Purpose Before Projects

When I was at the EV Unconference, I met many incredible people. Everyone seemed to be working on something amazing. And every conversation made me feel a little lame.

Here's an example I texted to my brother:

Me: What are you working on?

New Friend: I'm developing a handheld microscope for cancer removal surgeries. I'm connecting the microscope to an image recognition algorithm so that the doctor can identify all cancer cells and properly remove them. How about you?

Me: I make YouTube videos...

After multiple such conversations, I was beginning to feel out of place. How did I end up at a conference like this?

But as I reflected on the conversations over the weekend, I realized I got something wrong. And fixing it is helping me approach my work with renewed purpose.

Purpose Before Projects

Reflecting on the various conversations revealed that I misrepresented the conversations to myself. I kept focusing on everyone's projects. But that's not how most people presented their work. Here's how the conversations really went.

Me: What are you working on?

New Friend: I'm interested in fighting cancer, but instead of developing new approaches I'm working on improving old approaches. Right now I'm working on a handheld microscope that uses image recognition to make sure doctors remove every cancerous cell. What about you?

Me: I make YouTube videos...

I focused on their projects, which makes sense because I presented my own work with a focus on projects. I kept telling people that I make YouTube videos.

But most of my conversation partners focused not on projects, but on purpose. Note that this friend didn't lead with his microscope. He stated his purpose: eliminating cancer by improving old approaches. Then he described his project, which contributed to his purpose.

When I recognized this pattern, I saw it everywhere. People were concerned about building virtual worlds that were independent of their creators, or building new tools for thought, or ensuring privacy in the next generation of the internet. Their focus was on their purpose. Then they would explain how they were working towards that purpose with their next project.

And I think this shift in framing can help us not only find pride in our work, but help us understand which projects are most important right now.

My Thought Experiment

I decided to replay the weekend, but instead of leading with my YouTube videos, I imagined leading with my purpose. That, of course, required me to reflect on what my purpose is.

I concluded that my purpose is to change the way people are introduced to economics. There are several problems with our current approach, and I'll write about those in the future. But my purpose is to provide a fresh approach, and right now I'm working towards that purpose by making videos on YouTube.

This was a paradigm shift for me. Not only did I feel more confident in my imagined conversations, I started thinking more broadly about my plans for Market Power. Do I plan my videos with that purpose in mind? Sometimes, but many times I forget it. What would I do differently if I maintained that purpose in front of me? Are there other projects that would contribute to that purpose?

Where else could I apply this? As an economist, I write research papers. And when I introduce myself to others, I focus on whichever project I'm most excited about. But then my conversation partner tells me about the interesting project she is working on, and I get jealous that hers sounds more interesting.

But that makes me sound like a child who can't be happy with his slice of cake because his sibling got a corner piece. If you're only focused on your projects, then you'll always covet someone else's. If you focus on your purpose, then there's no need to be jealous because their projects don't contribute to achieving your purpose.

So what's my purpose in research? I am interested in understanding how historical political and institutional factors contributed to Haiti's poverty. That's a clear, well-defined purpose. And, frankly, I think it's a worthy purpose.

And look at how much better my life can be if I focus on it. One of the frustrating experiences with my projects is how little data I can find. I hear about someone working on the effects of a new technology on American labor markets in 1910 and I'm jealous of the data they have. But why be jealous? That project contributes nothing to my purpose of understanding Haiti's poverty. Is it cool? Yes. Is it something I should work on? No, not unless I'm willing to shift my purpose.

Finding your purpose is like working on a jigsaw puzzle. When we're each working on separate puzzles, there is no point in being jealous that someone else found a piece to theirs. If you had found that piece, it wouldn't fit in your puzzle.

So my challenge to you is to reflect not on your projects, but on your purpose. What are you working towards? And if you want space to think through that, feel free to write your purpose in the comments.