One Word Can Unlock Your Purpose When Everything Feels Uncertain
2025 has opened with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty for business leaders. The political climate is volatile, the economy is unpredictable, and for those of us who care about social impact, the path forward is uncertain. In times like these, it’s easy to lose your sense of purpose. As someone who works at the intersection of business and social change, I’ve felt this uncertainty too.
A few months ago, before the current chaos, I decided to try an experiment to see if a simple, daily habit could help me reconnect with my own sense of purpose. It did and it’s been transformational for me. Here’s how it works.
One Word, Three Ideas
Every morning, before checking my phone or opening my laptop, I picked up a random book, flip to a page, and choose a single word. That word became my creative trigger for the day.
I wrote down three new ideas inspired by the word — ideas for my work, my writing, or just my own personal growth. I didn’t think about them or judge them. They don’t have to be realistic or even serious. They just had to be new.
I’ve did this every day for about three months, filling pages of what I call my Idea Journal. Some ideas were ridiculous. Some were funny. Some were simple and others complicated. But all of them reflected what was on my mind — my hopes, my frustrations, my fears and failures, my creative ideas, and my inspirations.
From Thee Ideas To Your Purpose
At the end of those three months, I had almost three hundred ideas and asked ChatGPT to synthesize them into a personal statement of purpose for 2025. Not a corporate mission or a list of goals — but a reflection of who I really want to be and how I want to show up this year. Here’s what emerged:
This year, I will become a catalyst for change — not just for companies, but for myself. 2025 is about radical authenticity, relentless creativity, and refusing to play small.
I believe businesses must lead the way in solving social problems — not as PR, but as strategy and with real impact. Through my writing, advising, and convening, I’ll help more leaders understand that profit and purpose can’t be separated — and that real change happens when leaders walk the talk.
I’ll establish and convene a global community of social impact leaders who will share bold ideas and act on them. I’ll write with courage, sharing my own story, because truth and vulnerability build trust.
I’ll choose work that energizes me and stop chasing what doesn’t. Creativity will drive everything — new formats, provocative ideas, unexpected partnerships.
Most importantly, I’ll stop worrying and start celebrating — designing my life and work around joy, music, laughter, and curiosity.
In 2025 I will attracting the right people, work, and abundance by showing up fully as my authentic self, every day.
Why Purpose Is Important For Leaders Today
In uncertain times, leaders tend to default to control — over-planning, over-scheduling, over-analyzing. But purpose isn’t something you control. It’s something you uncover by listening to yourself — your instincts, your curiosity, your fears, your hopes — and giving those things space to surface.
This simple process — one and three ideas, every day — is a way of staying connected to your own evolving purpose, even when the external world feels chaotic. It reminds you that you are still a compelling and creative force in your own life, and not just responding to the next crisis.
Try It Yourself
If you’re a leader struggling to find your purpose this year, try this:
- Pick a random word every morning.
- Write down 3 new ideas the word sparks — about your work, your leadership, or your life.
- Do this for 90 days.
You don’t need a plan for what to do with these ideas. They are simply evidence that your creativity, your purpose, and your values are still there — even when the world feels uncertain.
Purpose Is a Daily Practice
Too often, we think of purpose as something we define once and then live by forever. But purpose, like leadership itself, evolves. I’ve discovered that the point is to practice it — to wake up every day and choose to be the leader you want to be.
Every word you choose will be completely random. But the ideas that come from it will be yours. And, they will lead you back to your authentic purpose – at work and at home.