Beyond the Paycheck: How Purpose Turns Ordinary Work into a Life Worth Living

Decades of running purpose-centered companies taught us that clarity of mission doesn’t just shape business; it shapes the soul, deepens happiness, and may even add years to your life.

Image by Mohammed Mohammed from Pixabay

I’ve always believed that work is more than simply earning a living. Louise and I have started multiple companies over the 53 years we’ve been married, and in each case we hung a mission statement on the wall, something larger than profit, something meant to orient us toward contribution and meaning.

For our advertising agency it was “making the world a better place by improving communication among people.” For the community for abused kids it was “saving the world one child at a time.” For our travel agency it was “bringing people together and broadening their understanding of humanity with travel.” For our herbal tea company it was “helping people get healthier.” Each mission guided decisions when the next pitch came in, or when we opted to decline something that didn’t align (we refused tot take advertising clients from the meat or tobacco industries, for example).

In those early days, it might have seemed a luxury—or perhaps a distraction—to speak of purpose. But as I’ve aged and, frankly, reflected on what gives life its quality, I’ve grown convinced that this sense of purpose is not optional: it’s essential. And science now points to exactly that: living your life with a sense of purpose is strongly associated with greater longevity and healthier aging.

According to the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health one of the best-evidenced routes to better health is the trio of sleep, diet, exercise and two additional factors: social connection and sense of purpose. Looking at the “Blue Zones”—regions of the world where people live markedly longer, healthier lives—one of the core habits is simply that they live with purpose.

When I look back, I see how those mission statements made the work itself richer and the journey more sustainable. In the ad agency, we weren’t just chasing the next campaign; we were asking, “How will this help people understand each other better?” In the travel agency, it wasn’t just booking flights and hotels: it was envisioning how one human meeting in another country might change a life. In the herbal tea business, it wasn’t just selling tea bags it was helping someone feel better, reduce inflammation, or reclaim energy.

The money matters—of course it does—but if the money is detached from something meaningful, I’ve found the work doesn’t feed you in the same way. Today, with my radio/TV show and this newsletter, we’re still pursuing what we feel is a purpose greater than our own little lives.

Louise and I found that when our mission was clear, decision-making got easier. When something felt off-mission, we’d pause. We’d ask ourselves: does this move fit our “bringing people together” ethos? If the answer was no, we often walked away.

That said, when it aligned, the energy in the business changed. Clients felt it. Our teams felt it. And I believe our own resilience felt it, because we were working for something bigger than ourselves.

And that brings me to happiness, which is different but intimately connected to purpose. In the hair-on-fire startup days, long hours were inevitable. But when you’re forging something aligned with your values, the fatigue carries a different emotional weight. The long hours feel less like a grind and more like part of the journey. You’re building not just a company, but a piece of something meaningful. Over time that builds into a layer of fulfillment that goes beyond paycheck and title.

Then there’s the longevity piece, which recent science solidly backs up. If we want to live longer, healthier, more vibrant lives, it’s not only about the spinach salad and mountain climbing on weekends (though those matter). It’s about meaning, connection, a reason to get up in the morning.

The Blue Zones research lists “living with purpose” as a key factor among people who regularly reach age 90 or 100. And the Columbia research underlines that sense of purpose and social connection are two big pieces of the healthy-aging puzzle. So yes, our mission-driven work may very well be one of the better investments we’ve made, both for our businesses and for our lives.

I don’t claim that every day is perfect or that having a mission makes everything magical. There have been leaner seasons, distractions, the temptations to chase only “what pays.” But I write this now because I want to offer you the same prompt we used again and again: What is your mission?

What statement can you live by, hang on your wall, carry written on the back of a business card where you can see it every time you open your wallet, whisper to yourself when the morning alarm goes off? And then ask: does what I do today bring me closer to that mission, or steer me away?

If you have that mission, your work takes on two purposes at once. Yes, it makes you a living. But it also fosters meaning. It helps you connect. It helps you draw a circle of impact around you. It helps you ride the waves with calm because you know what you’re for. And it helps you stack up days that feel not just long but full, both for you, for others, and for the living of it.

Louise and I still look at those mission statements. They may have slightly shifted languages over the years, but the core remains. And on the days when the to-do list looms, when the road seems longer than expected, we lean back into the mission: improving communication, saving kids, bringing people together, helping people get healthier. And now using media to tell the truth and rescue democracy.

Because that mission lifts the work out of the grind and places it inside the story of our lives.

If you’re reading this and are wondering whether your work has a why, you’re not alone. Many of us drift into “what pays” mode. But turning toward purpose doesn’t require switching industries or starting a new company. It simply requires aligning the job you have (or the business you run) with a reason that outlasts the paycheck. And that alignment may well give you two dividends: deeper happiness and longer, richer life.

If you’re ready, try writing your mission on a sticky note. Hang it somewhere you’ll see it (I used to put mine on the bathroom mirror, and had a card in my wallet). Then let it guide you today.

You may find that your next task, your next meeting, your next idea takes on a new shape. And faster than you expect, you’ll be stacking not just work hours but days of meaning.