How to Use Your Purpose in Your Career

From Emily:

I’ve shared a lot of purpose stories here over the past few months.

Many have revolved around full-time entrepreneurs, women who own their own businesses or who have decided to leave behind corporate positions to pursue a different passion.

But that’s not everyone’s journey.

The reality is that many of us work in traditional 9-5 jobs (or 7-6 if we want to be a bit more realistic). Maybe we have a side hustle or two, but we also have that stable career to keep us moving forward.

I want to tell those stories too.

The point of diving into others’ purpose stories is uncovering something, even a small piece of an anecdote, that you can relate to, that can help you evaluate your current path.

It’s my goal to share a diverse selection of stories from across the world, of women with all vocations, backgrounds, and purposes so that you can find someone who makes you say, “I could do that too.”

Today, we start our conversation with Nadene, who is one of those women who has an undeniable gift for inspiring others.

Not only is Nadene a sought after speaker, she is also an Executive Account Manager in Enterprise Tech Sales for one of the industry’s largest names, @cdw.

This woman has *a lot* on her plate, and yet she’s full of energy, ready to take on the next goal on her list or obstacle in her way.

Know why? Because she’s powered by her purpose.

As you follow along with Nadene’s journey, I encourage you to pull out the pieces that resonate most with you.

What roadblocks have you overcome because you were focused on your purpose?

Which doors did you choose to open because you had a gut feeling?

What major life moments were the result of your intuition?

Finding Purpose Through Pain

Like so many people, my purpose showed up in a time of pain.

I knew that I wanted to be a motivational speaker early on in my journey, but I was held back by the fear that I hadn’t actually experienced enough life to speak about.

What could I teach anyone if I hadn’t learned enough lessons myself?

I didn’t know how fast life would come at me.

I postponed my speaking career and joined corporate America, which quickly became draining for me. It felt inauthentic at first, like I was trying to fit into this mold of what a “career woman” would be.

I didn’t dress the way I wanted. I didn’t speak the way I wanted. I was afraid of how I would appear to other people.

I spent years covering up that inauthenticity the way you do when you’re young - with partying, working out, becoming a workaholic.

The “wakeup call” is a cliché for a reason.

Right when I was feeling the most lost, my mom, my best friend, was diagnosed with breast cancer

Out of darkness is where the light enters, right?

She is great now, thankfully, but that moment was my turning point.

My feeling was, “This is not a practice round. This is IT.”

This lifetime is uncertain.

We don’t know what phone call we will receive today that will change our life.  

Now go out into the world and BE PRESENT for all of it!  

The “highs”, the “lows”, the “laughs” - that is the beautiful journey.  

Not something far into the future that we will work years to achieve.  

We have everything we need already - here and now.

Notice Everything

After my mom beat cancer, I began to experience a feeling of numbness. I was so overwhelmed by the realization that we're not untouchable, that this life is on a clock, that I just decided to do...nothing.

During a visit to my friend in L.A., her husband was listening to me talk about my mom, and how I’d been feeling down ever since. He told me that he was going to send me a book, and I didn’t really think anything of it.

When I got back, it was on my doorstep. “Transcendental Meditation.” I didn’t know what it meant or why he’d sent it. I left it to gather dust on my table.

The next week, I met with a client in Las Vegas. She was one of those rare humans, someone who is radiating sunshine from every pore seemingly without effort. 

She had plenty of reasons to appear weary: she was a woman in a male-dominated field, she was a single mom, and she worked so. damn. hard.

I asked her, “How the hell are you so happy all the time?”

She smiled and said, “I meditate.”

This practice that I hadn’t ever given a second thought in the past had come up for me twice within a week. I’d never seen a clearer sign.

Meditation perfectly aligned with what I had been feeling.

Paying attention to the present moment without judgement. Knowing that the past is gone and the future is out of our control. 

I started slowing down and noticing more. 

My body, other people, nature, the freaking SKY. 

I remember looking up in the blue sky at the clouds thinking, “Wow, that is beautiful.”  The sad truth was that I never looked up to notice.

Sinking into meditation allowed me to do what I hadn’t been able to since my mom’s diagnosis: feel every little thing.

That’s when I realized that this, this reconnecting with my emotions and the world around me through mindfulness, was my purpose.

Living. The. Dream.

I’m lucky to say that my current career revolves around my purpose of remaining in the present moment, and experiencing it for all that it’s worth.

In my work, I get to help others do the same.

As a tech sales person for 15 years, I found that corporate America is craving connection. 

Like most people, my work is freaking stressful!  A big sales goal to hit each year is no easy feat.

I’ve found that we’re all so caught up in our work, hitting our goals, making the numbers, that we’re missing the most important aspects of our life. 

