Creating a Purpose for Impact
The Circle of Impact Leadership Six Series
A central problem in modern life is the application of utilitarian reason. This machine-like approach to existence reduces life’s purpose to the basics of animal life: survival, defense against aggressive forces, food, shelter, and amusement. As a child raised in a family steeped in the stories of ancestors and ancient philosophies of belief, this barren utilitarian system essentially denies that our human existence has meaning, and more importantly human potential is not something to pursue, but to cast aside as a myth of a pre-modern world.
If you know me, it is obvious that I don’t follow this philosophy of life. As I look back of my forty years of interest in questions about leadership, I realize that at the heart of leadership is the question of human purpose.
Creating a Purpose for Impact
As in my last video in this series, I describe leadership as beginning with personal initiative to create impact that makes a difference that matters. In order to take initiative, we need within us a motivating impetus that moves us to act.
This desire is a purpose for impact. This desire is not to have a notion for impact, a plan for impact, or simply a definition of impact, all which have value. They have values as the defining characterizations for the outcome of our personal initiative to create impact.
What is it that we seek to change? What is it that we have within our power to change? What has our past experience showed us about our potential for creating impact? All these questions are not just about purpose, but more deeply about the values that we wish to define our lives.
There, to have a purpose for impact, is to have a purpose for lives. The more we pour ourselves into discerning our purpose for impact, the more we will begin to see a life of potential fulfilled and a legacy claimed.
The second video in the Leadership Six series is focused on this important perspective derived from the Circle of Impact model of leadership.
Thank you for watching this video. The other videos in the series build upon this perspective. They are available to view on my YouTube channel. I will post a video with a comment each Friday.
If you have questions or want to discuss how the Circle of Impact can benefit your team or organization, please reach out to me at ed@edbrenegar.com.
The Leadership Six Series
Introduction to the Circle of Impact model of leadership