Feb. 6, 2025
Discovering Your Unique Purpose in Just Seven Words
In this episode of the Living the Dream podcast, host Curveball sits down with Ian Shamandy, a purpose-driven expert who has helped over 400 organizations discover their unique identities. Ian shares his simple yet powerful three-part methodology for individuals to define what makes them uniquely remarkable in seven words or less. Discover how understanding your purpose can transform your life and decision-making process, especially during challenging times. Tune in to learn how to live your best life by embracing your superpower!
http://www.purposeu.ai
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome, um, to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. Um, if you believe you can achieve.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Today we're going to be talking about fulfilling and achieving your purpose, as I am joined by Ian Shamani and has helped over 400 organizations find their purpose. But now he is also focused on helping individuals find their purpose and live their best life. So we're going to be talking about him, talking to him about everything that he's up to and what he's going to be up to in the future. So, Ian, thank you so much for joining me.
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> Ian Shamani>Oh, my pleasure, Curtis. Thank you very much for having me.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?
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> Ian Shamani>Okay, well, um, I'm, I am in Toronto, Canada. And um, I, I am here because I've created a methodology.
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> Ian Shamani>It's a simple three part methodology to you. We start by defining what makes you uniquely remarkable. And we do that in seven words or less. And then once we have that short phrase, you use it to guide everything you do and say. And so I have one application for businesses so that, um, I do that with them and then I have adapted it for individuals so that individuals can design or can define what makes them uniquely remarkable at seven words or less. And then live from that perspective. Live from, you know, have your, have, uh, what makes you uniquely remarkable guide everything you do and say in your life.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>What made you want to help people and come up with your method? You know, what made you want to start helping organizations and then helping people live their purpose?
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> Ian Shamani>Well, originally, I mean, that wasn't my, that wasn't my original intent. It's a bit of a long and winding road. My, my first passion is strategy, right? And, um, so figuring out, uh, the path. But what I realized in order to figure out the path, you need to know who you are before you actually figure out the path you're going to take. Um, because of course who you are is. Com is wholly critical to figuring out the path you're taking. And so there had to be a way to figure out, uh, who you are. And I, and I'm talking about this in a corporate context because my company served, you know, provided its service to other companies. So before you figure out as a company what your path is going to be, you have to know who you are as your company. And that's not a question that's ever asked in business. And to me it's like, well, that's your most knowing what makes you uniquely remarkable as a company is your most important asset. How can you not know, how can you not articulate that and have you guide everything you do and say? So, you know, um, I developed a way to do that, to figure out how to define what makes you uniquely remarkable. And then, and then do it in seven words or less.
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> Ian Shamani>And then I ran into a quote from Pablo Picasso who said, um, your purpose is to find your gift and share it with the world. And I said, well, wait a sec. Your gift and that one thing that makes you uniquely remarkable at your core is the same thing. So really you can articulate that, that sentence or re. Articulate it to say your purpose in life is to find what makes you uniquely remarkable and share it with the world. And I said, I never knew that what I was doing was purpose because I start with defining what makes you uniquely remarkable. But now I'm going to wrap this in purpose. So I was providing this strategic planning, um, service to companies wrapped in service in purpose. And then Covid hit and I knew I wasn't going to get any business for a couple of years. So I got my business coaching certification. I started talking to coaching prospects. They all sort of said the same thing. They said, you know, the pandemic has got me rethinking my life and I want to, um, I, uh, don't like what I'm doing. I don't like my career, I don't like my path.
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> Ian Shamani>I want to live a life of meaning and purpose.
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> Ian Shamani>And when I said, well, what's your purpose?
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> Ian Shamani>They said, I don't know. And it made me realize I could take this corporate thing that I had designed to define your purpose and have you lead a purpose driven life as a corporation. And I could adapt that to individuals.
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> Ian Shamani>And so that's what, that's how I would coach my clients. I would start out, um, by defining their purpose in seven words or less. And then I would coach them through the filter of their purpose.
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> Ian Shamani>And then a five time corporate client of mine, when I told him about this, he said, well, I have an online training infrastructure, teaching infrastructure that I could just plunk on top of your individual blueprint. And rather than you doing it one on one with your coaching clients, you can do it one to millions by offering it as a course online.
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> Ian Shamani>So that's what I did. You know, he and I started this business and that course launched this week. So it's brand new.
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> Ian Shamani>Um, and so you can, as an individual, you can sign up for the Course.
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> Ian Shamani>And I lead you step by step through the process of defining what makes you, as a human being among 8 billion other human beings on this planet. What is it that makes you uniquely remarkable? So now you're going to be able to define your superpower. And that comes with a whole host of benefits. So that's sort of the path that got me to here. I can tell you. It, you know, it wasn't an intentional path until, until it all became kind of visible to me what I, you know, what I meant to do with the last third of my life. And that's. So that's where I am now. That's my path, is to spread this whole idea of purpose because.
