Category: blog

Think about your day. 

Now, think about how you feel about your day. 

Routine can be considered boring, bad even. But I love them. I do! And I believe they can be comfortable, enjoyable, and nurturing for everyone willing to take a second look. It took me a while to reach this idea, though. 

After going through the CLEARING PURPOSE FRAMEWORK  – before it was even in the format you can experience now -, I understood that, for some reason, routines makes my eyes shine. 

I love learning about them, understanding them. I tend to find beauty in it. 

What I understand so far thus, is that routines are inevitable, but they can be filled with habits and activities based on a feeling: a good one, an internal sense of likeness that everyone has, but tends to forget about. Using that as catapult and making people take baby steps towards looking again at their days, I can help them reset and organize their routines with that in mind.  

The framework process helped me make that vision clearer. It helped me bring out something I always nurtured inside of me – and make it more palpable. The most challenging part was – and still is – to trust what I saw in the process and deliver it as best as I can. I find that dealing with doubts about myself and the importance of what I know is the biggest barrier, one I have to face every day but hope to overtake in a not-so-far-away future. 

On the other hand, the most comforting part of the process was having someone to guide me and reassure my project along the way. Having someone to listen to my ideas made them less idealistic and more concrete. 

To develop my vision, I came up with a one-month content project for both my social media (check out my Instagram profile @desancorando) and blog (desancorando.com.br) to help people start taking their routines differently. I developed four types of planners for different routine purposes. 

After 1 month of project was done, these are the results and impacts:

• 04 designed and published planners sheets free for download.

• 327 downloads of the planner sheets.

• 25% of my Instagram Stories viewers downloaded the planner’s sheets.

• 219% increase in engagement on the night planner sheet post over my Instagram.

• Up to 3 times more interactions than average over my Instagram.
  

As the first project to be accelerated and the first version prototype of a circular investment, I felt that receiving the fund made the project not only more real to me but gave me the possibility to care for it properly and create value for my audience. During the process, I had implemented routine content so I knew already it would be something they would like to receive. 

As I have always been a perfectionist when it comes to content production, I felt the project needed to have the feeling and vibe I envisioned during the process, so that people could benefit and enjoy routines in a very comforting, inspiring, and hopeful way.

It’s been inspiring to learn by doing, and I already have new perspectives and ideas to keep developing this project and expanding my vision.

Get your free planner sheets by accessing: desancorando.com.br

When we talk about leadership, it is common to think about presidents, political leaders, successful entrepreneurs or community representatives. But many of the new leaders who are changing the world with their actions at this very moment have not yet reached adulthood.

The following generation has some familiar figures and lesser known names. The oldest leaders are 19-years-old; the youngest, 13. One of the leaders was, in fact, chosen Person of the Year by Time magazine. 

These young people are similar in some aspects: they all had voice at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and are the living proof that leadership is an attitude and posture, not a role or function. They are an inspiration for us at Clear Purpose.

Name: Greta Thunberg

Age: 17

Country: Sweden

Vision: Force countries to reduce the emission of air pollutants and respect the Paris Agreement to contain the climate crisis

The number: She mobilized 1.6 million people in 128 countries to the streets in March 2019 in support of school strikes that protested against climate change

Reached: In addition to attracting millions of people to the streets and to her social media, Greta has become a global name in protecting the environment and also put pressure on political leaders who do not take the fight against climate change seriously.

Where she’s going to: Recognized as Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019, Greta continues to hold weekly protests against climate change and puts pressure on politicians and enterprises to protect the environment. With her actions, Greta helped to bring this matter to the headlines.

Name: Salvador Gómez-Colón

Age: 17

Country: Puerto Rico

Vision: Ensure infrastructure and health care for families around the world

The number: 3,100 families benefited by his campaign in Puerto Rico

Reached: At the age of 15, he organized the “Light and Hope for Puerto Rico” campaign to distribute solar-powered lamps, washing machines and other supplies to more than 3,100 families affected by Hurricane María in 2017. The hurricane caused a blackout in his country, and it was essential to restore electricity and ensure medical care for the population.

Where he’s going to: Salvador also launched the “Light and Hope for the Bahamas” campaign, expanding his work beyond Puerto Rico. He considers becoming a diplomat to execute his vision all over the world, and is also campaigning globally to bring attention to the climate crisis.

Name: Natasha Mwansa

Age: 18

Country: Zambia

Vision: Promote a world where young people are heard, valued and healthy

Reached: She started working as a teenager in Zambia, advocating for the health of young people and raising awareness to the issue of child marriage. She became a junior reporter for social health organizations, disseminating information about the matter.

