Purpose and Contribution

Transcending the I

By now you’re familiar with my 3C’s of Meaning:

Meaning = Competence x Contribution x Connection

I wrote last week about generalized competence, and I was going to continue with that theme this week a bit more, but last night I was doing my evening reading and came across this passage in Ryan Holiday’s Ego is the Enemy: 

Passion is about. (I am so passionate about ____) Purpose is to and for. (I must do ________ . I was put here to accomplish _________ I am willing to endure_______ for the sake of this.) Actually, purpose deemphasizes the I. Purpose is about pursuing something outside yourself as opposed to pleasuring yourself.

What Holiday calls Purpose is tightly related to my idea of Contribution. Your purpose is what you hope to contribute. 

Your purpose doesn’t just deemphasize the I, it transcends it. When you are pursuing your Purpose, the I disappears.