Since I implemented mindfulness into my life, it spilled into my business and it DOUBLED my results.

My work in sales as my primary job reminds me daily that I must be centered and aligned to make good business decisions.

Mindfulness and meditation is crucial to being in a mindspace to make those calls.

That is now what I teach - recognizing our state, then using tools to come back to the moment by tuning into our mind and body.

Once I recognized the impact that mindfulness could have on corporate work, I started nurturing a mindfulness side hustle that quickly grew to include motivational speaking and guided meditations.

I’ve attended mindfulness conferences around the country and have built a supportive community around this practice in order to spread the message far in wide into groups that may just need a bit of a wakeup call of their own.

I’m now certified in MBSR - mindfulness based stress reduction- and have maintained a 6 year meditation practice.

Today, I guide others through meditations- whether it is women's groups, sales leaders, or other corporate groups.

Yep, I get to lead meditations in boardrooms! 

Living. The. Dream.

Don’t miss the miracles

My purpose is to be so aware and aligned that I don’t miss the miracles.

Miracles for me mean those “coincidences” or “signs” that unexpectedly show up.  

That could be a conversation with a stranger that sparks something within you.

It could be a time when you’re questioning an upcoming decision and then the next day you see a blatant signal that you are on track.

The little moments in life that would go unnoticed if not for real concentration and openness.

Those miracles keep you moving toward your purpose and only show up when you are aligned.

That is why it is beautiful that you don’t need to know your purpose. All you need to do is trust the universe will show you the way, and you will be guided.

I’ve noticed that 90% of the time I lead a group through meditation, someone is crying. That tells me that I am holding a safe space for people to tune in and feel. 

I believe that is a gift. 

We are rushing from one thing to the next non stop. If I can hold a space for people to tap into themselves, and open themselves up to noticing the little miracles, I believe that is a beautiful gift.

I can tell when I don’t feel like I am living my purpose because I don’t see many miracles.  

I’m too in my head to notice the little things.

Those subtle moments.

I feel like I am living my purpose when I am in flow with life. In the moment, ready for anything.

I have created a lifestyle that supports that intention. 

Things like going off of Instagram because it is a distraction, becoming sober, and a daily meditation practice all keep me in tune with my purpose.

Now it’s up to me to help others find what lifestyle works for them, and give them the tools to support it.

Our purpose is how we live

As we come home to ourselves and remember our natural gifts, our definition of “purpose” evolves with time.

I truly believe that absolutely everyone has a purpose!

When they say, “I don’t know” it just means they forgot. 🙂

I think the reason people have difficulty defining that purpose is because there is so much pressure placed around the concept.

We feel like it has to be this grand thing, a larger than life statement about who we are and why we’re here.

Our purpose isn’t about doing “one thing” to make a big change.

Our purpose is HOW WE LIVE every day.

How we interact with other beings. How we respond to each situation. How we create. How we help. How we take care of ourselves. How we take care of each other.

Every moment adds up to who we are and what our purpose is.

I create a daily mantra each day as part of my “morning ritual” to put myself back into alignment with my purpose.

If I had to pick one that keeps me centered… ok, there’s two. 🙂

THIS IS IT. 

This isn't a practice round. This moment is beautiful and all we have!

PEACE BEGINS WITH ME. 

I use this in times of emotional overload or stress - works like a charm!

If you’re struggling with those pieces, or worrying over defining your purpose, my advice to you would be this:

Take care of your mind and body so you can get clear.  

Rid yourself of distractions because they can rob your creative space.

I feel intentional about my purpose because it is intertwined with those two concepts. 

When I’m living my purpose it feels full.

It feels like taking such good care of my body and mind so I can tap into my gifts and share them with the world. 

It feels like an obligation to the world - my service is be my true self.

From Emily:

Nadene is one of those special souls who can speak on these difficult to articulate topics and make them crystal clear.

Not only has she accomplished so much professionally, but she’s taken what’s she’s learned on a personal level and decided to share it with the world.

From boardrooms to banquet halls, from Instagram to auditorium stages.

She’s taking her purpose and letting it shine on those around her. 

What an incredibly aspirational way to live.

She’s exactly right on another point - purpose is not a grand idea, or something that can be checked off of a list. It’s the way that we live our lives each and every day.

From the moment we wake up in the morning, we have a chance to pursue our purpose and use it to impact the world around us.

Every choice we make. Every conversation we have. Every path that we choose that leaves another one behind.

From our careers and our relationships, to where we live and how we curate our  daily routines.

Each of these is an opportunity to live our lives in a way that fills us up, that lights our souls on fire.

What decisions have you made today that align with your purpose?

What actions could you include in your daily routine to point yourself in the right direction?

Do you give yourself the space to sit in the present moment and pay attention to the little miracles?