Meet Michelle Moss. She’s a project delivery lead at AGL. She’s spent her working life in the corporate world, leading people and catalysing change. Michelle loves her work, the people and her role.
“There’s always tough days to get through but I’ve never thought about giving it all up to go elsewhere or start my own business,” says Michelle.
I first met Michelle three years ago when I delivered a keynote to AGL staff. She was excited about my messages around the idea of bringing our own purpose to work. I call it BYO Purpose.
You can bring that thing you’re passionate about outside of work, right into your workplace. You don’t need to quit your job and start a business or go looking for ways to fulfill it in other companies. You can start where you are and bring your own why to work.
The grass is not greener elsewhere.
As a banker for 20 years and then a business-owner for 20 years, I know from experience that the grass is not greener on either side of the employed vs self-employed fence. In hindsight, I didn’t need to quit my job to become a writer. I could have been both a banker and a writer, and brought my writing talents to my day-job.
A week after my talk, Michelle and I caught up for coffee where she shared her passion for health and wellbeing. Her health journey had begun a few years previously when her husband endured a number of life-threatening illnesses and her own issues had started simmering under the surface. Her quest to understand how they had ended up in that situation and how they could turn things around, sparked a new direction and passion.
“Your talk and book really got me thinking and inspired me to take action,” says Michelle. “I still use The Purpose Project as a guide to refer to now and then.”
Work by day. Purpose by night.
Michelle was working during the day, then spending weeknights and weekends changing their lifestyle, equipping herself with numerous certificates and diplomas in Nutrition and Health and writing about their journey. Today, they are living their healthiest lives yet and her passion project Holistic Pillars has been launched.
“My purpose is to bring people together with enthusiasm and integrity to awaken potential and support growth. To help people live their best life.”
Michelle reached out to the AGL Health & Well-being Team to share her project and they invited her to feature in their staff magazine Thrive.
“I’m making an impact by working within AGL to advocate positive lifestyle choices and to support, encourage and advise people where I can. We’re also discussing how I might integrate my passion into my day-job on a more permanent basis. I’m now an even greater advocate for AGL as an ‘Employer of Choice’ and even more committed to my job.”
When two worlds collide.
Many companies talk about empowering their people to bring their whole-self to work. But are they really doing it? In this interview with Michelle, I share what it truly means to bring your personal purpose to your workplace. It never needs to be a choice between one or the other. It’s a matter of making our two worlds collide!
Explore ‘Talk on Purpose’ for your company or school.
If you have an event or conference coming up and would like to share the stories of your people (like Michelle), Talk on Purpose is a course for you. Or if you’re a leader struggling with a team that is feeling depleted, disconnected and lacking direction, the course is a way to instantly rejuvenate and reconnect your team. If you’re keen to know how, please book a Purpose Conversation with me. No cost. No obligation.
