Powerful Leadership Through Coaching

13Coaching for Contribution

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

—Steve Jobs, inventor, businessman, co-founder Apple, Inc.

Much of the confusion, pain, lack of focus, burnout, and disengagement today comes because people have little sense of direction, purpose, or contribution. Many people feel that what they do doesn’t matter much. They feel isolated and disconnected, and wander hopelessly without direction. In the mundane tasks of the day to day, they feel themselves sinking into irrelevance, being silenced or directionless. At the end of the day, week, month, and year, many feel they have made no significant contribution to discuss or point to as a means of making a difference.

Why do so many people lead mundane or aimless lives? Why are so many people unfulfilled in life and in work? Henry David Thoreau said it this way: “Most men [and women] lead lives of quiet desperation.” So, how do people find their unique purpose? How can we help ourselves and others find purpose, passion, and contribution by effective coaching?

When a person discovers work that taps into their talent and fuels their passion—that rises out of a need they feel drawn to by their values and conscience to achieve their highest and best use of their talents, intelligence, capabilities, and strengths—some call it finding their calling in life, their soul’s focus and meaning, or their unique contribution to the world.

The late founder of Apple Corporation, Steve Jobs, made ...