Sustainable Ambition Forum - 11.29.22

Hi everyone!

For those here in the states, I hope you had a lovely, long Thanksgiving weekend. I was grateful to experience a no-rush local trip to see beautiful, majestic 2,000-year-old trees, which helps put our current world in perspective. (Yep, that picture shows what is called “Tall Tree”!)

But let me also start by saying how thankful I am for having you as part of my community and allowing me into your in-box. It’s a privilege, and my goal is to offer insights and value for you on your own Sustainable Ambition journey.

Now today I’m writing about finding purpose where you are. Given the time of year, I thought it was a relevant topic as many of us think about giving and giving back.

Sustainable Ambition is my purpose work, and my hope is that what I share is helpful to you in finding more fulfillment and joy in life and work with more ease.

In my podcast episode featured below, I talk about this topic and the importance of defining our own purpose rather than looking outside to find it. An important theme for me of Sustainable Ambition is taking back control of areas of our life and work that we often look externally to find the answers. This is one such area.

And while we can live our purpose outside of our work, according to McKinsey 70% of us define our purpose through our work. I don’t think this is a bad thing. There are a lot of positive benefits to defining one’s purpose at work. For example, research has shown that purpose trumps passion for success at work and is more positively related to motivation. But we can be disappointed if we rely on our companies to define our purpose for us and they fall short.

I also don’t know if it’s the right place to look. (I say more about this in the podcast episode.) I appreciated how a McKinsey partner on their podcast shared that individuals have purpose and how organizations don’t give that to a person. He said, “The individual alone has agency in deciding what their purpose is and whether or not it aligns with the company’s.”

I know that purpose can feel lofty, but in my episode, I offer a more accessible definition of purpose and provide examples that can broaden your view of what it can mean and how you can achieve it. It just might be easier than you think.

For example, what if your purpose was to:

Make every interaction one that ends up leaving people feeling better at the end of their day than how it started. Wow!
Make people laugh in each conversation that you have with them. How fun!
Help one person each day. How hard could that be?
Be a great team partner at work and be a great partner at home. What an aspiration!
Contribute creative ideas to the world. Powerful!

This is doable. And making small progress each day towards such a meaningful goal can be motivating and help us feel more positive at work, according to research by Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile.

So as you close the year, think about how you can find your purpose where you are.If you want to go deeper, I offer this article on Find Your Purpose with exercises and references.

Wishing you the best for the holiday season!

Warmly,

Kathy Oneto
Founder of Sustainable Ambition

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The Round-Up

Create “be goals.” Who do you want to BE in the world? Be inspired to be and show up each and every day.

Free up your time. What are ways you might be wasting time that don’t serve you?

Just say no. A guide to when to gracefully bow out of taking on more work.

Spend your time where it matters. Get great tips like—do a time inventory, focus on relationships, combine less enjoyable activities with an enjoyable one, treat weekends like vacations, and more—then consider getting the book.

Say thanks. A reminder of the power of expressing your gratitude at work.

Life is short. An inspiring video to prioritize spending time with those you love this holiday and always. (Ignore the ad at the very end.)

Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends on what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.

E81: On the Novel Bit Flip and Ambition in Silicon Valley with Mike Trigg
I loved talking with my business school classmate, Mike Trigg, about his new novel, a corporate thriller called Bit Flip. We talk about what it’s like to have an entrepreneurial career in tech, the role of ambition in Silicon Valley and how it plays a central role in the book, the shifting view of the tech industry today, and how an unbridled and over-abundance of ambition is resulting in negative impacts in our world. Listen in and read the book! It’s a fun, energetic read that will make you reflect on your own ambitions.

Listen on your favorite player here or on our website here

E86: An Invitation to Examine Life & Find What Works for You with Tara McMullin
I was thrilled to talk to Tara McMullin about her new book, What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting. The book is for anyone looking for a new approach to goal-setting, one that you might find better aligned to who you are and more satisfying, while still producing results. So many good nuggets in this episode.

Listen on your favorite player here or on our website he r e

E87: On Finding Purpose Where You Are
In this solo show, I talk about the theme of the newsletter, finding purpose in your work and in your life where you are, rather than look for it externally outside of yourself.

Listen on your favorite player here or on our website here

You can also find the podcast, subscribe, and listen on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, and more.

Trust that You Will Have Time

Rather than grind, push non-urgent action items off.
Don’t let them be on your visibile to-do list in danger of overwhelming you.

Rather, keep that list short and focused.
For the rest, allow the right moment, space, and energy to present itself.

There will be the right time to get it done.

A Practice: Say Thank you!

We rarely pull off anything alone.

Who can you thank this holiday for supporting your ambitions?

“A small act is worth a million thoughts.”

— Ai Weiwei

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SUSTAINABLE AMBITION™ IS ABOUT CRAFTING A FULFILLING CAREER TO SUPPORT YOUR LIFE FROM DECADE TO DECADE.

It is centered around articulating your personal definition of success and achieving that without burnout while honoring your personal aspirations and ambitions as they ebb and flow over time. The end game—more fulfillment and ease in your professional and personal life, while still being ambitious.

We offer 1:1 Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, or Career Strategy Coaching, as well as VIP Leadership Brand Sessions and Workshops on a range of Sustainable Ambition topics. We also provide tips and inspiration, advice on career management over the decades, guides on key Sustainable Ambition topics of interest, and coverage of tools and inspiration.