Where she’s going to: This experience led Natasha to form her own foundation to promote these values, becoming one of the leading voices of youth in Africa and calling on young people to work with adults in a joint effort.

Name: Melati Wijsen

Age: 19

Country: Indonesia

Vision: Eliminating plastic bags in the world through the work of her own organization, named Bye Bye Plastic Bags

The number: 50 countries with Bye Bye Plastic Bags teams

Reached: At just 12 years old, Melati founded the NGO with her 10-year-old sister to eliminate the use of plastic bags and the trash that dominated the island of Bali. The girls organized beach cleanups and petitions to bring attention to this issue among the community and the local government.

Where she’s going to: Melati is a reference on raising awareness of the environmental damage generated by the use of plastic bags and works globally with the NGO to make the world understand the urgency of her message.

Name: Naomi Wadler

Age: 13

Country: USA

Vision: Strict the gun sales laws and combat the violence against black girls in the United States 

The number: 3 minutes and 30 seconds, the duration of the speech that caught the world’s attention in the March for Our Lives protest

Reached: Eleven-year-old Naomi made a landmark speech in March for Our Lives in Washington in March 2018, calling attention to the 17 people killed in a shooting attack at a school in Florida and the violence suffered by black teenagers over the country. The young girl was the most iconic face of the demonstration.

Where she’s going to: After capturing the attention of US political leaders and personalities, the teenager continues to attract followers to reinforce the message against gun violence in the country.

Name: Mohamad Al Jounde

Age: 19

Country: Syria (currently living in Sweden)

Vision: Ensure the education of all children, regardless of where they are

The number: 200 children benefited by the school Mohamad built in a refugee camp

Reached: Mohamad, a 12-year-old Syrian War refugee, called on his family to create a school in a refugee camp in Lebanon in 2013, guaranteeing the right to education for more than 200 children.

Where he’s going to: Winner of the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2017, Mohamad became a reference among young refugees when it comes to education and social inclusion. He currently lives in Sweden but continues his efforts with the school for refugee children in Lebanon and works to ensure that his message reaches the whole world.

Name: Ayakha Melithafa

Age: 17

Country: South Africa

Vision: Promote and develop carbon-free energy in her country and all over the world

Reached: Ayakha lives on the outskirts of Cape Town and has seen her mother, who works as a farmer, suffer from the droughts and water shortages caused by climate change. She joined the organization Project 90 by 2030, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by the end of this decade. She also became an activist for the African Climate Alliance, a local environmental organization.

Where she’s going to: Along with 15 other children, she prepared a petition to a United Nations Committee to hold the world’s five largest economies accountable for inaction on the climate crisis, demonstrating that her action in defense of the environment is global.

Name: Fionn Ferreira

Age: 19

Country: Ireland

Vision: Eliminate the microplastic pollution on the waters

The number: Reduction of 87% of microplastic pollution on water with the solution he invented

Reached: Acting as a real scientist since his teenage years, Fionn developed in high school a new method of extracting microplastic pollution on the environment. His invention uses ferrofluid, a liquid with high magnetization, to remove microplastic from the waters.

Where he’s going to: Winner of the Google Science Fair in 2019 with this invention, Fionn wants to take his concept to the rest of the world. He intends to use the $ 50,000 prize on researching and improving the technology.

READ IN 5 MINUTES

1. Start with self-leadership

Whether within an organization, team or as a self-employed professional, purposeful leadership begins with self-leadership.

Self-leadership is the attitude of using one’s conscience to feel how to contribute to a situation, to engage, be useful and offer solutions to the world. When we start with self-leadership, we look at our intentions, values ​​and motivations. Therefore, it is a fundamental step towards connecting with purpose.

Looking inside to be able to look outside and find the priority evokes the motivations that make us useful and capable of engaging ourselves and others to collaborate in generating change.

2. Focus on the process

It is common to work motivated by a goal. But when we work for purpose, we work because we have a function, and the goal is something that comes later, as a consequence.

To work motivated by a goal is to work at risk. It narrows our vision, creates fear, exclusion and undermines our potential for feeling fulfillment.

Motivated by serving and caring for something greater, the process becomes as important as the goal,because watching over the process drives us to be aware and increases our ability to collaborate. It helps us to open our mind and hearts. It makes us more inclusive as we see the potential of each moment.

3. Vision for appreciation

Being able to clearly visualize a situation basically depends on being able to separate the facts from what we think about the facts.

When we see with appreciation, we are like spectators of an orchestra. We enter into a state of openness that makes the visualization clear. We can see what needs to be resolved separately from what we think and assume that needs to be resolved.

