Finding Your Purpose: 5 Easy Steps for Fathers

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What gives meaning to all your struggles and triumphs as a dad? Purpose. Without it, you’re simply reacting to life instead of leading it with intention and heart.

In this powerful finale of our You 2.0 series, we bring together everything we’ve explored—from mental health and self-care to overcoming pain and generational trauma—and focus on finding purpose as both a man and a father. This isn’t about abstract ideas; it’s about crafting a clear, actionable vision that helps you reconnect with your children and lead your family with confidence.

We break down three essential pillars that define a father’s purpose:

• Self-mastery: Develop healthy habits and become the best version of yourself—because your kids reflect who you are.
• Relationship mastery: Build deep, meaningful connections through supportive communication that matter more than career titles.
• Legacy building: Focus on the lasting impact you leave, transforming pain into strength and purpose for future generations.

This episode also provides a practical five-step roadmap for writing your personal mission statement and vision for fatherhood. You’ll learn how to align small, consistent actions with your values, fostering real growth and resilience.

As Jim Murphy says, “Clarity of purpose creates clarity of action.” When you understand why you’re here, every decision becomes a step toward the legacy your children deserve.

Are you ready to stop going through the motions and start building a life of family empowerment, self-love, and leadership? Write your fatherhood mission statement this week and take the first step toward becoming the father—and man—you were meant to be.

Visit 15minuteswithdad.com for additional tools and resources to support your journey of mental healing and transformation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to another episode of 15 Minutes
with Dad, the podcast.
That's all about realconversations, real strategies
and real growth for men andfathers who want to lead with
purpose.
I'm your host, lyric Williams,and for the last eight episodes,
we've been diving into what ittakes to build a strong
foundation as a man and as afather.

(00:23):
How do we do it?
We talked about self-awareness,emotional resilience,
authenticity, deep connections,co-parenting and overcoming
adversity, but today we'rebringing it all together.
This is the final episode ofthis part of the YouTube.0
series, and we're gonna continuethe YouTube.0 series after this

(00:43):
, but it's gonna be a differentpart with a different framework,
and we're closing to continuethe YouTube.0 series after this,
but it's going to be adifferent part with a different
framework, and we're closingwith one of the most important
conversations yet Finding yourpurpose and crafting a vision
for your future as a man and asa father.
Purpose is what giveseverything else meaning.
Without it, we're just reactingto life instead of leading it.

(01:03):
So what kind of man, what kindof father do you want to be?
What kind of life do you wantto create for your children or
your future, and what legacy doyou want to leave behind?
And if you've ever felt stuck,unmotivated or unsure of what
your next step should be, thisepisode is for you.
Today, we're going to definewhat it means to have a purpose

(01:27):
as a man and a father.
We're going to break down howto craft a vision that aligns
with your values.
We're going to give youfive-step roadmap to start
living with intention every day,and by the end of this episode,
you'll have a clear, actionablevision for the future and the
confidence to make it a reality.
So let's get started Now.

(01:48):
Whenever we hear the wordpurpose, it can sound
overwhelming, but let's break itdown.
Having a purpose simply meansknowing what you stand for and
where you are going.
It's the difference betweenwaking up every day just going
through the motions and wakingup knowing that every moment,
every interaction and everydecision you make is moving you

(02:11):
towards something greater.
Jim murphy and in excellence,kind of defines it as clarity of
purpose creates clarity ofaction.
Essentially, the clearer youare on why you are here, the
easier it is to make decisionsthat align with your mission.

(02:31):
So what does it take to make itapply in your life and what does
it look like as a man or as afather?
It means being intentional,choosing to show up fully, even
on the hard days, whether it befor your kids, for your spouse.
It means showing upintentionally, it means leading

(02:55):
by example, so modeling thevalues you want to pass on to
your children or to your family,or to your partner.
You want to model those valuesand it means staying focused on
what truly matters and notgetting caught up in
distractions, drama or ego.

