Ask These 4 Questions to Clarify Your Purpose in the World

Ask These 4 Questions to Clarify Your Purpose in the World Ask These 4 Questions to Clarify Your Purpose in the World Article by Barry StilesBy the time I welches diagnosed with stage 4 neck and throat cancer, I had thought I was done with life-changing experiences for a while. In fact, I had been running the company that my previous life-changing experience inspired me to found for only six months when I got the call.What happened was this Five years before my own diagnosis, my then 4-year-old son was battling a rare form of lymphoma. I was witness to our beautiful boys extraordinary bravery as he endured spinal taps and an extremely aggressive chemo treatment.During this time, I occasionally escaped for a short run around Rice University to clear my head. During one run around the decomposed granite track that circles the campus, as I was looking for answers to questions that had none, I realized how I could combine my skills and passions to make a tangible difference in the worl d.I saw clearly that I could meld my skill set as an engineer and entrepreneur with my passion for family to help create a cleaner, less toxic environment for our kids. I envisioned a company that would keep plastic out of the oceans and landfills by using 100 percent post-consumer plastic, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by offering an eco-friendly alternative to concrete and asphalt, and cleanse toxic automobile pollutants through natural filtration of storm water. I wanted to make a real contribution toward a safer environment, and my sons bravery was the deep well from which I could draw inspiration.Years later, my own cancer treatment and recovery, coupled with the unending hilfestellung of my team and our clients, sharpened the clarity of purpose I had found. No one person and no one company can eradicate cancer, but making strides in that direction has imbued our companys mission - to improve our environment and communities by eliminating toxins and carcinogens that are pres ent in our everyday lives - with urgency and intention.I encourage you - entrepreneurs, business owners, and dreamers - to find fuel in your life challenges. The most trying times can clarify what motivates, inspires, and challenges you. When you see what lights your fire, go for it.You dont need a traumatic experience to take steps to clarify your purpose.Successful entrepreneurs rise, grind, stretch, and strive every day. They listen to clients, customers, and the marketplace - and to their guts. They ignore the voices that tell them business is just business, that its elend personal. Successful entrepreneurs know that if you make your business personal in a positive way, you can be a powerful agent for change.To clarify your purpose in the world, start by asking yourself these four questions1. Am I Happy?Are you passionate about what youre doing? Does it fulfill you? If you answered no, take some timetoconsider what you really love to do. What excites you so much that you lose track of time while doing it? What do you find yourself reading about or doing when youre off the clock? When I reflected on this question, my passion was easy to name my kids.When you figure out whatyour passion is, ask yourself Is this a hobby or a business? If its something just for you, it may be a hobby. If it solves a problem, makes something easier for other people, or improves a product or a service, then it may just be a business you can commit to in the long term. Equally important, make koranvers there is a market or an audience who will find value in your offering. If it fits these criteria and makes the world a better place, youll have a clear purpose going forward.2. What Do I Want?What do you want to achieve so much that you will be motivated to learn, work, and sacrifice more than anyone to reach that goal? Overnight successes are illusory.What the world sees as sudden is in fact backed by years of work and dedication. Ask yourself whether your passion is strong eno ugh and your goal is clear enough.One way to figure out whether this passion will stay with you for any length of time is to write it down, put it aside, and come back to it in a month. For me, the drive to work toward a safer, cleaner, less toxic environment for my own kids - and children everywhere - was persistent and unflagging.3. What Do I Know?Once youve defined what you want to do, take inventory. Do you have the necessary skills? The appropriate education? The funds to get started? If not, map out a path to attaining what you need.As you make a plan, incorporate the ways your existing skill set will help you achieve your larger goal. The business I developedbrought together my skills - product design, invention, engineering - and my passions for manufacturing in the US and cleaning the environment. My primary taskat the start wasto shore up the capital and the werkstoff resources to begin my journey.4. Can I Solve a Problem?What is the gap between what exists and what is needed? Is your solution new or different? Search the internet and scour retail to find out. Do a patent search, either on your own or with a patent attorney. Talk (and listen) to your potential customers.Having done this research, build a prototype of your product or write a detailed plan for your service. Assess the market potential for what you offer and once again consider whether you have something that solves a problem, improves someones health, or makes a process easier or better. This due diligence will help you determine just how the purpose you have found contributes to the greater social good. It will also show you whether you can be the best at doing it and find a place for yourself in the market.Finally, ask yourself Will it be fun to do this work? My research showed me that the solutions I proposed werent already in the marketplace. This freed me to anticipate how much fun I would have making permeable paving surfaces that snap together, like playing with Legos in the real world.Having a child with cancer was a bracing wake-up call for me about what really matters in this life. The surreality of the whole experience forced me to stop and listen, pause my entrepreneurial ambitions, and find a deeper purpose. Because I did, I was given the gift of making a difference.Yes, there are many inspirational stories of people who find clarity because of traumas that wipe away the fog of the busyness of life, but its not necessary to experience trauma to find clarity for yourself. Just slow down, listen to your inner voice, and commit to change. When you clarify your purpose, it will be fun to go to work - and your business will benefit exponentially.A version of this article originally appeared on SUCCESS.com.Barry Stiles is the founder and CEO of TRUEGRID Pavers, the 100 percent permeable paving alternative to concrete and asphalt that instantly absorbs stormwater and detains water below the surface. TRUEGRID is a green, permeable, Lego-like paver syste m for the real world, made in the US from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and filled with gravel or grass for a natural aesthetic. As an engineer and as a dad, Barry is passionate about TRUEGRIDs mission to provide green paving solutions to build a safer and cleaner environment for our kids. To learn more about TRUEGRID, follow along on the companysblog.