DEANNA'S BLOG

When considering what your unique purpose is in the world, it’s essential to reach into your roots. Only YOU have lived YOUR story. Where you have come from has made you who you are, and in many ways, has positioned you to pursue a purpose that is meant for you. Before you look forward boldly into your Purposeful Hustle, one of my biggest pieces of advice is to look back. You may be surprised what you learn about yourself that helps you articulate what you think your purpose is. You may realize you have special skill sets or insights that have specifically prepared you to make the impact you want to have in the world.

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.

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.

Networking can be fun. There, I said it. I’m that person who’s trying to convince you that networking isn’t totally awful. But really, if you take a new approach, something that is inevitable can actually become enjoyable.

If you are a business owner or manager, then you know how important it is to get your employees to hustle. No, we’re not talking about hustling around and acting busy, we mean getting employees motivated.

So you’re really fired up about something. You feel like you’re finally living out your purpose, at least some days, in some ways. That’s so great! You want to welcome your friends, family, coworkers, and even the stranger behind you in line at the coffee shop into your purpose, but where do you start? How can you get someone to care about something that feels SO important to you?

Our purpose doesn’t always show up for us at the most convenient times. But then again, with how busy we are, when would be a convenient time? Do we ever really have time to drop everything and spend all of our time doing directly purpose-related work? For many of us, the answer is no. Those moments of vibrancy, instances of inspiration when we feel pulled into purpose-related work often come in the midst of the chaos of our lives.

There are events that wreck us, things that break us down in ways we weren’t prepared for, that make it hard to show up in the world the same way the next day. I’m sure we all can recall at least one such event pretty quickly. In moments like these, our purpose comes into question, and the thought of hustling may seem unbearable. When tragedy really hits home, it can leave us feeling absolutely powerless.

Many people today harbor a dream of starting a business. The idea of a “side hustle” has captured the imagination of those working a traditional job.  The Flying Elephant team is going even further to show how to make that “side hustle" purposeful!

One of the most common obstacles people express 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 the hustle part of a 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.