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Terms like “disruptive”, “digital” and “exponential technology” have become commonplace in the new era of the entrepreneur, especially within the tech startup culture.

A few undesirable bi-products, like stress and burnout, have also become dominant features of the constantly changing world of the entrepreneur. Just as startups need deep-pocket investors to stay their course, the talented people at the heart and helm of those ventures need ongoing infusions of energy to sustain through rough waters.

It is the mastery of energy, not time, that fuels the creative engine of the visionary leader and gives them the capacity to outlast, outsmart and outperform their competition.

Entrepreneurs who seek to optimize and sustain positive energy and creativity, whether within themselves or among their teams, would benefit by giving a little more attention to the value of another kind of technology, the Technology of Emotion.

Emotions shape the operating system of the most miraculous incarnation of innovation that we know – human heart and mind. Few things impact our energy level, or our creativity, as much as our emotional and psychological state. The Technologies of Emotion trump any digital invention to date when it comes to engaging and shifting beliefs and perspectives at scale. That is not to say that new technologies and inventions haven’t transformed the transmission and reception of emotionally infused content. One just needs to take a look at the influence Hollywood had on the 20^th century to witness their effect.

In prior presentations to entrepreneurs on The Technologies of Emotion, I have focused on two time-tested forces for optimizing engagement and shifting perceptions. These are the same creative tools I spent most of my Hollywood career learning to master – music, and storytelling. Behind the music, and my story, however, there was another force at work. 20 years into that career, it came the time, once again, to ask myself: “WHY am I doing the work that I’m doing?”

It wasn’t hard for me to find the answer, as it was the same reason that gave me the motivation and perseverance to pursue such a precarious career path in the first place. I wanted to help others in the world experience the full potential of music to help them in their lives, just as it had helped me overcome my challenges a teenager growing up in Detroit. Friends and fans who were inspired by the idea of my job would often ask me, “Is it exciting to wake up in the morning knowing you get to write music or work on a film – to do something you love?” My response was not usually what they would expect.

 

I actually get out of bed in the morning more excited by what difference I can make in the world through music and storytelling, and by how I can touch the lives of those I love.

 

Today, I want to offer another perspective on the Technologies of Emotion. I want to take us to an idea beyond music and storytelling. After spending a good part of the past decade immersed in the worlds of Exponential Technologies and Social Impact, I have decided to add one more Technology of Emotion to the Secret Sauce. For the sake of this article, and at the risk of sounding cliche, we’ll call it “purpose”.

As popular as the topic has become in business, there seems to be a lot of confusion around what “purpose” means. Could it be that we have used the word so much that we’ve actually forgotten WHY we talking about purpose in the first place? I do sometimes wonder if the term will self-implode before it has fulfilled its most noble duties – to help galvanize the human race toward a meaningful and sustainable future. Before that happens, I would like to shine another light on the intrinsic value that has propelled purpose to be one of the most powerful human drivers.

If we look at its root “porpos” (old French), purpose it is at once a noun and a verb. Through our purpose, we both establish our intention and “propose” that we move toward the vision of its manifestation. To this end, purpose, by it’s nature, is a human technology that helps to align us with a deeper sense of meaning and motivates us forward in a clear direction.

 

What does a clear sense of purpose provide? It gives us a powerful lens – one that zooms in on WHY we are doing something or, on a more existential level, WHY we exist at all.

 

If we move a little further up the pyramid of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we expand our sense of purpose beyond our self-interests and fulfillment, and take into consideration the needs of others. Some call this our “higher purpose”. Because the desire to make a positive difference is innate and part of our evolution as human beings, we might say our purpose combines some mix of achieving our own potential and helping other to do the same.

 

Purpose is the reason WHY we do what we do. Simon Sinek actually calls it our “WHY”. Wayne Dyer called it our “Intention”. Whatever we choose as our programming language, the effect of understanding and embodying our purpose, or a shared purpose, directly impacts our emotions and our energy, rewiring us for higher levels of creativity, fulfillment and success.

A clear sense of purpose creates the heart of your business’s mission, connects it to the emotional drivers in your people, and provides the unwavering flame that fuels you to stay on course toward that seemingly distant vision that inspires you to keep moving forward. Purpose fuels our human potential in exponential ways, increasing our capacity for motivation, collaboration and creativity. Purpose is a Technology of Emotion at the core of the human operating system and a multiplier for motivation. Purpose is an X-Potential Technology.

It is one thing for an individual to waver in their sense of purpose, but when you want a team, a company, a community or a group of customers to align, having a clearly defined purpose as a compass and guiding light is key to sustainable success. It is essential to effectively communicate your vision and engage people in your mission. The greatest new technologies in the world won’t engage people through highly challenging and disruptive times, in the same way a clear and shared purpose will.

Once you know WHY, there is another layer you can add to turbocharge your purpose, and the emotional connection to it. I invite you to go a little deeper, and ask For Whom? Just as a great movie needs an identifiable main character, our internal story around our purpose and mission, will greatly benefit by having one as well.

Personifying the heart of the reason you care about something by identifying and connecting to the recipient of that gift, helps to fully activate emotions, energy, and resources in that pursuit. People will do anything for the person and things they love the most. We’ve heard stories of a mother lifting the weight of a car to save her child, and have seen that child wrestling like their life depended on it to hold possession of that tattered blanket, doll or stuffed animal.

By deeply connecting to our purpose, and identifying with those whose lives we hope to effect, we can find tremendous, even heroic strength to achieve beyond our perceived human capacity. By effectively, and passionately sharing our purpose and vision with others, we can deeply engage the hearts and minds of others, be them our teams, our customers or an entire social movement.

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