For a while, I was equating purpose with income.

If this is my purpose, then this must be where the money comes from.

I did not realize how much weight I was putting on that one equation.

Because once those two things get fused together, the mission can start to feel like something you have to force.

You get scope locked.

You see the outcome you want, then start asking what you have to control to make it happen.

But most real leadership decisions do not work that way.

Family.
Business.
Money.
Mission.
Location.
Time.
Energy.

Every path has a cost somewhere.

That does not mean you stop caring. It does not mean you stop pursuing work that matters.

It might just mean purpose is more portable than we think.

You can express it in more than one place. More than one role. More than one business. More than one season of life.

And maybe the work is not finding the perfect move.

Maybe it is choosing what you can influence, with your eyes open to the trade-offs.

Tom and I got into that on this week’s Leadership Ready Room Chats.

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Click here to watch this week’s Leadership Ready Room Chats about equating purpose with income.