, there’s no doubt you’ve heard Kevin’s rallying cry: “Purpose thrives in community and starves in isolation.” Be intentional about who you surround yourself with, perhaps now more than ever before. Check out the Higher Purpose community on Facebook!

Transform YOUR Team!

If you're a leader who is, or wants to be entrusted with the transformation of your team, join me and 6 other leaders for a year-long journey of transformation that will help you release your brilliance, and help others do the same. Email Kevin@Kevindmonroe.com to begin the application process.

Resources:

Higher Purpose Community

kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com

Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 74: The Top 10 Books on Purpose

Welcome to the last episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast for 2018. This special release is coming to you on Boxing Day and we’re wrapping up this year with the 10 most influential and inspirational books on purpose Kevin has read this year, and his takeaways from each of them.

Leading from Purpose by Nick Craig

Purpose is defined as the unique gifts you bring to the world that only you can bring, the way you bring it.

“Purpose is most valuable to us when there are no right answers, just choices for which time alone will give us the clarity to choose wisely.”

Find that life of purpose and occupy it as much and as fully as you can.

The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness by Emily Esfahani Smith

Happiness is better as a byproduct than as the main search. People who live meaningful lives have satisfied three conditions: Number one, they evaluate their lives as significant and worthwhile — as part of something bigger. Number two, they believe their lives make sense. And number three, they feel their lives are driven by a sense of purpose.

How Will You Measure Your Life? By Clayton M. Christensen

“The first step down the path is taken with a small decision. You justify all the small decisions that lead up to the big one, then you get to the big one, and it doesn’t seem so enormous anymore.”

If you have life principles and values, and those are how you say you're going to live your life, stick with them 100% of the time.

Story Driven: You don't need to compete when you know who you are by Bernadette Jiwa

“Great companies don’t try to matter by winning, they win by mattering.”

If you're always focused on what others are doing, it’s hard to be great at what you do, in the way only YOU can do it. If you’re a business owner, you need to give customers a reason to be loyal to your brand, rather than 100 reasons you’re better than the competition.

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

In this book, Dan goes behind the curtain of some of the groups who are known for their legendary accomplishments and teamwork that’s so fantastic, it’s an outlier. He shares the secrets of how they do it, and how you, too, can have that kind of amazing culture.

“Culture is a set of living relationships, working towards a shared goal. It’s not something you are, it’s something you do.”

Chief Joy Officer by Rich Sheridan

This is the follow-up to the book, Joy Inc., and it shows how to put those priciples into practice. Rich believes a leader’s primary job is to ‘pump fear out of the environment.’ But the biggest takeaway from the book is the story of the book, and Kevin explains why.

“If we get the definition of success right, leading becomes much easier.”

The Hospitable Leader by Terry Smith (special link for HPP Podcast listeners)

The message of The Hospitable Leader is a topic we need more now because polarization happens not just in politics, but in the world at large: people are shouting at one another, instead of having a conversation. The Hospitable Leader is a strategy for humanizing the workplace and being intentional about being hospitable.

“If you really want to see people flourish, you invest in the environment.”

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

Shame is the intensely painful feeling of believing that we're flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection, and Brené goes into that and unpacks it.  Where shame exists, empathy is almost always absent, and that’s what makes it so dangerous. Belonging and connection is what heals, and we all have a longing for belonging under the banner of culture.

“Daring leaders must care for and be connected to the people they lead.”

The Abundance Loop by Juliana Park

Fear leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to poor choices, poor choices produce negative outcomes. If you want a different outcome, start with gratitude. Gratitude produces peace of mind, peace of mind leads to wise choices, and wise choices allow you to have a positive outcome. That’s the abundance loop.

Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words by Oscar Trimboli

Listening is a critical skill, and is an accelerator for greater opportunity.  The single greatest barrier that most of us have to listening is the conversation that’s already going on in our minds. We can all become better listeners, and the biggest productivity gain comes from listening more, not learning more.

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman

Would you rather be known as the genius — the smartest person in the room — or the genius maker —the person who unleashes the brilliance of the people around you? A Multiplier can get twice the productivity from their team by making everyone else smarter, and I believe you're listening to this podcast because you want to be a multiplier and bring out the best in others.

What books have you read, and what would you recommend to other listeners of the Higher Purpose Podcast?

Let Kevin know at kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com.

If this book list has got you thinking about your plan for personal and professional development as you go into 2019, Kevin has created a simple resource and a reading list to help you develop your plan. Just send him an email.

If you want to do a deep dive into a year long, transformational journey with a very small group, email him as well.

Resources

Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig

Episode 37: Story Driven with Bernadette Jiwa

Episode 72: Hospitable Leadership and the Discipline of Hope with Terry Smith

Episode 63: Abundance and Scarcity Loops with Juliana Park

Episode 64: Experiencing and Cultivating Abundance with Juliana Park

Episode 57: Becoming a Deep Listener with Oscar Trimboli