By Ramkumar Seshu, Author of Born to Win and Antar Prerana – Leadership Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita

LOOK FORWARD TO TALK TO YOU. CLICK THIS LINK

Continuing the conversation with the CSR head, I told him, let’s address the elephant in the room—why are so many of your well-intentioned colleagues not able to take that first step toward helping others.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥”.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 Purpose Killers

1. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽

“I’m barely managing my own life—how can I help others? “This is the most common barrier I encounter. But here’s what I’ve learned: it’s rarely about time; it’s about energy and systems. When we feel chaotic in our own lives, we naturally assume helping others will add to that chaos.

The “𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗻” Reframe that I use with them: “Your contribution doesn’t require you to have it all figured out. Sometimes, helping others gives you the clarity and energy we need for our own lives.”

2. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

“Will my effort really make a difference? So many organizations seem inefficient or corrupt. “After focusing on efficiency, 30-year-olds often apply business metrics to social causes and become frustrated. They’ve seen too many “awareness campaigns” that create awareness but not change.

The “𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗻” Reframe that I use with them: “You can choose where and how you contribute. You don’t have to fix the entire system—You can be part of creating better solutions.”

3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲

“I’m not qualified enough to help with serious problems. “This is the dark side of professional success. As we become experts in our fields, we sometimes forget that the beginners mind and genuine care are often more valuable than technical expertise.

The “𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗻” Reframe that I use: “Your unique perspective and skills have value, you can learn while helping.”

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆

Here’s what our research reveals about successful transitions from intention to action:

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭: The Spark – Something moves them emotionally

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟮: The Search – They look for the “right” opportunity

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯: The Stall – Barriers emerge, momentum dies

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟰: The Start – A friend invites them, or they find a perfect match

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟱: The Sustain – They see impact and build relationships

Most people get stuck at Stage 3. Tomorrow, we’ll explore how to design experiences that move people smoothly from Spark to Start.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆

If you’re someone who’s been wanting to help but feeling stuck:

• Start with acknowledging that your desire to help is already valuable

• Identify your biggest barrier honestly

• Ask yourself: “What would I need to do to take that one small step this week?

“𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 “𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘯 – 𝘐 𝘈𝘮 𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳” 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 2,00,000 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘚𝘙 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚: I LOOK FORWARD TO TALK TO YOU. CLICK THIS LINK