Forget the Market. Focus on Meaning
It’s not about money anymore.
Particularly if you're looking for a different way of doing business.
- you’re burned out
- you’ve lost your mojo
- it isn’t about the money
Money is simple metric for success.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”
Peter Drucker
Great business advice.
Not great life advice.
In a world obsessed with managing and measuring for the sake of improvement we can go too far.
I’ve learned this the hard way.
I’m trained as a scientist and know the value of data-driven decision making.
But some decisions can’t be dictated by data.
Because sometimes there’s never enough of it.
And sometimes that data can’t even be quantified.
A question I hear regularly is “what do you think about my idea?”
The standard startup advice is:
- does it solve a problem?
- will people pay for it?
- will it scale?
Unfortunately they miss the most important question.
The question that needs to be asked is “do you find this work meaningful?”
Meaning can’t be measured.
It can only be felt.
You’ve spent a lot of your life being logical.
It’s time to be a bit more lyrical.
Meaning is found looking inwards not just outwards.
It’s about tapping into what lights you up and not just what moves the market.
When you have an idea that isn’t just about the money then you need to test it.
But not in the way most startup advisors will tell you.
Don’t try to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Create a Meaningful Lovable Product (MLP).
The purpose of an MVP is to test your assumptions about whether others value or understand your idea.
The purpose of an MLP is to test whether you care enough to do something about it.
- What’s meaningful to you?
- What’s lovable to you?
- What can you create right now?
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We have a group coaching program: Vision 20/20
It’s for founders or solopreneurs at a professional crossroads. They’re looking for a more exciting and meaningful direction for their work.
They want to apply all their knowledge, wisdom and experience that helps others and lights them up.
We can help you by providing structured curriculum and a safe space to explore your ideas with likeminded people.
You’ll build a community of supporters around you whilst laying the foundations of your next purposeful project.
Find out more here - https://vision.happystartups.co