Chapter 14
One-of-One

One of the most significant questions anyone can ask themselves is, what is my purpose in life? For those who know, meaning and contribution can be found in just about everything they do. For those who don’t know, or don’t believe in purpose, life can feel like a random set of circumstances that sometimes play to their benefit and sometimes don’t. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.

In my years of researching people and in the personal interactions I’ve had with those who live with purpose, I’ve noted a significant difference between the haves and have-nots—those who have purpose and those who do not. Those who know their purpose tend to be the contributors. Those who have not discovered why they exist, the consumers. As is the theme throughout this book, for today’s emerging generation to do and be even better than us, they will need to look both within and far beyond themselves to see and pursue the unique contribution each can make to the world.

To live with purpose begins with seeing the uniqueness of each life. Seriously, we are all matchless. Despite the satire and jokes about Millennials and Generation Z being fragile snowflakes, they really are each a one-of-one creation. We all are. The proof is coded into our genes. Did you know there are 8,324,608 possible combinations of your twenty-three chromosome pairs? To make matters more exclusive, consider that the calculation of variant forms of human genes rounds out to approximately 70,368,744,177,664 total possible combinations. It’s mind numbing to consider there are trillions of times more possible combinations of your genes than the total number of people who have ever lived. This means that nearly everyone, except identical twins, is a sole genetic creation. There really isn’t anyone else on earth like you or me. I guess we can say members of the next generations really are like unique snowflakes.

Now that we know how unique each of us is, let’s guide our youth to take a look beyond themselves. Where in the world is their unique value needed? What can they offer? To find the answer, it’s helpful for them to have a clear vision of where they are going, a mission that explains their why, and goals that will help get them there. To live with purpose requires vision, mission, and goals.

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to sit and talk with a number of remarkable people who live with purpose. Some opportunities were official interviews while conducting research, others simple, casual conversations struck up in the moment. Hindsight being 20/20, I believe the barber-shop, lunch-line, and long-plane-flight chats have proven to be some of my more prized exchanges. One such treasured talk was with a man who clearly knew that his vision, mission, and goals empowered him to live with purpose. For the now-old man, it all started back when he was a teenager, on the day he answered the call to help save the world.

THE WORLD WAR II SOLDIER

It was humbling to sit beside the WWII veteran who couldn’t forget the hellish details of fighting the Nazis some sixty years prior, yet now battled to recall the loving faces and names of his family. Over a slow meal and multiple cups of coffee, he relived decades-old war stories that had deeply shaped his youth and the life that followed. Toward the end of our meal, he turned to me and asked, “Do you know what that war did to me?”

“No sir,” I replied.

“It taught me the importance of living with purpose.” He smiled wide while he looked me straight in the eyes. With certainty in his tone, he continued, “I’ve lived a long time, and a long time ago, I decided the purpose of my life was to protect people. Three things gave me that purpose. Vision, mission, and goals. Do you know what’s so important about vision, mission, and goals?” Without waiting for my reply, he took command of the conversation and began to teach me one of the most valuable life lessons I’ve learned: how to live with purpose.

As a teenager growing up in small-town America, he followed reports of battles fought between the Allies and Nazis. From gossip talking in the corner store to dramatic battle stories printed in the newspaper, the reports hit him hard. It wasn’t long before the ambitious teen was convinced it was time he contributed more to the war effort. Sure, conserving and rationing resources like fuel, metal, and tires was important. But he knew he could do more. In his imagination, he could clearly see himself standing up against enemies “hell-bent” on stripping nation after nation of their freedoms. He envisioned himself fighting to regain what was taken, to secure what was deserved, and to defend what was right in the world.

It took some time and convincing, but eventually his mother agreed: he would enlist and join the fight. A few short weeks later and with strict instructions to write home often, he boarded a bus for boot camp. After that, who knows—he didn’t care so long as he was headed to the fight. The fight for freedom.

“Being a simple man, I like to pick one word to focus on. So my vision was freedom. That is where I was going. Wherever freedom was threatened.”

VISION answers the question, WHERE?

While in basic training, his instructors drilled into the fresh recruit the mindset and skillset of a soldier. He learned how to look, move, think, and fight like a warrior. The training was difficult yet necessary to form boys into men whose lives depended on each other and whom the world could depend on to accomplish their mission.

He recalled that one young recruit asked the drill instructor when he thought the war would be over. “When we march down the streets of Berlin! And do you know why?” the instructor barked. “Because when we are marching down the streets of Berlin, we will have won the war!”

Berlin was the word that stuck with him. Where his vision was to fight for “freedom,” his mission became “Berlin.” Not Paris, not Rome, but Berlin. Why Berlin? Because victory in the streets of Berlin would mean the war would end and the world would see freedom once again. Instead of seeing Berlin as a location, the city became a reason.

VISION answers the question, WHERE?

MISSION answers the question, WHY?

On June 6, 1944, all hell broke loose on the beaches of Normandy. With the vision of fighting for freedom clear in his mind and the mission of marching down the streets of Berlin set in his heart, the scared young soldier waded ashore on D-Day and, by some miracle, survived the largest and deadliest seaborne invasion in history. With the safety of home far behind, machine-gun fire all around, and his buddies dying beside him, his goals that day were very specific. To survive the landing. To survive crossing the beach. To survive the day. Yes, he stormed the beach and yes, he killed the enemy. That is what he was trained to do. But on that death-drenched day, and in many bloody battles to follow, he relied on his training as a soldier to accomplish the goal set in a single word: survive. The action he needed to take included whatever was required for him to survive getting from today through tomorrow.

VISION answers the question, WHERE?

MISSION answers the question, WHY?

GOALS answer the question, WHAT?

“Because I did what it took to survive, I lived to march down the streets of Berlin, and see freedom again,” he concluded with great pride.

As a teenager, he had learned the value of living with purpose. Where vision could take him, why mission mattered, and what had to be done to accomplish his goals together acted as a framework for him to live with purpose. Even after he battled his way through Europe, vision, mission, and goals continued to guide him in life. He had purpose in pursuing an education, in building a business, in raising a family, and in growing his faith. He had lived a long and meaningful life. He had lived with purpose.

Far too many people, young and old alike, rise each morning to put two feet on the floor and go about their day without believing they have purpose in their life. From their perspective, little of what they do is memorable and even less is meaningful. Some describe the feeling like they are just simply existing.

The good news is, purpose exists for us all. Discovering it can be tricky. Guiding young people, even trickier. So in the chapters that follow, try using the framework of vision to answer the question of where they are going, mission to define why they are going there, and goals to identify what actions they need to take next.

CONSIDER THIS:

“While Millennials seek jobs that provide stability, convenience, and balance, Generation Z is more readily concerned with fueling their passions and taking pride in the work they do. For the first time, we see a generation prioritizing purpose in their work.”1

YOUR TURN:

Your life is an example for others. Complete the following:

The purpose of my life is _______________