Openness to learn the needs of each situation is the key to awakening vision, because openness makes it possible to see more than needs. It also allows you to see resources and potentials.

A visionary leader has the ability to visualize a new configuration for a situation and to plan how to achieve it in the future. It is a leadership that uses the ability to see, to reorganize resources to grow potentials and to bring change. It is the possibility of making visible what was previously invisible.

4. Exchanging planning for relationship

Leadership by planning does not work when we are acting for a greater purpose. It is the relationship that will align and generate trust to undertake change.

Developing relationships is directly related to how much we can learn together. When we are facing a change, most of the time, we do not know what lies ahead. Individually or in teams, we will have to learn from the situation which will be the best solution to a new scenario.

This will require listening, flexibility and interest in people, and what is happening to them.

If planning leadership constrains the energy, relationships expand it, because learning opportunities generate equality – the greatest source of trust, and something essential when we are going to lead with a purpose.

5. Direction for learning

When seeking to generate change, we face complex, chaotic and often crisis situations.

In general, these situations carry a history of unbalanced power and a legacy of conflicts of interests. Their stories lack compassionate leadership and collaboration between people. We face unconfigured scenarios that require dealing with different levels of needs, and coordinating different layers of solutions.

Finding solutions and integrating needs with different levels of complexity can make finding a direction a difficult task or even paralyzing step.

The learning process is the best way to sense direction, share understanding throughout the process and unify the focus to discover, step by step, the best orientation.

READ IN 4 MINUTES

1. Finding your purpose in your personal interests confuses you even more.

This is the main problem when we try to find our purpose.

If we focus on our individual interests in this quest, we become blind, insecure and even more confused. This happens because being concerned with self-interests fills us with expectations and plans. To look for a purpose in the mindset of mental strategies is simply looking for a purpose where it is not.

The second part of the confusion occurs because the sense of purpose is not linked to any aspect of individuality. It’s actually the the opposite: the sense of purpose links directly to leaving the individuality behind to work for a greater good.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in serving others.” – M. Gandhi

When we are useful to others, something greater takes over our feelings and we enter a state flow and surrender. The more people we benefit, the greater this feeling of wonder becomes.

Searching after our personal interests is an obstacle to feeling and finding our purpose.

When we are imagining what we want, we are not observing what people need. We miss the opportunity to act and be relevant at every moment. This happens anytime we exchange being ready and useful for being imaginative.

When we are open and available, we attend the opportunity that presents itself and this activates creativity and collaboration – that something greater. Instead of expectation, we use what is available in favor of what is necessary – the flow. We take the role of serving to connect with our intuition, follow its guidance and feel more significant – we surrender.

The encounter with purpose comes as a consequence.

2. To think that each one of us has a different purpose and that you still haven’t found yours.

Our purpose already exists. It comes from our nature and is one for all of us.

Activating it in different settings, professions, sectors can give the false impression that someone has found its purpose in a specific thing, and that finding specific things is necessary to have a sense of purpose. Like a treasure hunt.

Sense of purpose is sense of purpose. Purpose is not a goal, a project, a gift, a talent or a vocation. Purpose is purpose.

Purpose is function. We were not made, by nature, with different functions. We all carry the same one: doing good for others and working for a better world.

It is easy to recognize that when we act with those objectives in mind, – or when we perceive someone doing it – because we feel emotional, meaningful and grateful. We feel joy for fulfilling a sense of mission.

Exercising our purpose is essential. How we are going to do it is circumstantial. The professions or the forms of acting are these circumstances, but the essence – working for something greater, or caring for everyone – is finding our sense of purpose.

To find our purpose, we have to stop looking for it. It is not lost. It is just obscured.

We will not find our purpose by ‘what’ we do, but simply by ‘who’ we do it for.

3. Expect to feel fulfilled the day that you find your purpose.

Why do we want to find our purpose so much? To feel realization.

Have you ever stopped to think that the word ‘realization’ doesn’t come from the word ‘action’?

It comes from the word ‘real’. It means that realization is not something to come, or a feeling we sense when something happens. It is an attitude or a state of connection with reality, with what is happening here and now.

To place our expectations of feeling realization in the future, in an achievement or in an event is to place an expectation in something that may not happen. It is like living with it in our imagination; worse than that, it is accepting that after something happens, that sense of realization will pass.

When we are connected with what is real, the feeling of realization is constant,because it is the awareness of a present fact. When we can focus on what’s happening now, our availability opens. It also activates the principle of our purpose.

Letting go of the fairytale of working towards the achievement of something that we desire, we are able to connect to the present and feel realization at all times.

