Our thirteen year-old puppy Lucy loves the hunt, the pursuit. When rewarded for good behavior, Lucy often pursues the treat before triumphantly consuming it. She'll bark at the lifeless prey, pounce on it, toss it in the air, trap it beneath her paw, cock her head threateningly, and rebuke it for its senseless attempt to flee from her clutches. All the while wagging her tail with delight. This routine may repeat several times before she finally enjoys the fruit of her pursuit.

We've learned to simply pause the television until she quiets down.

Animals are instinctively driven to pursue that which promises to satisfy their appetites. In this moment. And in this moment. And in this moment. Curiously, a lot of men and women live by the same instinctive--that is to say, mindless or unintentional--pursuit of placating their fears and satisfying their appetites. The pursuit to merely survive.

Deep: Pursuit is better when driven by Purpose

Successful men and women--men and women who desire more from life than mere survival--live with a defined Purpose. Purpose is a consciousness or an expression of intent. Purpose moves Pursuits from instinctive to intentional. Purpose conserves and focuses resources. Purpose gives life a sense of meaning.

The strength of a Purpose-driven life, however, can become its weakness. A person may define her Purpose either too narrowly or not at all in alignment with her resources. Or, at the very least, a Purpose may hinder a person from recognizing opportunities that are placed in his way, though they lie just outside of his defined path.

Deeper: Purpose is better when driven by Vision

Vision is a concise, but expansive, big-picture view of impact. Vision is best explained in contrast to a statement of Purpose: Purpose is pragmatic, while Vision is ideological; Purpose represents doing, while Vision represents being; Purpose is typically expressed by a verb, while Vision is largely communicated with a noun; Purpose may change as the need changes, while Vision remains largely static.

Vision gives us permission, when necessary, to expand, to contract, to shift, even to pause or suspend, Purpose.

Deepest: Vision is better when driven by Values

Values--in the context of this piece--are not the core convictions we have around objective truth. Values are neither things that we do nor things that we have. Values are intangible qualities, compelling passions. There is nothing, then, inherently virtuous in our values. What is honored is not the value itself, but the ability to live in integrity to our values or compelling passions.  

Knowing our values empowers us to imagine and subsequently create a resonate Vision for our lives--a Vision that can drive Purpose and thus a Purpose that brings unity to our Pursuit.     

Go deeper than Purpose. Move from Values to Vision to Purpose to Pursuit. If Jesus was a coach, he might describe the process as Heart to Soul to Mind to Strength. Consider the truth of this statement: the deeper the engagement, the deeper the commitment and satisfaction.

Values, compelling passions, are not created; they are discovered. What values are "hard-wired" within you? Here's one tool for values discovery: First, what are your favorite books or movies? Identify three or four. Second, consider each of them in turn. How do they resonate with you? Is it the genre? The plot? A theme? A character? A scene? Third, compare your discoveries from one title to the next. Is there a quality that is common to each title? How would you describe it? Congratulations! You've dipped your foot in the waters of values discovery. Fourth, how has that quality, that value, that compelling passion, shown up throughout your life?