Beyond Profit: Reclaiming The Joy Of Purpose-Driven Work

When I come across a person who totally enjoys what he or she is doing for a living, I recognize them very easily because their services are different and you'd have all reasons to patronize them again. I used to think one can only enjoy a job that pays well or it's a respectable kind of job like medicals or law but then I learnt I was wrong.

No matter how little or not promising a job or business is, passion can keep pushing till it's a big or promising one. In our world today, we are normalizing profits over passion even without us saying so. It's almost like a stupid or unwise decision to go into a business simply because one has the passion to provide a skill or service.

As much as I've experienced being a customer to countless business owners and services in my part of the world, I can still remember the few whose passion were so obvious that I didn't bother to think if they got more profit from me or not. The service is always different when you meet the provider who simply enjoys giving it.

I heard of a lady who makes delicious drinks and sells, but many would complain her products are too expensive so they refuse to buy. Even after a year in the business, she still refuses to reduce her prices but continues to sell to the few who agreed to buy from her. Someone asked her why she didn't try to increase sales and her reply was;

"If I want to increase my sales, I'll have to reduce the quality of my drinks. These drinks are healthy and well prepared because I put my heart into making sure of that. The prices on them are to cover for what I spent and a little profit on it for my work, I'm not even taking much because I love what I do". Her response silenced who asked her.

I heard many still didn't believe her words for it as it has become a normal thought that every business is opened solely for the profits and not the need the business is providing for. She didn't have much customers but the few she has values her products so much that they patronize her constantly for her proven healthy and safe drinks.

I was in admiration when I learnt about her, it reminded of years ago when things were not as bad as now. Back then, many did work for the passion and many had purposes for doing a job so they put their heart into it. But today, maybe it's because of the inflation and hardship all over, people only think of what they would profit first.

How can we find our way back to that time? I think the question should be, can we be able to go back to that time? It's a difficult one as the responsibilities increases but it's a fact that we still have people working with passion and purpose, I think the best we can do is encourage any purpose-driven person that we find and not use the wrong mentality to discourage them.