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> Ian Shamani>And I'm wrapping up Curtis, I'm bringing this in for a landing. But, you know, there's, ah, 8 billion people in the planet and, and my guess is at least half of them are walking around saying, there's nothing special about me, so I don't deserve anything special.
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> Ian Shamani>And that's not true.
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> Ian Shamani>Everybody has something special about them. Everybody has a superpower. Everybody has something that makes them uniquely remarkable. And when you know what it is, your confidence elevates because, you know, you have this gift that nobody can take away from you. And I love the idea that I'm the guy that's helping you do that.
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> Ian Shamani>So that's how I got here.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>All, uh, right. Well, you always talk about how you help people and companies, businesses to find their purpose. And seven, where's the list?
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>How did you come up with that? Seven and where's the list?
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> Ian Shamani>Well, like so many things that got developed along the way, it was an accident or a suggestion, right. From other people who were watching what we did and said, oh, it looks like, you know, and they'd say something, oh, that's really cool.
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> Ian Shamani>And we were doing this work and we just kept coming up.
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> Ian Shamani>Not intentionally, but at some point a short phrase would come up in the work that we were doing with the client and the client would like, be all excited about it. It's like, oh, wow, that's actually the business I'm in. And after a while someone, someone said, oh, these are all, all short phrases. And you know, maybe you should pick a number.
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> Ian Shamani>And we looked at all the short phrases that we'd come up with and the longest one was seven.
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> Ian Shamani>So we just said, okay, from now on, it's got to be in seven words or less. And it's usually, I know that doesn't sound like very much, but it's usually two or three or four Words. So it's actually. But what the beauty of seven is, there's two. First of all, you don't have any real estate to use wasted words. So you have to make sure that you've really nailed it. That it's so concise and so accurate and so inspiring.
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> Ian Shamani>So. And if I gave you three paragraphs, it would just be padded with all sorts of fluff.
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> Ian Shamani>The other thing though is that when you're communicating who you are, when you're communicating your purpose, you benefit from what I call the three easies. And, and that is when somebody hears your purpose expressed in seven words or less, it's easy to understand. You know, it's not complicated, it's self evident. And it's clear, concise and compelling. And someone hears it and they say, oh, uh, wow, that's cool. And they may even say, oh, I want me some of that.
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> Ian Shamani>The other thing is that because it is clear, concise and compelling, it's easy to remember.
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> Ian Shamani>And so once you tell somebody about it once and you know, give it a little bit of an explanation, they'll never forget.
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> Ian Shamani>And then the third easy is that it's easy to repeat.
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> Ian Shamani>So when that person is out, uh, talking to other people and they hear a need that is related to your purpose, they can say to those people, oh, I know this guy or this woman and she's got what you need.
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> Ian Shamani>Because they're so clear on what your purpose is, they can be an evangelist for you. And that can be in a business situation or it can be in a personal situation.
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> Ian Shamani>So, um, that's why it's seven words or less. And the smug answer is, why not?
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> Ian Shamani>If it can always be done in seven words or less, just put that limit on it.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, give some best practice tips to help companies and individuals define their purpose in seven words or less.
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> Ian Shamani>Well, I'm going to give you, I'll give you two answers to that. So I'll give you, uh, A lot of times when a company is about to start its blueprint, it says, what do we need to do to prepare? And I say to them, do this, do this thought exercise.
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> Ian Shamani>If everything that you do as a company is a means to an end, what is your end purpose? Now this is a bit of a discombobulating question because most companies think their end purpose is to make and sell their products or services. But what I'm challenging them to say or to think about is to say, no, your products and services are not your end purpose. They are just an expression of your end purpose. Why Are you doing that? What is your end purpose? And as I say now, why are you doing that? If you're familiar with Simon Sinek and his books, start with why. Your why and your purpose statement are the same thing. They're why you exist. And um, um, so, you know, we just have the standard that you have to articulate it in seven words or less.
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> Ian Shamani>And also we've got a whole methodology to get you there where Simon Sinek doesn't.
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> Ian Shamani>But it is, it is the idea of, you know, just explaining why you exist. I actually forgot your question.
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> Ian Shamani>I'm sorry, Curtis. I get into these answers and sometimes I forget.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Oh, it's no problem. I, I was just saying, uh, you know, give best practice tips on how business.
