From Drained to Driven: Creating Purpose from Burnout

She was five when she told her Kindergarten class her dad owned Google... but silently, grew up with the pains of a father who had an entrepreneurial affliction or obsession. 

He fondly remembers her riding 45 minutes into the office on special days with him so she could sit in the President's office and watch people say good morning to her dad with a smile.  She had to meet every co-worker - even as the business grew from 10 to 50 to 100 to 250 to 500 employees. She sacrificed for him so that he could serve others.

That 5-year-old is now 18, graduating from high school in 5 months. 

She didn't fit in. She was the typical middle child - not the beautiful Princess that her older sister is, not the sweet outgoing little Pocahontas like her baby sister. Social connection was a struggle. Constantly let down by her peers, she spent her entire middle school in a pool of lonely tears. High school began as a complete failure. 

Desperation sat in as a father. He was burned out, recent relationships had eroded - his passion extinguished by misalignment with his ex-business. In misery after leaving a company that he’d help build, with so much potential, he called a close friend.  He skated around his misery only to hear his close friends' exuberant joy. There were choices.  He didn’t have to accept the impending train wreck.  

He chose her.  

A family vacation in Hawaii and a summer off - to focus on Natalie.  But what could he do for her?  She needed a life-saving experience.  What could shape her confidence? Grow belief? Scale relationships? What would profit her being?

Business. Building a business with and for Natalie.  She wanted to be a photographer.  They started together, decided on a name, created a business plan, and executed a marketing strategy.  A summer for her.  She found herself in Business. He found his purpose.

Now, without her knowing, he overhears his 18-year-old daughter describing what her dad does. Fascinated by the passion in her voice, 13 years later she spoke with greater pride than when she thought he owned Google. 

As he heard her draw a breath, his little entrepreneur proclaimed; My dad fights for people to be successful in business. He fought for her. He fought for her, a young woman finding her calling in business and he fights for others to succeed in business, believe in themselves, and help others do the same.

He shares with his team that he will fight for them. He believes the platform of business changes the world through people.

It changed his world.

He changed her world.

He tells his team “Thank you for taking this journey with me.”

**This is a real story from someone who may be your friend or is sitting beside you. This was spoken in a private meeting of executives as they plan their future. I learned from him and I hope you did as well.

As a leader, you will go down.

You may run out of money

You may run out of support

You may run out of time

You may question your pace

You may question your outcome

We will all fall.

Many of us focus on the fall and are hard on ourselves to prevent future stumbles.

But what truly matters is the work of getting back up.

A few simple points but necessary to get reps in:

▪️Keep showing up

▪️Ask for help (courage over ego)

▪️When making progress, share it to help others AND to solidify the lesson for yourself

The ones who work on this are the ones still standing.

Shed the weight of negativity and toxic influences.

How?

Master your mind - We have 10,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day… we can’t ignore this traffic.

Foster positivity - Not only when things are tough but when things are going well.

Cultivate healthy relationships - The people we invest in should be a return of energy and joy for us.

Create environments that inspire authenticity and learning.

Let’s keep moving forward and help others along the way!