The Purpose Myth summary

So, your job might be unfulfilling. But how is a Purpose Project supposed to help?

A Purpose Project is a side hustle – something you can do to fulfill your need to strive and thrive while keeping your day job. When your actions line up with your core values, you tap into intrinsic motivation – the internal spirit that inspires and drives you. 

OK, so you’re brimming with enthusiasm and are ready to start – RIGHT NOW! But what exactly are you starting? 

In 2015, Cramer launched her own Purpose Project called CRACK + CIDER. She created an online marketplace where people could buy essentials, like socks and jackets, for people experiencing homelessness. This simple idea took years to bring to fruition, but the hard work paid off. Ultimately, CRACK + CIDER raised over $100,000, helped over 40,000 people, and led to speaking engagements at TEDx and SXSW. 

When Cramer was trying to come up with a name for her own project, she and her partner decided on CRACK + CIDER precisely because it’s edgy, and highlights the widespread assumption that homeless people would only buy intoxicants if they were given money directly. Cramer felt that a provocative name would help their project garner attention and spark a little debate. 

A really great name can do a lot of work for you: it can provoke, inspire, and make your project stick in people’s minds. So make sure you end up with something memorable. 

Once you’ve come up with your idea, you have to sell it. In the early stages, you probably won’t have much to sell, but you’ll still need help – either with logistics or to simply spread the word about your project. And to get it, you’ll need to come up with a concise and memorable pitch. 

To explain why this is so important, Cramer recounts how she once attended the launch of a social networking platform. The CEO gave an impassioned speech, but by the end, Cramer still had no clue what his company did. Without a good pitch, the CEO missed the opportunity of having all the party-goers talking about his product the next day. 

Life is busy. So while a Purpose Project sounds great in theory, you might already be getting stressed-out and thinking, This isn’t the right time.

Cramer struggled to find time to write her book. For years, she told herself that she had to save enough money so she could quit her job and focus on writing. When she finally did that, she found that she only spent two hours a day writing – something she could have easily accomplished in the mornings and evenings while still working at her job.