Purpose can be an elusive thing. Like a bad riddle, purpose is something that we are all imbued with, yet not everyone truly realizes their full potential. Everyone has a reason for doing what they do – whether it’s for work, our hobbies, or even just getting out of bed in the morning. It can be the thing that pushes you to go the extra mile.
In a recent episode of The Cure…With Scotty and Sully, hosts Scott Adams and Brian Sullivan sat down with Dave Edwards, National Vice President, Business Development for Premier, to discuss the importance of finding your “why.”
Edwards’ path into the healthcare industry was paved by the values instilled in him from a young age. Growing up in a household where healthcare was the dinner table conversation every night, he learned the importance of dedicating one’s time and talent to make a meaningful impact.
The importance of finding your “why”
While the idea of “finding your why” is not a new one, this was instilled in Edwards at a young age by his parents, who said, “Your responsibility, if you’re born in the United States and born into an opportunity that almost no one in the history of the world has had, is to leverage what God’s given you to make an impact somewhere.”
As for Edwards’ “why”, he cites his family as his reason for working in healthcare, because he understands the limitations of the industry at large. Part of his charge in making healthcare better for future generations is seeing the limitations of the industry and knowing that his children and grandchildren are going to inherit it.
Edwards said, “As you get older, you see the full perspective of healthcare from entirely new eyes. In the same way when you go into a hospital as a patient versus someone who’s selling into it, you start to realize how different it is. I’m seeing how my products are used, and I’m seeing the errors, mistakes, and other things that are frustrating to work with.”
In an effort to ensure that his children and grandchildren can inherit the best that the healthcare system has to offer, Edwards is using his position at Premier to make a better impact on the industry. “Because Premier sits in the middle, the aperture opens, allowing us to see more clearly. Our job today is to listen to and understand the needs of the healthcare executives running the biggest systems in the country.”
Discovering your purpose may take time and it might not look like what you expected, but it’s important to your development as an individual and a professional in an industry that desperately needs people with purpose. When your purpose is discovered and defined, you can begin to leverage that passion for progress – creating a better world for everyone else in the process.