Davin Salvagno - Finding Purpose at Work

Finding Purpose at Work
Copyright 2020 by Davin Salvagno

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 978-1-09833-373-7
ISBN eBook: 978-1-09833-374-4

Dedication

To my bride, Amy, who was a writer long before I was. Thank you for putting up with my long trips away, my sleepless nights at home, my relentless use of commas, and my borderline obnoxious positivity. Thank you for always believing in me, supporting me, and loving me, even in my worst moments; for sacrificing so much of yourself for our family over the years; and for always being a physical reminder of the indescribable gift of grace that I have been given.

To my kiddos, Vera and Bennett, I pray that my words in these pages will guide you as you grow older, that they will help you discover and hold true to who God called you to be, so that you can make the impact in this life that He created you for.

With Gratitude

To Ken Blanchard, for modeling what servant leadership looks like, for a lifetime dedicated to helping others identify the leader within themselves, for shaping me as a leader, and for inspiring me to finish this work.

To John C. Maxwell, for equipping me to understand more deeply the concepts of leadership through your many works, for helping me find the leader within myself, and for reassuring me that it is okay to fail as long as we fail forward.

To Patrick Lencioni, for guiding me through your work over the years to understand team dynamics and what true organizational health looks like, helping me to become a better leader for others.

To Simon Sinek, for bringing back into the spotlight the most important question we could ask: Why, a foundational element of finding purpose, and for serving as a spotlight for so many other thought leaders and igniters through your work.

To Bob Buford, for flipping my journey upside down with your book Halftime, shifting my mindset to pursue significance over success, and keeping me focused on Whats in the box.

To Brene Brown, for unleashing the power of vulnerability, for challenging each of us to be our most authentic selves, for daring us to lead, and to do so greatly.

To Randy Tomko, for being not just a pastor but a friend and mentor over the years, keeping my eyes fixed on the only thing that matters when its all been said and done, for modeling what it looks like to lead from the heart, and for challenging me many years ago to not let that piece of me that cares most for people die to pursue personal gain.

To Brad Seitzinger, for never giving up on me, for believing in me, for consistently challenging me, for supporting me, and for helping me become a better coach of others, but most of all for your true friendship and fellowship over the years.

To Kurt David, for taking a chance on a newfound friends dream, for believing in the vision that I was given, for keeping me focused and reeled in over the years, for not letting me give up, for challenging me to think differently when I needed to, and for being a great business partner and friend.

To Joe Sciacchitano, for being the friend who sticks closer than a brother through my many transitions in life. From the very beginning of this journey of purpose, you believed in me and in this vision and have served selflessly at all hours of the day and night as a sounding board, a resource to our organization, and a critical member of our team. Most importantly, you have always put our friendship before anything else.

To David Smith, for being a friend and confidant over the years, for introducing me to Bob Bufords work, and for believing in me when I didnt believe in myself.

To Brian Wassom, for being a voice of wise counsel and perspective in my life and along this journey. For your constant support, encouragement, and friendship.

To Dwight Eberts, for countless conversations over the years that have led to critical and meaningful decisions along this journey, for believing in this work that was set upon my heart, for giving me opportunities to serve others, and mostly for your unconditional support, your many prayers, and cherished friendship.

To Dennis Moseley-Williams, for our rich, long-distance conversations over the years, many on airplanes or in hotel rooms as we passed as ships in the night, to share our gift of inspiration and insights with the world.

To Roger Norberg, for introducing me to the C12 Group and giving me the opportunity to join such an incredible fellowship of leaders, for bringing Kurt David and I together and for believing in our vision, for finding opportunities to support us along each step of our journey, and above all for your friendship, fellowship, and servant leadership.

To the members of the PurposePoint team, for your relentless and selfless pursuit of engaging, inspiring, and impacting the lives of others, and to the clients we have served over the years who have invited us to engage their purpose and their people.

To my parents, who have always believed in me, supported me, and encouraged me through the challenges and changes we have gone through together, for being there for me in times when I needed them, and for cheering me on along this journey.

To Steven Valtri, my uncle, who has always been the big brother I never had, for believing in me, supporting me, and inspiring me to achieve something of significance in this life without sacrificing my values or losing sight of the things that truly matter.

And finally to my grandparents, who are no longer around to read this, but who shaped me at an early age, imprinting values on my heart that have guided every decision I have made in this life, who modeled for me what living an othersfocused life looks like, and for giving me a vision of the kind of person I wanted to become, and am still becoming.

Foreword

When Davin Salvagno first told me about his upcoming book, Finding Purpose at Work , I was so intrigued I immediately offered to write the foreword. Why? Because I believe that what Davin has to say is important, and that people need to hear it.

I have been a big believer in the power of purpose for a long time. To me, without a clear sense of who we are, where we are going, and the values that will guide our journey, we could be open to all kinds of distractions and our lives could get out of control. Having a clear purpose helps us use our time to the best advantage by knowing how we want to show up in the world and where we want to focus.

This was important for me to learn, because I tend to say yes too often. I am a positive-thinking guy, so lots of ideas sound good to me. But I had to realize I couldnt do it all. So with some help from Jesse Lyn Stoner, my coauthor on the book Full Steam Ahead! Unleash the Power of Vision in Your Work and Your Life , I created my personal vision statement. It reads: I am a loving teacher and example of simple truths who helps and motivates myself and others to awaken the presence of God in our lives and to realize that we are here to serve, not to be served. Every morning I read this statement as one of my daily affirmations to renew my focus on who I am, where I am going, and why.

Davin and I share the belief that finding purpose at work is all-important. When an individual, a team, or an organization has clarity of purpose, they can step forward with confidence knowing they are moving in a positive direction toward their goals.