PURPOSEFUL HUSTLE BLOG

How many opportunities for connections are we passing up each day? Big Mama turned this concept on its head with one visit to Washington, DC. Find out what she did below.

It’s not always easy to put yourself out there, especially if you’re already surrounded by a supportive community of people who want to see you live into your purpose. But meeting new people and expanding our network is essential to growth. Especially if you are looking for more support and encouragement in pursuing your purpose, I cannot overstress how important is to find YOUR people.

This week's Failsume mistake of Being Too Cheap is associated with the song "Bag Lady" by Erykah Badu, which encourages women to value ourselves higher than anything else. How are you valuing yourself in your Purposeful Hustle? (A Failsume is a list of all my failures and mistakes throughout my career. The purpose of sharing this information is for you to learn what to avoid when faced with the same situations.)

These days, we hear the word “self-care” tossed around a lot. It’s used in so many different ways and has become a buzzword to sell products ranging from face masks to yoga classes. It’s used so much that it can almost feel like another form of stress. We might get caught thinking, “I have so much going on already, and now I need to worry about self-care too!” But whether we like it or not, taking good care of ourselves is essential. We need to be a friend to ourselves. Especially as Purposeful Hustlers, in order to live into our purpose, we need to be able to be the best versions of ourselves. We need to know what we need to stay healthy, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Our wellbeing is SO IMPORTANT.

If you’re at a point where you’re feeling like your career isn’t aligning with who you want to be in the world, it may be time to revisit your sense of purpose. This is something I need to do regularly to make sure I’m showing up as the best version of myself and making values-driven decisions, and it is the central theme of my book Purposeful Hustle.

One of the most common obstacles people mention to me when wanting to do impactful work is finances. It seems like there’s never enough money to make the changes in your life that will help you live within your purpose or create the impact that you want to see. This is where the hustle part of Purposeful Hustle kicks in. With little or no money, I have seen people create countless impactful solutions. In fact, I soon realized in my philanthropic work that the organizations with the biggest impact are often the ones who are underfunded. Why? Because those organizations prioritize impact over fundraising and are too busy doing the work to raise the money. You CAN make a huge impact with a small cash flow.

This month I am talking about transitions. A lot of people have been reaching out to me to discuss the idea of transitioning into a new career. With people having some time to reflect, they are contemplating going into a totally new line of work and they are realizing they want to do things differently. They’re in this place where they’re starting to wonder what it looks like to transition into new work. I thought it would be a great idea to share some ideas for transitioning into new work in a way that is purposeful. And THAT is why so many people are calling me: they know they don’t want to do just anything and nobody should be doing just anything. You want to be doing things that are going to feed your soul, the things that are really going to feed who you are as an individual and leave a positive impact in the world.

It is totally possible for you to have the impact you hope to have in the world while maintaining your career ambitions. The two are not mutually exclusive. You can contribute to positive social change AND be successful professionally. In fact, being able to marry the two is the key to maximizing your Purposeful Hustle. Investing in and developing yourself to be the best you can be means that your contributions to the greater good have the capacity to be that much better.

You’re ready to start living in your purpose. You’ve identified your personal purpose statement using these Simple Steps to Make Career Decisions That Better Align With Your Values, or maybe you already felt clear and confident in what your purpose is. You’ve checked your fears and your doubts at the door. Maybe you’ve read 5 Questions to Ask if You Want to Take Action But Think There is Nothing You Can Do. Either way, you’re talking the talk of a Purposeful Hustler. Now it’s time to walk the walk. Here’s where to start:

Making a change in this world requires really hard work. It requires long hours, strategic scheduling and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone regularly. It requires taking chances that may feel ridiculous. But more than anything, no matter how hard you hustle, to truly have a positive impact in the way that only YOU can, you need PURPOSE.