Aligning Your Purpose & Setting Goals with Dr. Jeff Spencer
Beyond defining your personal or brand purpose, establishing internal alignment and setting tangible goals are critical steps to ensuring that your purpose becomes a real daily practice. Recently, the We First team spent a half-day session with Dr. Jeff Spencer - an Olympic athlete, fine artist, Master in Sport Science, published author, world-class athletics physician, father, coach, mentor and advisor to some of the world’s leading athletes, musicians, artists, CEOs and beyond. With Jeff, we unpacked this important role of goal-setting in making purpose a living and breathing practice for both We First as a company as well as everyone within it.
Perhaps most compelling about our experience with Jeff was his mantra: No One Wins Alone. While defining one’s company or personal purpose can oftentimes feel like an isolated exercise, similar to the perceived notion of an athlete’s achievement as a solo exercise, both are very much grounded in the support, encouragement and positive enablement of those in your close personal and professional circle.
As a step towards living one’s purpose in an intentional and ambitious way, Jeff’s approach to setting goals was an incredibly insightful practice that involved a series of revisions and iterations. We did this exercise amongst the We First team, and it was quite a significant shift to write a goal, revisit it and push it further.
Jeff clearly articulates the types of ‘champion’ goals that drive greatest return by pushing us well outside of our comfort zones and, in turn, require more rigor, process, planning and support from others to achieve them. They are the start rather than the end; a shift in your life and behavior -- the outset through which identifying the behaviours, activities and support system you need is essential. What’s more is getting comfortable with the level of risk that comes with setting greater goals. With ambitious champion goals, as Jeff describes, the reward is greater as is the risk, though achieving them will push you leaps and bounds in your chosen field, as well as in living out your greatest expression of your purpose.
After the completion of your We First Works courseware, whether personal or professional, having a look through Jeff’s thinking and approach to goal setting practices is a great complement to our school of thought.
To get started, visit WeFirstWorks.com for a step-by-step, guided course in how to define your personal or company purpose and to create an actionable purpose plan that will unlock this value in your life and the trajectory of your brand.