You know those people who are nuts about their birthdays? If you’re anywhere in their universe, it’s impossible not to know the exact date, time, or how they like to celebrate.
Doesn’t matter what time of year it is, if someone mentions that date:
- The dog’s rabies shot is due.
- Mercury’s going into retrograde.
- The milk’s about to expire.
Yep. All reminders their birthday is coming. I’m one of those people.
February 21st, same as Nina Simone, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and David Geffen. You’d think I might have more music talent given the company I keep.
So, it’s a little shocking that OnPrpose — this little company I birthed with an idea and the kind of optimism needed to ignore the odds — quietly turned five 2 weeks ago and I barely noticed.
Not a cake. Not a post. Not a party hat in sight.
What’s up with that? Sorry, little buddy. Wait ‘til we turn 6. Loading the confetti cannons already.
On reflection, I think it’s what a lot of business owners deal with – I’m too in the business to think about the business.
I know that’s the great hurdle in entrepreneurship – get out of the weeds to see things clearly. Codify your approach. Teach it to others and get out of the way, so you can plan 1, 3, and 5 years out. I can see 5 years out, and then back to 5 minutes in front of me. Some lessons take time to learn.
I’m learning every day and, in honour of our 5th – and my love of stories, plot twists and big reveals – 5 lessons mirrored in movie plots:
Any Given Sunday – Every Inch Counts
There’s a scene in Any Given Sunday where Al Pacino delivers a locker room speech that gives you chills. His message? Life — like football — is a game of inches. You win or lose by the smallest margins. The moments you don’t quit. The plays you grind through. The people who move forward with you.
That’s what it’s like here.
Inch by inch. Call by call. Project by project.
We don’t always know which part will move the needle, but we keep showing up. Doing the work. Winning. Losing. Getting stronger. Smarter. Hopefully.
This world is way more Dirty Jobs than Mad Men:
- 5 people in a tiny rental car headed to an industrial park outside Chicago
- Lugging trade show gear through a subway station
- Getting pinned to a parked car by a colleague’s DeLorean-style Tesla (because apparently doors open like that now?)
The glamorous life of advertising, folks.
Groundhog Day – Coming Full Circle
When I started OnPrpose, I had a quiet Jerry Maguire moment. No big quitting-day theatrics, just a website I built myself and a blog explaining what I believe about the world: that business could be more purposeful, and that stories could unlock meaning, leadership, and connection.
Then came the hustle. Pitching. Proving ourselves. And pretty soon, I felt a little sheepish about that first post. Purpose, connection, meaning, alignment – it’s all a bit intangible. Businesses don’t want fluff, I thought, they want leads, marketing wins, SEO. So we shifted. We sold what companies said they wanted (and gave what they needed all along).
The truth is – no matter how we packaged what we do, we are in the business of finding meaning, shaping it, and sharing it with the people who matter. And these are the great accelerators of business results.
Five years later, we’re much more confident calling a spade a spade. It’s like Groundhog Day, back to where we started, only clearer and more certain this time.
Bad News Bears – Team Is Where It’s At
When I started OnPrpose, I figured I’d go it alone: A solo operator with a few sidekicks. I’d worked in agencies long enough to know how hard it is to balance overhead and demand. I didn’t want the pressure of a big team.
Then I realized what it really meant to be chief cook and bottle washer. All paths led back to me. And while I’m great at some things… There are way more things I’m not good at.
So I found the right people. Today, our team is a mix of employees, expert contractors, and collaborators, working together by choice, in ways that work for our lives, not just the business.
It’s a beautiful blend of talent and trust. And sure, some days I still feel like Walter Matthau in The Bad News Bears, (minus the day drinking, smoking, and bad attitude), wildly ill-equipped for the task at hand. But like him, I got lucky with a scrappy, capable team full of heart that makes it work every time.
Almost Famous (And almost every movie where the writer is the main character) – Know Your Voice
In Almost Famous, young journalist William Miller is thrown into the deep end: touring with a rock band, surrounded by egos, drama, and pressure to play along. But the real mission of the movie – find your voice and share it.
Building our brand is a bit like that. I didn’t want it to be the Mary Fearon show. I wanted it to stand for something bigger — purpose, storytelling, clarity. So I invited others in. Shared the voice. Let people post and write in the voice of the brand.
But I probably did that too soon, and without enough structure.
Your voice is who you are, as a leader, and as an organization. You can’t delegate it. Ironic, I know, because helping others capture that voice is what we do.
Which only proves how easy it is to lose. Even small variations, a slightly different tone, can land like a record scratch. Something feels off.
Voice matters. Because it feels like someone you know. Someone you trust.
Everything Everywhere All At Once – Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
I disliked this movie so much, I only made it through 10 minutes. But the title and the chaos stuck with me.
Most days, my brain is one part whiteboard, one part browser with 38 tabs open, and one part Curious George, who clearly ate enthusiasm for breakfast.
When you care deeply and think quickly, everything feels important.
Every idea is exciting. Every path looks promising.
Someone famous and smart once said: “The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.”
Peter Drucker? Stephen Covey? I could Google it — but it’s more fun to include you in my guessing game.
For me, that’s the purpose – to inspire the working world again. Who knows where we’ll be 5 years from now, but we’ll be somewhere doing something that helps people and businesses connect to meaning and do work that matters.
In the meantime, I have a 6th birthday party to plan. Anyone know where I can hire a sky writer?
New to One Thing Thursdays?
Each week, I share something I’m learning, living, or working out in real time. It’s part storytelling, part reflection. I hope there’s something in it for you too.
Get it straight to your inbox every Thursday! Subscribe to our newsletter
Mary
P.S. We help visionary leaders and organizations achieve more impact through purpose, engagement and storytelling. When you’re ready, here’s how we can help:
- Build the story of your impact through Envision OnPrpose™
- Energize your people’s potential from the inside out with Engage OnPrpose™
- Amplify your industry voice through Influence OnPrpose™
- Develop purpose-driven leaders and storytellers with Influential Leaders Circle™