Purpose.
The manifestation of meaning in life.
How far would we get if we left the house each morning and carried out our day without any kind of purpose? Not far.
In the same way, a brand without purpose is like a ship sailing in the ocean with no place to go.
While so many brands exist, simply drifting through the sea of retail without a captain, a map or compass, brands on a journey with a strong sense of direction are the ones that consumers truly aspire to connect with.
That's why we place so much value on establishing purpose before anything else.
If, however, you're not convinced that purpose is as important as we think it is, we've pulled together a small list of some of the people driven by their purpose (who all just happen to be brilliantly creative, inspirational and talented) to help illustrate our point.
1. Dan Thompson, Revolutionary Arts
Dan graced the Karma Dinner table as our #HavePurpose host last Thursday.
He is a social artist and writer, and his project - Revolutionary Arts - is dedicated to new ideas, fresh challenges and radical thinking.
He was named in GQ's 100 Most Influential Men In Britain for starting #riotcleanup.
Once a founding member of internationally celebrated British electronica band, Faithless, Jamie is helping the world to transform shadows into rocket fuel.
Directed by the richly diverse wisdom, techniques and processes he has encountered during his ground-breaking filming, recording, and philosophical voyages across all 5 continents, Jamie's work explores the complexities of human nature on a global scale through music.
3. Vishen Lakhiani, Mindvalley
The founder and CEO of Mindvalley focused on building disruptive systems that push humanity forward.
The company stands for ideas and products that allow human beings to live healthier, happier lives. They are ambitiously, ridiculously, and irreverently determined to unleash the full potential of humanity so that everyone can truly be the best version of themselves. How wonderful.
4. Dave Cornthwaite, Say Yes More
Since quitting his job as a 'really bad graphic designer' in 2005, Dave Cornthwaite has developed a successful career based around his passions.
His mission is to motivate people to break down their fears, not be afraid to challenge themselves, consume less, do what they love, enjoy Mondays and look after their own little corner of the planet, because if we're all happy the world will be a much better place.
As the visionary CEO of this lucky online shoe and clothing retailer, Tony Hsieh is all about delivering happiness.
His book Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose blasted to the top of bestseller lists in 2010 concreting the belief that happiness can be used as a model both in business and in life.
From there, he created a movement to inspire more happiness in the world.
6. Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
As an 'interestingness hunter-gatherer and curious mind at large', Maria Popova founded Brain Pickings as a human-powered discovery engine for interestingness and subjective lens on what matters in the world and why.
The core ethos: that creativity is a combinatorial force.
7. Alain de Botton, The School of Life
Alain de Botton was born in Zurich, Switzerland.
He’s written on love, travel, architecture and literature, and has been a bestseller in 30 countries.
He also founded The School of Life - devoted to developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture, and, where necessary, change the world.
8. Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability
We first came across Brené - like so many other people - through her TED talk (the most viewed TED talk of all time!)
She's a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work who’s dedicated her study to exploring the importance of embracing the 'bad' stuff.
Vulnerability, courage, shame and worthiness are all a natural part of life and Brené's education and teaching aims to help us embrace it.
9. Lauren Bowker, See The Unseen
As a Materials Alchemist, this lady's bringing a whole new meaning to wearable technology.
Through their work, Lauren and her team put their passion for scientific exploration into fabric to create extraordinary fashion creations.
Lucky for us she's hosting our next Karma Dinner, Believe In The Impossible, so make sure you put your name on the wait list if you want to experience something incredible!
10. Justin Mitchell, Director of Rio Breaks
A Director and Cinematographer based in LA, Justin captured a moving piece of two friends navigating their life in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.
The film follows the two boys living in a huge favela near Arpoador Beach, Brazil, and their potential to live better life through their passion for surfing.
Rio Breaks is one of his most poignant films as it frames, quite beautifully, a world a million miles from ours that needs our help.
You can watch the trailer by clicking here.
We hope that you can relate to one, or perhaps some, of these amazing characters.
After all, without a purpose, a mantra or belief, where would we be?
#HavePurpose