Do You Know Where You Are Going?

Photo by why kei on Unsplash

When our youngest girl was a baby, some days we would just jump in the car and drive. It was just for fun. We didn’t know where we were going or how long we would drive for. The journey was an end in itself; there was no destination, just a journey.

Then there were nights when our baby girl cried so hard, we would try anything to get her to sleep. It was the kind of crying you think will never end! On those occasions, my wife and I would strap her into her car seat, start the car and just drive. At some point she would fall fast asleep. It could take a matter of minutes or, on the bad nights, an hour or more!

Then there was a third kind of journey – when we strapped her into her seat, got in the car and headed out to the beach, to visit friends or relatives, or to go shopping.

It was the same car, the same people, but each journey had a very different purpose.

The first journey was for leisure; to waste time together; to get on the road and see where we ended up. It didn’t matter where we went.

The second journey had no destination, but it definitely had a purpose: to stop the baby crying. It still didn’t matter where we went. What mattered was that we found peace!

The third journey had both a purpose and a destination. We knew where we were going, so we planned how to get there.

What is the purpose of your journey?

In business, it’s important to know why you are taking the journey. It’s unlikely you are in business just to while away the day, so running your business without a purpose and destination is a waste of time and money.

Perhaps your business has a purpose, but no clear destination. That’s not entirely wrong, but how can you measure the success of your purpose without a goal?

That’s why having both a purpose and a destination is essential when running a business. It allows you to set goals and know when you have reached them.

Let’s say, for example, that you start a business to serve the TV and film industry by offering a professional service composing music. You begin the journey, but you don’t have a clear, specific destination in mind. How will you know what success looks like if you don’t have a target?

This is an extract from my new book ‘The Book Dad Told Me Not To Write’, find out more here