When I first started this “blogging” journey I had no idea what I was doing. Hell, I didn’t even know what SEO was. But I had a vision of an end game and I started to slowly figure things out. Google is a fantastic teacher!

But I DID have one thing figured out, and that one thing has gotten more fine tuned as years have passed. I found out I had the BRCA mutation (the cancer gene) and I wanted to inspire people to travel the world through gorgeous photography and travel guides.

Social Media and Happiness

Now here is the irony: my photography was not stunning, not yet at least. But I practiced and over time I learned how to improve it, and I keep getting better. The point is you have to figure out your WHY. Your PURPOSE.

Don’t just say “I want to make money”. There needs to be a purpose behind what you want to do. Unless you have a strong enough purpose for your company/brand to exist, an emotional link to why you want to get something out into the world, you will fail to commit to the amount of work it takes to become successful at anything, including social media. In other words, if you create something for money, or fame, or IG followers, you wont be passionate enough to sustain it. You will burn out.

Once you figure out your WHY and find clarity you will create a purpose driven company, that utilizes social media, will excel in customer service, and you will love it because you believe in it. This is how you find clarity through purpose.

BUT what does this have to do with me or finding joy in social media again?

Well, I’ll tell you. According to Jason Harris, who wrote The Soulful Art of Persuasion, 88% of Americans are more likely to buy from a purpose driven company – and no one has more purpose than a small business.

Marie Forleo says “In today’s competitive world people want to work for and become raving fans of companies that care – companies that are genuinely dedicated to something real and true. Companies that have a definitive and inspiring reason for being in the world that goes beyond profit.”

She also notes that customers crave the ability to buy from companies that care about more than the bottom line.

The moment you find clarity through purpose the numbers on social media stop becoming important. You become more focused on what you want to accomplish and how to help people. Your captions become more thoughtful, you become more generous with information, your storytelling gets better, and you start focusing on IMPACT.

When you can focus your mindset to be more impactful, then the algorithm doesn’t matter, and when the algorithm doesn’t matter you are more creative and you stop caring about what to post and start focusing on how to show up for the people that need to hear what you have to say.

I’ll leave you with an example. Simon Sinek gave a TED Talk that I watched many years ago and was reintroduced to it again through Marie Forleo. In this particular TED Talk he discusses what makes some people + brands inspirational and stand out from the crowd.

Inspired leaders and organizations think from the inside out, they start with their “why”, where as most companies start with their “what” or their product.

People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it

Here are two examples of this-

1. This is what most companies do: I’m Shannon and I take beautiful landscape photos. They are high quality fine art prints. Want to buy one?
2. Here is an example leading with my “why”: After finding out I had the BRCA mutation I turned to photography for therapy. I learned how to hone in on the craft of slowing down the world around me. Now I work with a locally owned print + frame shop to create beautiful fine art images to bring joy to your home while donating 10% of my sales to Camp Sunshine, an organization that provides retreats for families of children with life threatening disease. Would you like to see my prints?

Now who are you more likely to buy from? {Head over to here to watch the TED Talk video Simon Sinek – It’s so good!}

Start with your why, your passion, and find clarity on how you want to make the world a better place, and if not the world at least how you want to give back. Once you zero in on your why you’ll figure out how to provide value to your audience and everything falls into place and you quit worrying about the numbers.

If you enjoyed Finding Clarirty Through Purpose then check out these other articles full of {actually useful} information!

What have you learned about social media and happiness? Let me know in a comment below!