Review of Purpose

[NoaBella]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Purpose" by Gina Bianchini.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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As a marketer and entrepreneur, I've seen a lot of inspirational and self-help business books over the years. Most of them these days are thinly-disguised vehicles for either a) raising the author's profile and stroking their ego or b) not-so-subtly selling their programs and training courses, often with offer links scattered throughout the book to move you down their sales funnel as quickly as possible.

Purpose is a different beast altogether. It's cogently and clearly written, explains its premise well and with useful, illustrative stories and anecdotes. While the author does base many of her observations on her current business, she manages to avoid giving the impression that she's offering up hers as the only plausible solution to whatever problems you're facing, and the book isn't filled with prods to "buy now!"

Instead, there are a series of thoughtful, practical schematics, questions and outlines intended to help you find your purpose, articulate an action plan to set it in motion and build a community of like-minded people around a common cause. As is the case with all my favourite business books, it's inspirational without being flowery, like a good friend giving you advice through a tough time.

Two quotes I found particularly helpful were:

(On finding meaning and purpose in spite of challenges we may have faced) "We don’t have to be defined by our past or limited by our present. Honoring them, yes. But mindlessly sleepwalking into the future? You have too much potential to choose that path."

(On dealing with obstacles and setbacks on your journey towards a particular goal) "It’s turning a roadblock into a bump in the road. You’re not turning around and going home, you’re finding a new way to forge ahead."

I feel the first part of the book, the one specifically about purpose, could have been longer and gone into greater detail, since this is the foundation upon which all the other parts are premised, but I understand as well the benefits of practical application and the idea that you'll refine as you go along, so this isn't a dealbreaker for me.

I'd encourage anyone looking for a practical avenue to define their purpose or thinking about ways to build engaged communities around specific interest areas to read this book.

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Purpose
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