Your larger than life mission

Patagonia is the first brand that comes to mind when I think of a mission-driven business.

Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, the Ventura, California-based brand has set an incredibly high bar for, not just outdoor clothing brands, but every brand and business. With a focus on environmental activism since its inception, Patagonia is a company on a mission.

In fact, their mission statement is:

“We’re in business to save our home planet.”

Walking their talk

And the company walks their talk. They donate a percentage of all profits to environment organizations; they launched their Work Wear program to repair Patagonia clothing, discourage overconsumption, and reduce unnecessary waste; and in 2022, Chouinard and his family transferred ownership of the company—valued at around $3 billion—to a trust and non-profit organization to “safeguard the company’s independence and direct profits toward its mission.”

Patagonia is a leading force in triple bottom line strategies, which is a sustainability framework where companies prioritize the three P’s: people, planet and profit.

Humble beginnings

But Patagonia has humble beginnings. As the official story goes, “in 1957, Chouinard went to a junkyard and bought a used coal-fired forge, a 138-pound anvil and some tongs and hammers, and started teaching himself how to blacksmith.” He made rock climbing spikes, used them on climbs including in Yosemite, sold them to friends for $1.50 each, and the seed of a global business was born.

He couldn’t have known then what was to come.

But here we are.

Your vision

Maybe you dream of running a massive global brand like Patagonia, or maybe you want to keep things lean, simple and profitable. Whatever your vision is for your brand and business, you can strive to make a positive impact in the world—in whatever way is right for you.

My purpose with CJ Co is to create a world of activated and connected people doing work they love.

I do this by supporting coworking space operators in growing their brand and community.

Do I think I’ll see my vision materialize in my lifetime?

I don’t know.

But will continue to pour everything I’ve got into moving toward my vision because I believe that a world of activated and connected people doing work they love would be transformative for humanity and our planet?

Yes.

Your mission should be larger than life. It should be something that you probably won’t ever get to. But striving toward it can make a world of difference.

So, what’s your larger than life mission?