Aerial View:

• Intro thoughts

• Mindful Minute: Finding your purpose (or at least getting closer to it)

• Conscious Consumer: Honey Mama’s

• Quote of the day

• 3 key questions to reflect on

What’s up men, welcome back. Last week I wrote about joy, and how life is about enjoyment. We’re here to experience joy. All of our lives have been in the pursuit of joy (to some extent.)

Today, we’re looking at one of my favorite concepts: clarity of purpose, and its connection to joy. Let’s do it.

Mindful Minute - Finding your purpose (or at least getting closer to it)

I believe that there is nothing more powerful than a man who takes extreme ownership, possesses unshakeable resolve, and has found clarity of purpose.

How do you become that man? Let’s break each of these down.

Extreme Ownership - Taking full responsibility across all areas of life by owning your personal connection to every outcome. Accepting that you can and will find ways to hold yourself accountable for everything in your life.

Unshakeable Resolve - Relentless pursuit of your goals with ferocious tenacity, knowing the only way to fail is to quit. Persevering through any and all adversity. 

Clarity of Purpose - Knowing exactly what you’re working towards, with laser-focus on your goals. Aligning every action with your mission and staying locked in on what truly matters.

Strong on their own, but when combined, these three principles make a man unstoppable- his success inevitable. 

Today we’re looking at clarity of purpose. We’ll unpack the other two another day.

How can we get closer to finding our purpose? Notice how I didn’t say “How can we find our purpose?” because it’s not as easy as that (usually.) This one takes time and diligent awareness.

I’ll share some personal experience here regarding this process. Last year, there was one particular conversation that was my real “a-ha” moment in which I made strides towards defining my purpose.

I had been head-down building NADS at that point for about 16 months, and I thought that building the company was my purpose in itself.

At the time, I felt aimless, unsure, and slightly stagnant, despite the business growth. Externally I was moving forward, but internally I was treading water. I knew something was off but I didn’t know what it was. 

Then I spoke to a fella I was recently introduced to at the time named Sean- someone I respect and admire in the world of business, fitness, and life. Sean coaches some really high level people, and right off the bat I was met with imposter syndrome wondering why he’d even take the time to talk to me? I felt that I was just a young entrepreneur with a little e-comm company, and immediately belittled myself by comparing myself to the other people in his network. Now I am aware of these self limiting thoughts, and shut them the fu** out any time they try to creep in, no matter the situation. We’ll get into that another time.

Anyways, Sean and I jammed about a lot of things, but the part that really stood out to me was when Sean asked me about my mission statement. I responded back with the robotic mission statement I had at that point designated for the company- we’re on a mission to provide men with clean, non-toxic underwear, or something like that. Sean quickly pointed out that there was no issue with that statement, but it wasn’t a mission. It lacked depth, vision, and purpose.

That’s when we realized I had never taken a moment to pull back, feel, and identify my why-which was coming across in my life. I was working like a dog, but wasn’t sure what it was I was really working towards. Big realization point.

So again he asked me what my purpose was.

One of the things I am most proud of in myself is that I don’t bullshit anyone (not anymore.) I openly admit to others when I don’t know something, especially when it’s something I might have tried to cover up or act like I knew in the past. How else will I learn?

So, I told Sean I wasn’t sure. I openly admitted I had no clue what my purpose was in that moment. At the time, this felt demotivating, as I’d been working for over a year, but for what? Looking back on it, it was the best thing that could’ve happened. It led to infinitely more motivation than ever before. And more.

Sean, being the good guy he is, didn’t make me feel anything other than empowered here. He already knew I didn’t know. And right in stride his internal “let’s get to work” attitude kicked in. He then asked me the following question:

“Think of a time in your life when you were genuinely happy. Can be anything from any time. Don’t overthink it. The first thing that just came to your mind. What was it?”

I shared a personal experience from when I was 18 years old, the genuine authentic truth. We quickly identified the underlying theme of it was human connection. Right there, human connection. That was the first time I felt real clarity of purpose, by identifying something I truly value and enjoy.

If life revolves around the pursuit of joy, then our purpose must be in alignment with that in which we enjoy. I enjoy eating pizza, drinking espresso, and laying in the sun. To be clear, that is not the type of enjoyment we’re talking about here. Go deeper. For me, I know that I am passionate about helping others, usually through the lens of health, fitness, and overall wellness. I thoroughly enjoy helping people when they come to me. It brings me joy. This brought me a new lens of reflection and critical thinking, which Sean and I continued to discuss.

So we workshopped it, and here’s my mission statement now:

My mission is to improve lives by inspiring healthier choices and building connection.

BOOM.

My personal mission statement is also the NADS company mission statement. (Swap the word “my” with “our”) Sean helped me realize that they are in fact one in the same. Everything I do is to carry out my mission, and the businesses that I build are some of the tools in which I use to do so. 

Thinking my personal mission and my business mission were separate was a point of mental friction I had allowed that caused a rift in my life.

NADS is one of the current vehicles in which I am able to work towards executing my purpose. So is this newsletter. So is my Instagram page. So is the conversation I will have in the morning with one of the young entrepreneurs I try to mentor. It’s all connected, and I enjoy all of it. It gives me purpose. Purpose in which I am now crystal clear on.

So, right now- I challenge you to think of a time in your life when you were genuinely happy. No strings attached. A time when you weren’t worried about anything else and were entirely present and filled with joy in the moment.

Got it? Great. 

What is the underlying theme of that experience? We are trying to identify what it is you really enjoy and value.

Was it in love? Maybe it’s human connection.
Was it in helping someone? Maybe it’s service.
Was it in building something? Maybe it’s creation.
Was it in victory? Maybe it’s glory.

There is no wrong answer. Take time to think about this, but think about it.

I hope sharing my experience and shining light on this exercise here helps you get closer to finding your purpose. You deserve it.

Sean- if you’re reading this, thank you. That conversation had more of an impact on my life than you know. I am grateful. 

Conscious Consumer

This brand is a perfect example of my favorite part of the health and wellness renaissance we are currently living in: emergence of options. If you have a sweet tooth like me, but don’t want highly processed BS ingredients in your body, these bars are the move. If you’ve seen them in a store and have been curious, here’s your sign to try them. The coconut fudge is my favorite, but they’re all great.

Quote of the week

If you haven’t read Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl, that is a must read to add to your list. Everyone should read this book at some point in their lives, if not multiple times. Frankl’s discusses his experience in Nazi concentration camps and how the one thing they could not take from him was his reaction. Mindset controls all, no matter what. This quote from Frankl makes me believe that life’s first purpose is to find one’s purpose, and then real life can begin.

Rise and Reflect - 3 Questions to Inspire Impactful Action and Critical Reflection

1. If you could do anything right now, in this moment, what would it be?

2. What is an activity that I loved when I was younger, that I no longer experience? What does that activity tell me about myself?

3. If you “made it” and could do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, with no concern, what would your day to day look like? How can you work some of that into your life NOW?

My Ask of You

If you found value in this newsletter, I ask that you please share it with others:

• Forward it: Send this email to friends, family, and/or others.

• Talk about it: Share your thoughts on social media using #MindfulMan

• Invite others: Encourage those around you to subscribe here and join our community.

As leaders, it's our duty to help others. If you found this newsletter helpful, share it with someone who it can help. Change starts here, together.

Thank you for being here.

Sails up, eyes open.

Until next time,
Dan Baird