Presence clears the mind, our thoughts and how we function. It expands our ability to act and bring change to where we are. Projects, goals and work experiences become tools, but never the objective of realization. Any profession becomes a means of constant realization if it’s practiced with a focus on being present.

Feeling professional realization happens when we use what we have been trained to do, to contribute and make a difference in somebody’s life. What we can call, without any doubt, encounter with our purpose.

READ IN 3 MINUTES

We arrived in 2020 and we are at a crossroads between technological innovation and environmental crisis, global connectivity and massive inequality. The urge to redefine leadership has never been more evident.

The report Seeking New Leadership, published in January 2020 by the Forum of Young Global Leaders, the Global Shapers Community and Accenture, identified five elements for responsible leadership for a more sustainable and equitable world.

Inclusion of Stakeholders is the first element, followed by Emotion and Intuition; Mission and Proposal; Technology and Innovation; and Intelligence and Insight.

The first element regards the importance of leadership values ​​to safeguard trust and positive impacts for all. Being in the place of stakeholders in decision-making and promoting an inclusive environment so that people can have a voice and a sense of belonging.

A fundamental aspect in the redistribution of power, and mainly in the generation of change.

It is only when a leader’s vision is shared that it has the real potential to drive effective change. Change really begins with a change in the mentality that involves a situation. The vision, which can start with a leader, touches the conscience of those involved in the situation and makes it possible to create new ideas that will promote concrete changes.

To be shared, a vision needs to be based on facts. It must be true. In order to include and represent stakeholders, it is necessary, therefore, that it creates value for them. To understand what has value for a community, leaders have to develop relationships with people.

At Clear Purpose, inclusion and shared vision are crucial points. They start at the beginning of the process and follow until the implementation of a leadership project that uses our framework.

The CLEARING PURPOSE FRAMEWORK has four levels of development: Purpose, Vision, Meaning and Impact. When each level lands, leaders share what is under development by publishing texts, images, videos and plans on Visions network. 

The process becomes transparent and public.

Thus, the development of a leader’s vision and his decisions become more responsible. Sharing not only protects, but it also increases inclusion, strengthens trust and, above all, starts a dialogue earlier on the rigor and impact of implementing a vision.

We always believed that leaders who will bring significant changes will be those who first develop trust with people. That’s why we have structured our process to ensure that transparency and inclusion become practices, and real beneficial visions are more likely to be implemented.

It is equally important for leaders that people are together in this task, because the process they go through within the facilitation sessions touches places so deep in their hearts that being able to include more people only makes this journey happier and more meaningful.

Many leaders that arrive here are not used to publishing texts, images, videos and plans, but we have structured templates, models and facilitation processes that simplify these tasks. In addition, starting with a clear purpose is the most important step in speaking directly into people’s hearts, and that boosts motivation for both.

If people feel that the leader is speaking from the heart, they are more open to interact and engage.

We want that to happen. We want to help build a future where leaders and people share a clear purpose, and we think that it can start today.

READ IN 2 MINUTES

A new way starts with a young leader. A young one who does not value borders, territories, and geopolitical conflicts. It starts with young people who were born connected. This is a fundamental principle because it gives birth to the potential of leading by a sense of unity.

The leadership that speaks from a sense of unity is the leadership that generates emotion through a speech, inspiration through ideas and commotion in the streets. They were once seen as utopian, but they ultimately acted for the end of segregation.

Today, there’s a greater potential for this kind of leadership, because young people already understand the planet as something global and connected and overcome the separation of borders and cultural barriers.

Having this perception is at the heart of the possibility of leading by unity. The transformation key to any community.

The leadership process has long been structured in a hierarchical model whose motivation is, in many different names, the concentration of power.

Clear Purpose believes in the redistribution of power and uses the CLEARING PURPOSE FRAMEWORK to help leaders develop a vision that generates inclusion. It serves as a structure that connects the intention to serve with a potential change for a greater good.

It was developed from the idea that new leadership is born out of the intention to work for a greater good because it wants to fulfill the higher sense of gratitude and compassion.

Clearly motivated by the sense of unity.

The most important manifestation in the update of leadership is the vision of the leader. It will show us whether or not he intends to do what is best for all.

The framework makes it possible to develop this vision because its thought process makes the leader listen to his heart. The framework uses appreciation to structure thinking. In appreciation, the cognitive and creative sides of the brain come together, making it possible to achieve a vision for equality, a redistribution of resources to grow potentials and bringing change to a situation.

Updating the idea of ​​leadership is an extremely important issue today. However, the framework does not follow trends; it only shows the way to assume what is already in the essence of a new leader. The one who faced his ego and took a different direction to do more for the benefit of all.