Joe describes his practical method for finding purpose: since you can’t know your purpose intellectually in advance, you start by saying yes to anything that intrigues you. This fills your time quickly. Then you naturally filter — you do more of what feels most enjoyable and fulfilling, and less of what doesn’t.
This process took him from video art installations to family offices to venture capital to philanthropy to coaching. At no point did he plan to become a coach. Multiple people had to push him into teaching his first course. But he kept saying yes to what felt best, and purpose emerged organically.
“I can’t know what my purpose is. I can only find it.”
“I just kept on saying yes to the stuff that felt the best.”
The key insight is that purpose can’t be figured out in advance — it can only be discovered through engagement. The intellectual search for purpose is itself a form of avoidance. The body and heart recognize purpose when they encounter it; the mind never will.
Related Concepts
- Purpose is in the how, not the what
- Searching for purpose avoids it
- Purpose is lived in the present moment
- Searching for purpose assumes you don’t already have it