The game changer in my career can be summed up in one word.

And it starts with the letter P.

No, not passion.

But → Purpose

I’ll use myself as an example.

Back at Style Theory, I was optimising my career for passion.

I’ve always loved fashion - I interned at Lanvin when I was in school, ran a fashion blog and even designed a line of pencil skirts on the side while working at BlackRock.

So when I felt the urge to leave and try something completely different, a fashion startup based in Singapore felt like the perfect fit.

And in many ways, it was.

It certainly hit the box for “passion”.

But over time, I realised that while it satisfied the bottom rungs of Maslow’s Hierarchy - it still didn’t quite check the box for the top rung -

Self actualization.

I loved working at Style Theory but I didn’t feel a higher sense of calling.

A feeling that what I was doing was making a really big difference.

It took me a long time to figure out my purpose.

What helped me figure it out was to identify:

🔹 The challenges I faced; and

🔹 How I managed to overcome them

And that eventually led me to where I am today: A career coach who helps highly driven professionals find their perfect-for-them career.

So if you’re looking for your purpose, ask yourself these questions:

❓ What challenges have you personally faced and overcome?
❓ What keeps you up at 2am?
❓ What would you do it even if you faced rejection 9 out of 10 times,  and are facing naysayers at almost every turn?

If you keep striving to find the answers to the above, then your purpose will eventually come to you.

It’s a process.

It takes time.

And it’s certainly not easy to live it out - especially when it doesn't fall squarely into the conventional frameworks of corporate success!

But things will get better, so long as you keep pressing on.

And if you need help figuring out your purpose, contact me “PURPOSE”. I’ve helped clients from Shopee, BCG, Stripe and more build a purpose-driven career, and I’d love to help you too!