Why Fulfilment is More Important Than Achievement in Business
When you think about the measurement of success for your business, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it:
The achievement of certain goals?
The recognition?
The awards?
How much money you're making?
While all of these are important, I honestly don't believe they should be the sole focus of your business.
A company with a strong sense of purpose and values is one that is driven by personal fulfilment, not simply financial gain.
Let’s discuss why fulfilment should be at the heart of your business and how it can lead to greater success.
What is personal fulfilment?
Personal fulfilment is about feeling a sense of satisfaction and purpose in what you're doing. It's about using your talents and abilities to make a difference in the world.
You can recognise the feeling of fulfilment by the deep sense of gratification that it gives. It’s that warm ‘everything feels great right now’ where everything you are doing just seems to make so much sense.
Okay sounds good - so what exactly is purpose?
Quite simply purpose is "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists" - Oxford Languages.
The purpose for your business might be seen as ‘making money’.
But purpose is so much more than that - it's about making a difference in the world and impacting the lives of others (near and far) in a positive way.
If I was in business with the sole purpose of making money, I would have:
Not cared about who I worked with and continued to work with toxic, narcissistic clients whose egos meant they immediately looked down on anyone who didn't think/say/do the same as them 👀👀👀 (side note: this makes it super hard to grow a team so you'll see a lot of tell-tale staff turnover in those businesses).
Not cared about how my actions affected others and marched on with my strong expression of interest to work with a particular client, even after I found out that one of my friends was also hoping to win the project. (I didn't push through - I withdrew to give my friend a better chance and they got the gig... I've never told them what I'd done)
Pretended to be someone I’m not and schmoozed the room at networking events to win the game of “who can give out the most amount of business cards in 90 minutes” even though doing that makes me feel physically sick -- purely in the hope it would heighten my chances of getting some paid work.
Made myself miserable doing work I hated and marketed my services with a focus on work I am really good at, but that I actually despise doing because it feels like hard work and doesn't light me up.
"So are you saying money doesn't motivate you and isn't important?" << you right now
Not at all.
Generating revenue in business is important because it means the business is viable. It proves that people need what you're selling.
Creating a profit in business is important because it means that you're able to pay yourself and your suppliers.
And creating fulfilment in business is important because without it, you may end up getting a salaried job as that is going to feel like the better option on the roughest self-employed days. And that's okay too - but that might not be what you want.
We’ve all been there wondering if being self-employed is REALLY worth it? That’s a good time to notice that it might be your fulfilment which is starting to slide.
At the most basic level my core truth that comes from a place of fulfilment and purpose is:
I'm a coach who does good work with good people who do good things and we all earn good money along the way.
Sure, I could fluff that up a bit, but do I really need to? Money still plays a part because this business isn't a little ‘hobby’ or ‘side-hustle’ - this business pays half our mortgage, half our household bills, and positively contributes to my family's lifestyle.
Why YOU should focus on fulfilment in your business and work
There are many reasons why you should focus on fulfilment rather than achievement - here are a few key ones:
1. Greater determination leading to greater success
Personal fulfilment leads to greater motivation levels, increased grit and determination, and ultimately feelings of success;
2. Greater motivation
People who feel a sense of personal fulfilment are more likely to be engaged and motivated at work;
3. Greater positive impact on others (and the world)
This way of working and thinking has a positive impact on the world and makes a difference in the lives of others.
How to work out what fulfilment and purpose means to you
Fulfilment and purpose for you might be different to me. And it might not be immediately obvious to you what those things are. So you can start by asking yourself these questions:
Who do you work with?
What do you provide to them?
How does your service help them?
What's the ripple effect and impact of that work for you, them and in the wider community? For instance: Them paying you contributes towards your disposable income. You having that money means you buy goods/services from other business owners which then supports the economy. Maybe you hire a cleaner to support you at home which creates an income for another family - and so the ripple effect continues
The ripple effect is always, always, always so much bigger than the work alone.
But what about when….
Work feels boring / meaningless / unimportant - does that mean it’s unfulfilling?
There are always going to be days when running a business can feel unexciting and uninspiring - that's totally normal and I get that it can be hard to muster up the enthusiasm when it gets that way. So go back to thinking about what the bigger impact of doing the work is. Who's it helping? How is its impact much, MUCH bigger than your role?
When clients are rich people who you're helping make richer - that's not right, or is it?
I had a coaching client once who was finding it difficult to stay motivated in her work because she felt like the role she was doing was simply making her clients even richer than they already were. So we had to look at it with a broader lens and ask how the work supported the wider community. The company did a lot of philanthropic work and provided charitable donations. They created job roles and hired employees/contracts which meant their wages/invoices supported families. It's always so much more than the job.
When you don’t ‘connect’ with some of your clients/the work they do and have been thinking of giving them notice for a while, but need the money to pay the bills.
This is quite common with many of the coaching clients I see. Firstly I’d never advocate giving all of those clients notice in one go when it would have a dramatic effect on your income (that would be detrimental to you).
Instead think about how you can ease out of those relationships. Could you start being ‘open’ to more work and then when a dream client comes along, give just one of them notice? If you do the maths and you figure out that you can afford to let them go without a negative financial knock-on, then what’s *really* stopping you from putting your needs first?
Summary
Fulfilment and purpose are different for everyone. But the one thing that is consistent for us all is that fulfilment leads to greater success and ultimately a feeling of achievement and impact. So if you concentrate on fulfilment as your number one goal achievement will inevitably follow.
It’s super easy for me to write a blog with a few probing thoughts to get you thinking about fulfilment, but what if you feel stuck on how to get there, or even what that looks like to you?
It’s one of the top reasons that clients come to me and in just a few sessions they have a clearer picture of what and how they can reach greater fulfilment in their work than they’ve ever felt before.
Imagine that. Waking up every day feeling not only totally fulfilled, but with a sense of absolute achievement in where you are right now. Sound good?
Ready to explore coaching?
If you’d like some help with that and you’re curious about what coaching could help you achieve, why not book a discovery chat with me to see if it’s right for you? No pressure, commitment or obligation. Just a conversation about where you are versus where you want to be and how we can bridge that gap.