What is your North Star?
Janet Martin • June 25, 2020
What do you steer your life by?
On a retreat one of my teachers asked what our north star was. What did we steer our life by? At the time I didn’t have a succinct answer. Lately I realized I had answered it years ago.
I vividly remember being asked by a very senior banker what I wanted to be on the cover of a magazine for. I replied I didn’t want to be on the cover of a magazine—an answer he found unacceptable. He kept pushing me to answer what I wanted to be known for. I finally said I wanted to be remembered as a great aunt. His response was scathing, dismissive and offensive. I still marvel at his arrogance.
But in a nutshell, it’s what I strive for personally and professionally. To make things better. To be kind and caring and supportive and wise. To be reliable. To be a rock in the stream. For me being of service is what gives me meaning—being helpful, supportive, knowledgeable, accessible and loving. That’s my meaning. My north star.
I was more successful in my career than I ever expected to be. But it was never the titles and the power that drove me—it was always that I could do more to make things better for customers and employees. The desire to make it better for the people I served.
In my personal life, the goal has been the same. To make things better, easier, simpler, and more fun for those I love. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I fail spectacularly. But it’s my north star.
What is your north star? Find it, name it, and claim it. Do not let anyone tell you it’s not the right star. It’s yours. It’s perfect.