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> Ian Shamani>Right. So the best practice tip. Oh, so the self serving part of the answer is this is actually like doing therapy. So I would say about a third of my corporate clients, after we're finished their blueprint, they will say something to the effect of, wow, that was like taking the company to a psychiatrist or, you know, that was like doing therapy. Um, and the thing about therapy is you can't do it on yourself. And so the self serving part of my answer is you really need an outsider who knows what they're doing, who has a very clear methodology for how to do it and has the experience of having done it, you know, hundreds of times before. So they're very clear on how to steer you down the path to become either a purpose driven company or a purpose driven person. Um, so whether you do it with me or with somebody else, just you're not going to be able to do it yourself. You can't do therapy on yourself.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that people need to be aware of.
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> Ian Shamani>Well, you know, I can't talk about my corporate clients because that's all confidential. But my course launched this week.
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> Ian Shamani>You know, so if you're a person who, you know, the reason that people usually start to look for purpose and meaning in their life is because they have experienced what, what we call a trigger event.
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> Ian Shamani>And a trigger event is something that happens like let's say a career change. And that career change can either be because you were fired, you were laid off, or you've chosen to look for a new job. So it's totally your choice, doesn't matter any of those three scenarios. That's a trigger event that creates uncertainty about the future because even when you choose to change your career, you don't know which going where it's Going, you don't know who's gonna, you know, who wants to hire you out there. You have questions about your value and all that sort of thing. So there's uncertainty about the future, and the uncertainty causes anxiety. And if that anxiety is severe enough, it's fear, right? Right. So trigger event, uncertainty about the future, anxiety or even fear. And that's when people start looking for purpose.
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> Ian Shamani>So if you're in one of those scenarios and you're feeling that anxiety or fear, if you knew your purpose, you would have a superpower that would help you manage your way through that experience.
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> Ian Shamani>And what I'm saying is that if you're in one of those scenarios now, then m. Um, then if you take the course at Purpose U, that's like Purpose University, Purposeu AI.
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> Ian Shamani>I lead you through a step by step process to discover your purpose in seven words or less and create the story around that and start living a life of meaning and purpose. And then when you, you know, when you experience these trigger events and this anxiety, you now have an asset that nobody can ever take away from you to help you manage your way through these issues.
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> Ian Shamani>So that is the, that is the project is that, that course just launched this week.
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> Ian Shamani>And um, and I'm very excited about that. And uh, uh, so, you know, if any of your listeners are in that scenario, I would love to, I'd love the opportunity to help you find your purpose and um, and then live your. The rest of your life knowing that you have this superpower.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, so is that your contact information purpose you AI.
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> Ian Shamani>Yes.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, we'll close this out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about, that you would like to touch on any final thoughts you have for the listeners.
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> Ian Shamani>Okay, I'll, I'll tell you one thing because it's like, uh, you know, I've been saying things like purpose can help you manage your way through these difficult situations. Or, you know, it's the same as saying, knowing what makes you uniquely remarkable can help you through these situations. But the question is like, uh, you can hear that and if you're, you're saying, but how, how does that work? Here's how it works. I'll tell you.
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> Ian Shamani>My purpose statement is transforming confusion into clarity. What makes me uniquely remarkable is the ability to transform confusion into clarity. And I use that in my business life and I use that in my personal life.
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> Ian Shamani>Um, the way I use it, and this is, this is the little secret about purpose is that it's actually a decision making tool. So when you're faced with a decision like, oh, I'm being offered three different jobs.
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> Ian Shamani>Which one is most appropriate for me? And one of them may look like, uh, a lovely shiny penny that should be the one you take.
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> Ian Shamani>But then you compare the three of them to your purpose and you say, which one of these fits the thing that makes me uniquely remarkable? And, and so purpose becomes, um, the way by comparing to your purpose, you could when you say this job matches my purpose the most, what you're really saying is that this job matches my beliefs, my wants, and my talents, because those are the three component parts of purpose. So use your purpose to make decisions and then what you're doing is you're making decisions that are always aligned with your beliefs, wants and talents. So that's the mechanics of the way purpose works and why it is not this ethereal, uh, woo woo thing out there, but it's actually a hardworking, tangible, mechanical thing that makes a material difference in your life.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>All, uh, right, ladies and gentlemen, Purposeu AI. If you know of any individual or business out there trying to find their purpose, please follow Rate Review Share this episode to as many people as possible.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Jump on your favorite podcast app, check out the show. Leave us a review. Share it to your friends. Share it to everybody. Any guest or Suggestion Topics Curtis Jackson1978t.net is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Ian, thank you for all that you do and thank you for joining me.
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> Ian Shamani>My pleasure. Curtis, thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to you.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>For more information on the Living the Dream podcast, visit www.djcurveball.com.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>until next time, stay focused on L the Drain Drink.
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