“Purpose is an aspirational reason for being. It’s a deep conviction about what is true for you that inspires and provides a call to action. It’s timeless. It’s like a compass.”

If your fire has dimmed a little lately, you’re not alone. And this episode is for you.

Esther Kwaku shares powerful questions to help you get unstuck, reconnect with your why, and bring more joy and purpose back into your fundraising. She also draws on her own story and the fresh perspectives she has gained from working both inside and outside the sector, and offers breathing and grounding practices and tools to help you enjoy your work.

Timestamps

Introduction & what is moral injury? (00.00.00)

Rob introduces Esther and frames the episode. Esther opens with the concept of moral injury – what happens when our ethics and purpose are compromised at work? 

Esther’s story: Uganda and the moment everything cracked (00.01.55)

Esther describes being sent on field trips to collect stories for an NGO, and the moment in Uganda, sitting under mango trees with a proud, confident community, when she looked at her brief and felt a profound disconnect. She returned to the UK burnt out, campaigned internally, and eventually quit the sector entirely.

Rebuilding: We Got Nerve and telling your own story (00.06.40)

Esther went back to Uganda with more freedom, asked different questions, and founded We Got Nerve, helping people in tough circumstances start businesses by speaking in their own voice, with their own agency. 

The purpose questions: a practical exercise (00.08.54)

A series of liberating questions to sit with — from What brings you deep joy regardless of external expectations? to If you had no fear of failure, what bold dreams would you pursue? Her instruction: don’t write what you think others want to hear.

Tools to create space: slowing down, breathing, and the body scan (00.14.23)

Practical suggestions: leaving gaps between meetings, practising mindfulness at work, backed by a striking fact – we process 11 million bits of information per moment, but only 40 consciously. Esther leads a full body scan to help listeners tune back in. “Our bodies are instruments of perception.”

Closing: joyful work (00.21.30)

Esther points listeners to her purpose toolkit and workshops, and closes with a rallying cry: “Let’s dive into joyful work — this is supposed to feel good sometimes.”

Esther’s Purpose and Values questions

Purpose Questions:

• What brings you deep joy and fulfilment, regardless of external expectations?
• If money were not a factor, how would you choose to spend your time and energy?
• What activities make you lose track of time because you’re so engrossed in them?
• When have you felt most alive and connected to your true self?
• What are the values that matter most to you, and how are you aligning your life with them?
• If you had no fear of failure, what bold dreams or goals would you pursue?
• When do you feel a sense of flow, where your skills and challenges are perfectly matched?
• What issues or causes deeply resonate with you, and how can you contribute to positive change in those areas?
• How can you use your unique talents and strengths to make a difference in the lives of others?
• What kind of person do you want to become, and what steps can you take to embody those qualities today? 

Values Elicitation:

• What do you spend your time doing?
• Where do you spend most of your energy?
• What do you visually consume on a day-to-day basis? 
• What do you think about?
• What do you envision?
• What do you say to yourself?
• Positive or negative drivers in your life (driving towards or running away) 
• How do you talk to others?
• What goals do you set yourself?
• Who inspires you?

Further Resources

We Got Nerve

Ignition: how to get more of this crucial ingredient for progress

Fundraising Bright Spots: Tenacious fundraising – how to keep going when funders keep saying no with Sarah Tavener

The Fundraising Leaders Playlist

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