Your Life’s Work in One Sentence – A Challenge from Daniel Pink

It’s not always easy to sum up what you’re all about. You’re so many things, perhaps a poet, a parent, a singer, a scientist, a learner, a teacher, a lover, and a friend.

And there are so many things that interest you: the things that you see, the things that you hear, the things that you know, the things you’d like to learn, the people you know, the people you don’t, the world you live in, and the one you’d like to help create.

How could anyone expect you to say it all in just one sentence?

And yet, that’s one of the challenges author Daniel Pink gives us in his new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

Give Yourself a Sentence and Set Your Work Free

Pink was inspired by Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce who advised President Kennedy that “a great man is one sentence.” Lincoln’s sentence, for instance, was: “He preserved the union and freed the slaves.”

Thus, Pink challenges each of us to consider our purpose and ask a big question: What’s my sentence?

It may take some time. I myself, for a long time, danced all around the idea of purpose without hitting the mark.

Determine Your Genius, But Don’t Stop There

I got a little closer when I read Dick Richards’ Is Your Genius at Work?: 4 Key Questions to Ask Before Your Next Career Move. Richards believes everyone has a core activity they do so well and so frequently that it is, in effect, their genius. He also believes it’s vital that we find or create work that calls upon that genius.

Your genius, according to the author, can best be articulated as a gerund, one of those words ending in -ing, and a noun or short phrase. Maybe your genius is making children laugh or exposing fraud or championing freedom. It takes a little digging.

Mine, I concluded, is sharing discoveries. I’m happiest when I’m sharing with others something I’ve stumbled upon and believe to be wonderful.

It could be a tasty dish, an inspiring quote, an interesting book, a cool song, a great movie, a new concept, or a wild idea. It’s not enough for me to discover it for myself. I have to share it with someone.

But I’ve come to believe that your genius, although incredibly helpful to know, is not enough. It begs the question: To what purpose? To be fair, I’m sure Richards said much the same.

Labels Have Limits

There was also a time when I thought a label would do the trick, so I tried several of them on for size. Writer, explorer, blogger, learner, philosopher, and, most recently, poet. Labels, I’ve learned, can help because they allow you to see yourself as the person you wish to be, but they have a tendency to shift from minute to minute. I’m all the labels I ever wore, but seldom, if ever, all at once.

Sentenced to Life

It really comes back to that question provided by Pink: What’s my sentence?

When you and I use our genius, what is it we’re trying to do? Regardless of which labels we have adhered to our chests, what do we hope to accomplish by wearing them?

I’m happy to say that I’ve found my sentence. It was staring me right in the face. In fact, it’s there in black and white just beneath the title of this blog. What’s Mildly Creative all about? It’s what I’m all about: teaching people to lead a life of quiet inspiration, which, to me, means teaching them how to live with purpose and imagination regardless of the size of their bank accounts, how much stuff they own, what degrees they have hanging on the walls, or what anyone else thinks. And, by the way, I’ve got a lot to learn myself.

If I do my job well, my sentence will read, “He taught people how to lead a life of quiet inspiration.”

It’s Good to Know

Knowing that not only gives me focus; it gives me peace. I suddenly know why I draw pictures and craft poems and play guitar. I have a clearer understanding of why I write these blog posts. I can see how my personal relationships tie into and become a part of what I believe to be my larger work.

I highly recommend you grab a copy of Pink’s book, but even if you don’t, I would encourage you to think about your purpose, sum it all up, and craft your own sentence.

Once you do, that sentence can become an inner compass that tells you whether or not you’re headed in the right direction, and I think that just about sums up what good living is all about.

P.S. When you have it, I’d love to hear it, and I’m sure others would as well. Why not share your sentence in the comments below?

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