(03:15):
When a person is living intheir purpose, they move a
little bit different.
When you see them on the street, you know that this person you
don't mess with because they arefocused on their purpose.
They're not about the ego,they're not about the drama.
They have no desire to engagewith things that does not align

(03:37):
with their purpose.
That requires discipline andthat discipline brings freedom.
And your purpose is unique toyou, but it starts with asking
yourself what kind of man do Iwant to be, or what kind of
father do I want to be, and whatkind of impact do I want to
have on my children's lives ormy family's lives, or my

(04:00):
spouse's life?
Now, before we create yourpersonal vision, let's look at
three key areas that should beat the heart of every father's
and every man's purpose?
The first one self-mastery.
You have to become the bestversion of yourself.
Why does this matter?

(04:22):
Your kids don't just listen towhat you say.
They mirror who you are and ifyou're growing, learning and
evolving, they will too.
Okay, so how do you apply that?
You want to commit to personalgrowth, whether it's reading,
working out or improving yourmindset.

(04:42):
You want to develop emotionalintelligence, learn to respond
and not react.
You want to set goals for yourhealth, your finance and career
that aligns with the life youwant to create for your family,
being in person and being inthat place of self-mastery.
You're wanting to be the bestversion of yourself.

(05:07):
For me, I read the book InnerExcellence and it literally
changed how I apply life, applymy self-mastery to life.
I work out differently now.
I train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
It's improving my mindset.
I read a lot and it's helpingme learn to respond and be
emotionally intelligent andemotionally mature for my family

(05:30):
.
I work on my mental health.
I work on my actual personalhealth, my cholesterol, my heart
health, my finances.
I have a budget and we havesavings account.
I make sure that my family'staken care of on all of those
fronts and in my career, I ampushing and thriving in my
career.
I'm high performing in mycareer because of the

(05:53):
self-mastery is outside ofyourself.
It's the relationship masteryand you want to create deep and
meaningful bonds with peoplefamily, friends, children,
spouse why does that matter?

(06:13):
There is no child that eversays I wish my dad had worked
more.
I wish my dad had put morehours in at work in order to
provide for our family.
I wish he would have justworked harder, because kids

(06:35):
don't care about that.
They care about your presence,your love and your connection.
The same thing goes with yoursignificant other, with your
family.
It's the same thing.
Working hard is a necessity.
It's a task that you must do tolive, but it is not the thing
that defines you as a person.

(06:57):
It is simply you giving time topay the government and to make
that business money, but whatmatters is those deep and
meaningful bonds that you makewith your family.
So how do you apply this?
The way that you would applythis is by making one-on-one

(07:20):
time with your kids and make ita priority and give them all
your time.
This is not being on your phonewhile they're talking to you.
Get engaged with their worldand their conversation and how
they process things around them.
Be vulnerable and share yourexperiences.
Admit mistakes and teach themthat growth never stops.

(07:40):
And if you're in a co-parentingsituation, focus on cooperation
and not competition.
Your child's well-being comesfirst.
Now we talked about self-mastery.
We talked about relationshipmastery.
Now let's look toward thefuture a little bit.

(08:00):
How does your legacy look andthis is what we want to work on
next or also, is the legacybuilding the impact that you
leave behind?
It is not the things that youleave behind, the money that you

(08:20):
leave behind.
It's the impact, the way youmade the people in your life
feel.
So why does that matter?
Your influence will last longafter you're gone.
The lessons you teach todaywill shape who your children
become.
It will shape who your family,what your family becomes your

(08:44):
spouse becomes.
Define your family valueshonesty, respect, perseverance,
kindness, things like that andbe intentional about the stories
, the traditions and experiencesthat you pass down.
Those things make people feel atype of way, and that's what

(09:05):
they remember.
And if you are a dad, askyourself this question how do I
want my kids to remember me andstart living that way right now?
Why wait?
Living that way right now?

