When the work you do is aligned with your purpose, the result is inspired action. Rather than grinding through each day, you are propelled forward by a calling to serve. So, what is your purposeful hustle? And how would your life change if you pursued that passion every day?

Today, we’re joined by Deanna Singh, the Founder and Chief Change Agent at Flying Elephant. Recognized as a leading authority in creating opportunities in underserved communities, Deanna has spent nearly 20 years designing and building solutions to complex social challenges. She has extensive experience in the realm of social entrepreneurship and advocacy, and Deanna is the author of the new release, Purposeful Hustle: Direct Your Life’s Work Towards Making a Positive Impact.

Deanna begins by defining what it means to be a social entrepreneur. She explains how her diverse body of work fits under the umbrella of shifting power to marginalized communities and describes the inspired action behind work that aligns with your unique purpose. Deanna also discusses the value in making failure part of the plan and shares the concept of a failsumé to document (and even celebrate!) the areas where you’re not winning. Listen in to understand how clarity of purpose can support you in doing less—and learn how to uncover and engage in your own purposeful hustle!

 

 

Themes explored in this week’s episode:

  • The definition of social enterprise
  • Deanna’s purpose in shifting power to marginalized communities and how her three businesses fit under that umbrella
  • The job interview that inspired Deanna to articulate + align with her purpose
  • How to get past judging yourself for a purpose that’s ‘not noble enough’ by focusing on the people you serve
  • How Deanna encourages purposeful hustlers to embrace failure and make it part of the plan
  • Deanna’s concept of a failsumé to document + celebrate the areas where you’re not winning
  • Why Deanna values resilience in team members and how she evaluates that quality in the interview process
  • How clarity of purpose can support you in doing less
  • How Purposeful Hustle is giving people a venue to share what they’re dreaming about
  • The lifechanging wisdom Deanna recognized standing in line at Potter World

 

Resources from this episode:

 

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Quotes from the episode:

“The distinguishing characteristic of a social enterprise is that it is created to solve a social need or a social challenge.”

“Even though … more than 50% of our children are children of color in the United States, less than 14% of books feature children of color.”

“If you introduce a doula or midwife, you can eliminate the disparities [in birth outcomes].”

“It looks really disparate … but if you take a step back, and you look at that list—shifting power to marginalized communities. Every single one of the companies I run, that is the core organizing principle.”

“If people could align themselves with purpose—not title, not where am I going to be regionally, not even, really, financially—but what is my purpose? If people got more clarity on that and were spending their time and using that to make their decisions, particularly in what they’re doing in their professional careers, can you imagine the change?”

“Do you believe, as an individual, you are here for a unique purpose? Something that nobody else in the world has?”

“When I have the most transformational changes, and when I have the most growth and the most impact, and when I move exponentially … they’re always preceded by failure. Always.”

“If [the request] doesn’t fit in my purpose, then I don’t have any business doing it.”

“We are standing behind these red lines that are not real. We’re standing behind them, and we’re waiting for somebody to give us permission for a door that’s already open.”

“Stop standing behind lines that are going nowhere. Stop waiting for permission. Stop assuming that a door is closed. Open it and move forward.”

How do you create belonging at work?

We go to work for more than a paycheck, we go for a sense of belonging. So what does belonging look like? Get the Belonging Resource Guide to learn new ideas on how individuals, leaders, and organizations can help people feel safe, loved and whole at work.

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