The Power of Purpose - Randy Marshall

Walking into a local bookstore both exhilarates me and depresses me. I love to read and could “lose myself” in a stack of books for days on end. But perhaps it’s the overwhelming number of books---especially the self-help ones---that immediately cause me to lose heart! So many theories, so many methods, so many solutions; and after reading a few…so dizzying in their duplication. It’s almost like studies on coffee or sugar or diets or sleep . Or whatever else. Evidence on both sides, depending on bias and bent, will determine outcomes. So confusing!

This last June I read 6 books on leadership. By the end, I was almost paralyzed with introspection. Principles (almost identical) were used to “prove” two opposites of leadership. Studies would theorize that leadership was highly complex (are leaders born or made, for example), or naively simple (you just know it when you see it).

There is a significant difference between a job, a profession and a calling.  All of us want to find our calling---that place where what we do best and what we love to do intersect.

The most difficult decision for any adult is to know if I should hang on or let go.  Whether it is a relationship, a financial decision, a vocational opportunity (or a thousand other fork- in- the- road experiences), attempting to discern whether to drop it and move on and persevere is perhaps life’s biggest challenge.

In gaining referrals, the key is the messenger (the person doing the selling) vs. the methodology (the approach).  Content only accounts for about 10% of believability.  The other 90% comes from a person’s tone of voice and body language.  In other words, how you say it is more important than what you say.  Everyone is looking for a method that opens the door to an unending stream of great referrals.  Our contention is that many methods “work” (as long as you feel comfortable in using it) but the truth is:  how you look and how you sound has more impact than the words you say!  It’s the spirit behind the words, the attitude that carries the message along.  These are the qualities that convey TRUST.  Why is this so important? 

Why should I bother using humor in my public speaking? Can't I just deliver my information and sit down? You sure can and that's what most people do. The problem is that most people are not effective public speakers. They are nighty nite, snooze inducing, say your prayers, hit the sack, unlicensed hypnotists. They are ZZZZZs presenters. They might be experts in their field and be able to recite hours and hours of information on their topic, but is that effective?