Stop Waiting for Permission: How Finding Your Purpose Actually Drives Profit
By Derek — Money isn't complicated. People just make it complicated. ·
It’s July 2026. If you’re anything like the founders I’m coaching this week, you’ve spent the last six months staring at a P&L statement, wondering why the numbers feel like someone else’s success. You’ve hit your benchmarks, you’ve optimized the funnel, and your remote team is firing on all cylinders. But when you close the laptop at 7:00 PM, you feel… empty.
People love to act like money is a complex, mystical beast. It’s not. Money is just a scoreboard for the value you provide to the world. And if you’re struggling to find your purpose, you aren’t just having an existential crisis—you’re having a business problem. You’re trying to scale a machine that doesn’t have a soul.
The “Purpose” Trap
Let’s cut the BS. Most people think "finding your purpose" means packing your bags for Bali to find yourself in a yoga retreat. That’s nonsense. Your purpose isn’t a vacation; it’s a filter. Without it, you say ‘yes’ to every opportunity, every client, and every side project that sounds like it might make a buck. That’s how you end up wealthy but miserable, which is arguably the worst way to be broke.
I learned this at Goldman. I was surrounded by guys making seven figures who hated every second of their lives. They were experts at making money, but they were amateurs at living. When I left to start my own practice, I realized that purpose is really just the intersection of what you’re freakishly good at and what the market is willing to pay you to solve. If you’re solving a problem you don’t care about, you’ll burn out before you hit your first real milestone.
Purpose is a Data Point, Not a Feeling
When I sit down with a client, I don’t ask them what their 'soul's calling' is. That’s a great way to get a blank stare. I ask them: What problem do you solve that makes you forget to check your watch?
Think about F1. Why does McLaren keep pushing for those upgrades? It’s not just for the podium. It’s for the engineering challenge. If they didn’t care about the pursuit of performance, they’d be out of the sport in a season. You have to find that same obsessive curiosity in your own work. If you’re just chasing a trend because the margins are high, you’re a mercenary. Mercenaries get replaced. Missionaries—the people who actually care about the outcome—build empires.
The 72-Hour Audit
If you want to find your purpose, stop looking at vision boards and start looking at your calendar. Here is exactly how we’re going to find it, no fluff included:
1. The 'Hell Yes' Audit: Look at the last 72 hours of your work. Write down every task you did. Highlight the ones that felt like you were in the zone—that flow state where the world disappears. If your highlight list is empty, we have a major problem. 2. The Problem-Value Gap: Look at those highlighted tasks. What problem were you solving? Were you fixing a broken process? Mentoring a junior dev? Negotiating a tough deal? That’s your competency. Now, ask yourself: Does the market pay me for this, or am I doing it for free because I haven’t figured out how to package it? 3. The 'No' List: For the next week, I want you to say no to one thing that pays well but drains your energy. Yes, it’s a risk. But you can’t make room for your purpose if you’re cluttering your schedule with ‘profitable misery.’
Why Purpose Scales
Here’s the cold, hard financial truth: When you align your business with your actual purpose, your decision-making gets faster. You stop second-guessing every pivot. Your marketing gets better because you’re speaking from a place of conviction, not a script. People can smell a fake from a mile away, and they don’t buy from fakes.
Money isn’t complicated. You provide value, you get paid. But providing extraordinary value? That only happens when you’re leaning into your own unique frequency. When you’re doing what you’re built to do, you’re not just a business owner; you’re an asset. And assets compound.
Stop trying to copy someone else’s blueprint. It’s 2026. The world has enough generic service providers and cookie-cutter consultants. We don’t need more of the same. We need you, refined and focused.
So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to keep chasing the shadow of someone else’s success, or are you going to build something that actually means something to you?
I’m curious to hear where you’re at. Hit reply or find me on the socials and let me know: What’s the one thing you’re doing that you know you should stop doing, even if it pays the bills? Let’s talk through it.