Over the last couple of weeks, one of the highlights of television have been the scenes of whole neighbourhoods coming out in solidarity to clap their hands, sing and praise the efforts of the NHS and other frontline staff in the war against Covid-19 across different parts of the country.

Every time I watch it, I can’t help but appreciate and be grateful for all the brave men and women not just in the NHS or emergency services but every single individual that was classed as an “essential service worker” who have kept the country ticking over while everything around us ground to a halt.

I thought about the sacrifice of a particular friend of mine, who in the corporate definition of who a frontline staff is, does not fall under that category, but in this case, this brave soldier and his team were as frontline as it gets. He and his band of merry I.T men braced the frontline of the wards, clinics and homes to distribute and setup I.T equipment that would enable clinicians and doctors to d their work.

In one of our conversations, he said to me, “…someone has got to do it, since so many people have to self-isolate!” as a result, to mitigate the risk of infecting his family, he chose to separate himself from them for a time while he answered the call.

As I reflected on this the question “Why?” came to mind. What inspires everyday people to do what they do? I remembered a story I heard from one of my lecturers a couple of years ago about a janitor in NASA. One day, this janitor was quizzed about his role at NASA and his response was; “I send rockets to the moon.”

On closer reflection, he understood that in fulfilling his role in service, his colleagues were enabled to send rockets to the moon. He was a vital and integral part of the team and not just a janitor!

There were three lessons I took away from it:

Your personal purpose is your core, your compass that contextualises all the choices and decisions one makes in life. Choices like; the jobs we do, who we marry, where we live and so on. One of the greatest questions life has to offer is: why was I born? What is my purpose on earth? Taking the time to know yourself and understand your purpose is the difference between self-actualisation and merely existing.

When we take on jobs and responsibilities without aligning them to our personal purpose, before long we lose steam and give up the dream all together. After all the phrase; “…when there’s no vision the people cast off restraint”, should apply to both groups and individuals.

Put it this way: going through life without knowing your purpose is like setting off on a journey, switching on your navigation system without setting a destination and wondering what went wrong when you end up in the middle of nowhere.

Purpose is about generally about whom, what and where, you are best suited to

serve and bring value. An Apple Mac was never created to serve as a door stopper.

From the inception of time, every human being has been created to serve in the creation of some kind of value to our world. Steve Jobs once attributed the drive behind his success to just wanting to give back to the world!

When we think about our present day heroes, many of them risked their own lives to serve the country and their fellow man in the war against Covid-19, which in itself lends itself to the phrase; the greatest in the kingdom is the servant of all!

When we set up businesses, organisations or take up roles and responsibilities, we need to ensure that it aligns with our purpose and in doing so we give position ourselves to provide an exceptional service to our customers and stakeholders all the time. This means that our plans, strategies and policies need to be geared towards working cohesively for the best outcome for all. So if this is not the case, you have got the power change it. It’s never too late to do so.

For the janitor or our brave heroes, money was not the motivating factor but fulfilment was derived by being able to fulfil their roles in bringing hope and making the world a better place, one person at a time.

I have learnt over the years that when you know your purpose and find the right environment for it to be expressed in your service, you become more creative, grow, flourish and become fulfilled.

Having personally experienced the ambulance service responders first-hand and seen how these guys swoop-in, in your moment of despair, like an un-caped hero, all dressed in green, sirens blaring and there to save the day; I am convinced that they do it because they are responding daily to that innate call to serve as such, their fulfilment comes from helping another human being or saving a life. For me, this is what I call; “living beyond the profit!”

So on a final note; it is possible for Self-actualisation and Fulfilment to elude us all your lives if we let it and in the same vein, it will not just happen because we desire to manifest it either, rather, it comes through recognition of your purpose, deliberate, purposeful and strategic seeking for the right environment or platform to serve and finally a lot of focus and hard work.

So as we eagerly, with fingers crossed, await the next chapter of life to unfold, join me in recognising and applauding our heroes and all the men and women, who because they answered their calling and are fulfilling their purpose, the world is a better place for it.