Having a sense of meaning is crucial for leadership. Think about legendary leaders such as Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King. Would they have been equally effective without an inner sense of purpose? An inner sense of meaning that guided them and the people that followed them?

The biography of Tesla CEO Elon Musk (see Further Reading list) illustrates a more modern form of meaning. The author describes how Musk’s ultimate personal “meaning” of bringing humans to Mars has driven many of his choices.

Having a sense of purpose can be a tremendous source of energy for people. Tapping into their sense of purpose can allow them to achieve extraordinary feats. Effective leaders need to be connected to their own purpose in life to harness this energy. They also need to connect others around them to their sense of meaning in order to unleash their energy. Deciding what is meaningful is a life’s journey.

In this section, we will help you start your personal journey for meaning. We will do this by helping you determine what drives you, and we will visualize the future and see what will make the difference between success and failure for you personally. This is, of course, not an easy task. Some of you might need help to get in the right mind-set. If so, you can have a look at the clips on visualization and meditation. If not, you can skip these videos and go straight to the personal charter.

Download video  |Download transcript

Download video  |Download transcript