The title of this video stood out to me as I did my daily trawl through YouTube. There's so much content out there in the online space that I have doubts that I will ever be able to learn all of it. Much like the knowledge that we are in a cosmos that is vast and infinite and we do indeed look insignificant but I think that it is this insignificance that is special and that must be embraced. If life really does look insignificant then take the good out of that. The limited nature of the world we occupy, the life we live and the time we have should push us to realise that a life spent worrying is a wasted one. Focusing on negatives is a waste and what we thrive on should be the positive, even if they are just silver linings in a cloud of negativity.
Anyway, this little video I'd like to share is all about your life's purpose. It's an amazingly simple idea that uses questions as the tool by which you can understand who you are and where you're going.
Check the video out here:
So, if after watching that video there is a disconnect between where you think you should be heading and what your answers tell you, then maybe it's time for a re-think and re-focus on what will give you the most joy.
As a bit of fun I even did it and am more than happy to share:
Q: Who am I?
A: Mark Monfort
Q: What do you love to do?
A: I love to teach people about analytics
Q: Who do you do this for?
A: Mainly businesses but also anyone involved in data and more importantly anyone willing to learn
Q: What do they want or need?
A: This one is a bit tougher and I think the answer will change over time especially as I gain more experience and learn. For now I have a strong sense that the people I do this for want the ability to get better insights out of their data and find the meanings and patterns there that will deliver the most value to them.
Q: How do they change or transform as a result of what they get from you?
A: I believe they can take better actions, make better decisions, ask better questions when it comes to the decision to buy analytics tools, re-think processes they are doing now and kick-start the learning process that so many businesses need if they are to survive.
In doing something like this it all boils down to why, why, why. We become less and less enthused and curious with the world around us as we grow up and it's a shame. The status quo doesn't need to be if we can find a better way and most importantly data can teach us this.
This isn't to say that this is all about how we find life's purpose in the business world or in analytics particularly but more about how we find purpose in whatever it is that we do.
Not sure if people here are familiar with the term "Elevator pitch", but it's a useful thing to know and a hard thing to create. Whenever people ask you about what you do and you have to stop and think or even if you do say something it is long-winded (and boring), then the elevator pitch is something for you. Essentially it's a way of boiling down what you do into it's very essence and in that raw state it's quite clean, simple and surprisingly effective.
Videos like this help you create that pitch. So what's mine?
"I help people get the best insights from their data so that they can enrich their lives and the lives of others"
Something like this in your line of work, whatever it is, will definitely beg the asker to question some more. They ask you how do you do that. Here's what I say.
"I do this through helping them transform what they do from being people who work tirelessly on the data to being people who have the data work for them"
Again this begs a further question, perhaps one of why do you do this?
"I do this because I am passionate about solving problems and I believe that technology and a command over data through leading edge analytical software is the way forward"
Whether it's pitching your company, going to a job interview, or telling someone you've just met what you do, this video will definitely help.
The most important thing to do with all this though is to share, share with others and get them to share with others further. If we as a society can say what we do, and do it clearly and with passion then the world will indeed be a better place.
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