(09:28):
Why wait Right?
Why wait, ask yourself.
How do I want my kids toremember me For me?
I want my kids to remember thelessons that I taught them.
I want them to remember thememories that we've made.
I want them to remember me as adad that's happy, like a dad
that's joyful, that wants togive them his all and always

(09:48):
sought the best for them and wasdiscerning and wise and caring
and emotionally aware andintelligent and emotionally
mature.
That's what I want my kids toremember me by.
So let's get on to the five-steproadmap to crafting your dad

(10:13):
vision, your man vision, yourself vision.
We've laid the foundation right.
We've already laid thefoundation.
So the first step we're goingto get into we want to define
our core values.
We want to define what mattersmost to you, that guide your

(10:45):
life and that guides how youparent your fatherhood.
If you are a dad, for example,integrity, growth, love,
presence and resilience thoseare mine and you can use those,
but define it.
Make a list of your top fivevalues that guide your life and
your fatherhood.
If you're a dad, then we'regoing to take the next step.

(11:06):
No-transcript, an example ofthis would be.
My purpose as a father is to bea consistent, loving and
intentionally present dad in mychildren's lives.
I will lead by example.
I will show patience andprioritize our connections over

(11:27):
everything else.
Right, a quick example of afatherhood mission statement.
And if you're not a dad, youcan still define this as a man,
just a person.
But next step, step three, is toset clear and achievable goals,
and we want to break it downinto small wins.

(11:52):
So a daily goal is somethingsimple like spend 15 minutes of
uninterrupted time with yourkids, like 15 minutes with dad,
go figure.
You can create a weekly goallike do one meaningful activity
together as a family and thenhave a long-term goal, create a

(12:12):
lasting tradition that your kidswill carry on.
So for us, we do Elf on theShelf.
That's something that's clichebut it's actually pretty fun and
my daughter, my teenagedaughter, likes it.
So it's something that we willcarry on.
But break it down into smallwins.
Don't try to tackle your missionin one whop.
It's not going to work.

(12:32):
You have to break it down intoactionable items that you're
going to commit to, and when youcommit to it, you have to stick
to it.
When you commit, you stick.
So step four let's create avisual reminder of this visual,
this vision.
So if we take our vision, ourmission statement, our core

(12:54):
values and our goals that we'retrying to achieve, we want to
write it down and keep itsomewhere that we can see.
You could put it in your phone,a journal or even a vision
board.
Seeing it daily helps keep youaligned and focused.
You can use your notes, take asnapshot of it, put it on your
front screen until you get usedto it, but you got to see it

(13:17):
every day.
And then step five take dailyaligned actions.
You have to actually takeactions that are aligned with
these goals that you set outaligned with your daily goal,
your weekly goal and yourlong-term goal.
But purpose is built.
Let me reiterate that Purpose,your purpose, is built through

(13:42):
small, consistent actions, notbig dramatic changes.
I want to say that one moretime for those that are quick to
jump I'm going to changebecause it's going to be magical
.
No purpose is built throughsmall, consistent actions, not

(14:04):
big dramatic changes.
So ask yourself every morningwhat's one thing I can do today
that aligns with my vision as aman or my vision as a father,
one thing I can do today thataligns with my vision as a
father?
Now.

(14:26):
Fatherhood isn't about beingperfect.
It's about being purposeful.
Today, we talked about whypurpose is the foundation of a
fulfilling life.
We talked about three keypillars of strong, strong vision
.
We talked about a five steproadmap to define and live out
your mission.
So here's your challenge Writeyour fatherhood or man mission

(14:52):
statement this week.
Start small, keep it simple,but make it real.
If you're enjoying this series,visit 15minuteswithdadcom for
tools, exercises and guidance tohelp you stay focused on your
journey.
This wraps up the first part ofYouTube.0 series, but this is
just the beginning.
Stay connected, stayintentional and keep growing as

(15:15):
a father and as a man.
Subscribe to 15 Minutes withDad on your favorite podcast
platform and follow us at 15Minutes with Dad for more
fatherhood insights on allsocial media platforms.
Until next time, lead withpurpose, love with intention and
build the legacy your childrendeserve.