Author: Ryan Fletcher
What is my purpose?
That's a question I've asked a lot lately. I believe as a parent, as a friend, as a mentor, as a consultant, as whatever "title" you wish to give me or others assign me - I believe my purpose is to inspire. To lift up and encourage others to dream. To think big. And not just big. But huge. To not be afraid to imagine the impossible. To keep hope alive and not be fearful of the unknown. To not be cowardly in times when courage is needed. To step up when others won't. I believe my purpose is to help others to un-cork and un-bottle, and to un-lock the potential locked inside themselves. I believe my purpose is to help others expand their vision to see what is actually possible and not just what society tells us is possible. I believe my purpose is to help others to create their own destiny and to fulfill their own mission.
Of course, getting to this point has not been easy. For most of my life, I have felt like an outcast. Not in the traditional sense. I don't mean in high school. Rather in my work and professional life. When you set your alarm to wake up every morning at 4:00am, write 7 days a week, on holidays and even vacations - several thoughts quickly formulate about you in people's mind:
1) He must be crazy, and 2) he must be a workaholic.
When you ask for, and only want books for Christmas, people assume you're a boring dud. When you spend 99% of your time writing, alone by yourself, it is assumed you don't have any friends or, they say assume, that you're "disconnected and shut-off." They say things like, "I guess I'm more of a people-person. Because I could never do what you do," as if to suggest that I'm some version of Howard Hughes - who, late in his life, never ventured out, never cut his finger nails, and closed himself off completely from the outside world. They're also quick to call you a "sucker" when you spend $5,000 to attend a marketing seminar. They say things like, "I thought you were smarter than that," or "I didn't think you would fall for something like that." And when you shoot videos of yourself and post them on the Internet for all the world to see, people are quick to label and call you a narcissist.
And while I've come to accept these "titles" and "classifications" that others have for me.
I'm really only one thing: A Storyteller
When I look back at the body of work I've created. At my marketing. At my content. At the way I present my unique perspective on marketing and advertising, in my newsletters and in my videos. When I look at the sales letters I've written. Ads I've written. At the way I present my philosophy and beliefs; about business, success, and about the elements required to create a movement…
What I find: Are stories
*** Impact Club® is my way of bringing story, through IOD: Impact of the Day, and Principles of Elevated Philanthropy and building StoryEngines, to a larger universe.