Own Your Life’s Task
Reclaim Your Purpose and Direction in a Distracted World
“You are not tied to a particular position; your loyalty is not to a career or a company. You are committed to your Life's Task, to giving it full expression.” – Mastery by Robert Greene.
Daily Reflection
The world is rife with distractions that threaten to scatter your focus. You may be seduced by fleeting status or external expectations, but none of these hold true meaning if they derail you from your existence's singular, defining objective: your Life’s Task. By peeling back these distractions—examining your unique experiences, curiosities, and natural strengths—you uncover the path you are uniquely qualified to walk.
Having confronted these diversions, you now see that devoting yourself to your Life’s Task is the key to happiness and professional success. Cultivating deep awareness of your calling begins with an honest critique of your current direction. Daily work must mirror your deepest purpose, or you risk losing focus.
Are you merely at the beck and call of organizations that can’t truly reward your spirit? Remember that your job at any organization is a business relationship and transaction. Recognizing this perspective can lead to more strategic, self-directed career decisions that align with your Life’s Task. Select roles that reinforce your unique destiny and allow you to learn your craft on a deeper level.
Your days are limited, and you are not promised tomorrow. Committing to your singular purpose now strengthens your power. It also fortifies your unique value proposition and eliminates regret later in life when you cannot make big bets or transitions.
Now, let me share how this became clear in my journey:
My Story
In late 2022, my CIO role was eliminated, placing me emotionally and financially in a challenging spot. I reflected deeply on my future over the next few weeks and months. I realized that my efforts had been in service to the organization’s purpose rather than my own. By evaluating my strengths, experiences, and the topics I was eager to learn and teach, I found it was time to reconnect with my Life’s Task.
I transitioned from a corporate CIO to a solopreneur focused on data and AI leadership. I drew upon my years of expertise and adopted a new identity as an instructor at UC Berkeley and a leadership coach to help others accelerate their direction and amplify their impact. Diverging from our Life’s Task happens, but we have the agency to recognize the drift and make a course correction. Feeling energized by your Life’s Task ignites me every morning. Finding and committing to your Life's Task requires courage and focus, but the good news is that it remains firmly within your control.
Daily Inner Quest
Reflect on your direction with fearless honesty, just as I did. Is your time allocated to your Life's Task today?
Identify the gap between your current work and the Life’s Task embedded in your DNA, experiences, and strengths. Take one concrete action today—no matter how small—that reflects your deepest calling. In making this commitment, you assert your unique value to the world.