How to communicate your PURPOSE with PASSION

Hey Greenblasters!

Today, we’re tackling everybody’s favourite question:

“What do YOU do?”

You know how it goes:

You’re at a party. You only know the host. One of their jack-ass friends asks you this question, and looks at you like:

I used to HATE this question.

“Why are you asking me this? Why does it matter? Who the fuck are YOU?”

… I would think to myself, as I said:

“I’m an actor.”

Immediately, I saw the person’s face change.

I could SEE their approval, that this was automatically a worthwhile thing to be doing, and that Hollywood glamour and riches was surely in my future.

Then I quit acting.

I was completely lost, as I’ve written about before.

My jobs at that time included:

• bus boy

• mover

• bouncer

• waiter

• deli clerk

• unskilled labourer

• landscaper

• house painter

• and finally, English teacher

Then when people asked me “What do you do?”, and I told them whatever job I had at the time, I saw their faces drop.

“Really? I thought you were smart,” they seemed to be thinking.

To be clear, none of these jobs is anything to be ashamed of, if that’s what you love to do, or need to do to feed your family.

But that’s the point:

I didn’t love it. And I had no family to feed back then.

All I had was an absence of purpose.

And that made the question “What do you do?” so painful.

But nowadays, I fucking LOVE this question!

It gives me an opportunity to talk about something I’m proud of and passionate about.

My only job is to make my answer interesting and accessible to the person(s) I’m talking to.

So, if YOU struggle with your answer to this question, it’s almost definitely for one of 2 reasons:

1. You don’t love what you do

2. You don’t know how to make it interesting or accessible

If the answer is number 1, I genuinely feel for you. I’ve been there, and I never wanna go back. No judgment, but that really does suck.

If the answer is number 2:

That’s what I’m here to help with.

The reason I love working with startup founders is:

Almost all of them are passionate about their work.

If you’re a founder, you started your company because you noticed a PROBLEM that needed SOLVING, and you quit your job to take a massive fucking leap of faith that you could turn your crazy idea into a business.

So what you need to communicate when somebody asks you what you do, especially in a professional setting, is:

Your PASSION and your PURPOSE.

Your PURPOSE is communicated in WHAT you say:

• The name of your company

• Who you help

• What their problem is

• What your solution is

• What it helps them achieve

And your PASSION is communicated in HOW you say it:

• your face lights up (eyebrows raised, a smile)

• your hands start coming to life to outline your ideas

• your voice becomes strong, clear and excited (higher Pitch, Clarity, and Volume)

• and you are emotionally connected to your words (not rattling off a rehearsed elevator pitch for the 1000th time)

If you can communicate your PURPOSE with PASSION, you’re well on your way to becoming the kind of person who loves the question:

“So what do YOU do?”

That’s it for this week!

I really hope you found this useful. If so, PLEASE SHARE with anyone you think would like it, that’s the most helpful thing you could do for me and I’d love you forever. ❤️

P.S. If you reply with a quick answer to “What do you do?”, I’ll give the first 5 people who answer feedback for free!

Greenblast, out 🚀