Written by: Marcy Pusey, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“Once upon a time, I was born a baby. I grew up, learned things, and now I’m teaching you those things. Do it my way and you’ll live a life as grand as mine!”
You know the script, right?
We see it in ads, self-help books, and narrative plot lines all the time.
I often walk away from those stories with some doubt and more than a little skepticism.
If your life is so great, what’s in it for you to help me? What’s the catch? Do you just want my money? Or do you actually care?
They may be the most genuine, heart-centered, impact-driven people but I see the script and hear “fiction.” And while fiction is great for an escape, it’s not great for my day-to-day decisions. So, I scroll on by.
I cringe when I see someone miss the potential for impact with their story just because they missed purpose as their foundation.
As one of those genuine, heart-centered, impact-driven people, I desperately want to impact people for good. As someone who believes deeply in the power of story, of your story, I want each person I encounter to have everything they need to get their words into the world, for the greatest impact. But I will miss the mark if I don’t write for my purpose.
I’ve had enough. I don’t want you to be one of the stories that could have changed the world but didn’t.
If we’re going to make an impact with our messages, we have to start with purpose.
The Distinct Power of Purpose
The purpose is who am I, what I bring to the world, and the impact I create when living from my natural flow state. If why is our passion and motivation and drive, then the purpose is the core from which it’s fueled. Purpose, then, is the intention behind your existence, the reason you are here. The purpose is an invitation to partner your message with deep meaning.
If you don’t know why you do what you do, people will experience an inner dissonance when they listen to you. They’ll grasp what you're saying with their logical brain, but have no deep limbic engagement with it, leaving your impact limited and their life untouched.
Without a sense of purpose, you can be the most powerful, wealthy, productive person on the planet and everything you produce will be hollow, just like the script I started with.
To be people of impact we must flow from our purpose.
How Your Purpose Pivots Your Writing From BLAH to Impact
Emotion
When we write for our purpose, we write with emotion. Emotions come from a nonverbal part of our brain, bringing with them a sense of intuition, congruence (or lack of), and resonance with the world around us. Emotion taps into the deep inner wiring of the person receiving your story, allowing for some of the most incredible possibilities for impact. Emotion in our writing, stemming from our purpose, can create a sense of connection, belonging, and hope; all of which our brain thrives on. Info dumps will never touch this part of their brain like an emotional journey in our writing will.
Write with purpose and you’ll let your reader feel something. Readers who feel also remember, marked by your story and the hope it gave them.
Authenticity
Purpose activates our internal character-judgment meter. Have you ever been in the audience (as a reader or listener) and had a deep knowing that the person speaking to you wasn’t authentic? How did you know? Where did this intuition come from? Your brain makes quick snap decisions about people based on connections it’s made over your lifetime in order to keep you safe. Inauthenticity is not safe.
But when a person speaks from their purpose, you experience the passion and genuineness of their message, and you feel safe. There’s a relief and permission to attend to the message because your brain doesn’t sense an ulterior agenda. Authenticity is powerful, and it comes from alignment with our purpose.
Write with purpose and you’ll write authentically. Write authentically, and you’ll win the heart and attention of your audience.
Credibility
For decades, we’ve spoken of credibility in terms of letters after one’s name, years of education, or societally-constructed accomplishments. But, I believe, for lack of authenticity, these original tokens of credibility no longer hold in the same way. They created out-of-reach, unattainable teachers that we were expected to believe simply because their title said so.
Instead, people want to know if you see them. Have you walked in their shoes? Have you felt their pain? Have you struggled? When we write on purpose, we have no time to hide behind accolades. The reason for your existence on this earth can’t be bothered by pretense.
When we write on purpose, our credibility is our story, told truthfully, for the good of our audience.
The Journey
It’s easy to think of results when we think of the impact. What is the measurable marker to indicate that I’ve adequately achieved the level of impact I hope to make? How will my audience know when they’ve “arrived” at impacted? We can focus so much on the end, that we miss the middle. Transformation happens on the way.
When we write with purpose, we write with awareness and intention. We gently take the hand of our readers and invite them to an experience. It’s in the experience that lifelong impact is sown, nurtured, and tended.
Think of someone who quickly drops 20 pounds with a bunch of quick-win gimmicks. They look and feel great for a minute, but statistically end up gaining more weight than they lost. Yet the person who takes the long road of incremental weight loss statistically sees the greatest lifelong weight and health changes, sustainably and permanently.
Write from purpose and your audience will take the transformational journey to lasting impact.
What if I don’t know my purpose?!
There are some wonderful resources and tools for gaining clarity on your purpose. Use them!
A starting point might be asking yourself the following questions:
What gets you excited or passionate? Why?
What gets you fired up and angry? Why?
What makes you giddy?
What core values are you aware of?
What thing keeps coming back to you the thing that if you don’t do it, you’ll spend your life wondering if you were supposed to?
Questions like these can get you headed in the direction of your purpose.
Considering hiring a coach, like I did, for a Purpose Discovery call. This was an incredible experience that left me with a purpose statement that I regularly use to filter my opportunities for the greatest impact. Better Future International is a great place to start.
Read and view anything by Simon Sinek.
Get support writing from, with, and through purpose with my Story Coaching service HERE. I’d love to hold your hand through the process, as I’ve done for hundreds of others.
Remember, we are vehicles of our purpose, not perfectors of it. Don’t get caught up in getting it “right”, get caught up in being who you were made to be.
Write from purpose and you will leave a legacy of changed lives, starting with yours.
Marcy Pusey, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Marcy is mama to four humans and two pups, but she’s also tossed pizzas for a pizzeria, acted in a musical, appears in a few movies, and is a castle exploring buff (or nerd, you decide). Marcy is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Trauma and Resilience Practitioner, international 2x TEDx speaker, Trauma-Informed Story Coach, publishing consultant, and an award-winning, best-selling author of books for adults and for children. Founder of Miramare Ponte Press, Marcy, and her team provide coaching, consultation, and publishing services for storytellers of all kinds.
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