Money is necessary to survive.
Therefore, I need money.
Therefore, I’m in business to make money.
The purpose of business is to make money.
Peel a layer . . .
Money gives me status and recognition.
I secretly wish to have status and recognition.
Therefore, I’m in business to make money to achieve status and recognition.
The purpose of business is to achieve status and recognition.
Peel a layer . . .
I unconsciously need status and recognition because I don’t feel I’m enough without it.
Therefore, I seek status and recognition.
The means to status and recognition is making money.
I tell myself that I’m in business to provide a useful product or service.
This is the story I tell my employees and customers.
Underneath the story is my need for status and recognition so I can feel like I’m enough.
The purpose of business is to feel like I’m enough.
Peel a layer . . .
I want to feel like my life has meaning and,
I need to make money to survive.
I believe I can make money to survive by doing work that provides meaning.
Therefore, I’m in business to make money and to find meaning.
However, I can’t operate a business without money, in other words, profit.
Therefore, profit is the most important objective for running my business.
Therefore, meaning must take a back seat to the profit objective.
The purpose of business is to profit with a potential for finding meaning.
Peel a layer . . .
Meaning is important.
I believe I can find meaning in business by doing business to do good.
Therefore, I’m in business to find meaning.
If I profit than I can continue to find meaning for myself and others.
Therefore, profit is important so I can find meaning and provide it to others.
Business is about meaning when it’s profitable.
Peel a layer . . .
Meaning is more important than survival.
If my life and work can’t be meaningful what’s the point of existing?
I believe I can find meaning in business by doing business to do good.
Therefore, I’m in business to find meaning.
If I fail, then at least I have given all my effort to finding meaning and providing it to others.
If I fail, maybe I can try again.
If I try again, maybe I’ll have a better chance to succeed the second time.
Or the third.
Or the fourth.
Business is about meaning, which I find from having a deeper purpose than profit.
How we do business is about the story we tell ourselves.
We can change the story.
Each peel brings us closer to an authentic core.
Love it! The purpose and meaning is often the ONLY thing that keeps me going these days! When I was a lawyer, the money kept me getting out of bed, but only from fear (of losing status, a sense of self-worth, etc.), not from a positive purpose.