What’s Your Why? Finding Purpose Beyond the Job Title

Once upon a time in a busy city, there was an octopus named Ollie. 🐙 Ollie was incredibly smart, quick with numbers, and could type with eight hands at once—which made him a legend in Excel.

After graduating from sea-college (top of his reef), Ollie got hired by a large, prestigious firm in the city. The role? Junior Accountant. The perks? Great! The salary? Awesome! The company cafeteria even had sushi (which Ollie tried not to take personally). But… something felt off.

Every morning, Ollie swam through the revolving door (don’t ask how—it’s a messy scene), took his seat, and powered through spreadsheets. But deep down, something was bubbling.

“Why am I doing this?” he’d mutter while color-coding columns. “I mean, I can do it… but do I want to?”

One day, during a very long meeting about quarterly kelp consumption, it hit him: Ollie had no idea what his why was. He’d chosen the job because it was impressive. But it didn’t mean anything to him.

That night, he inked up a storm and journaled:

What do I care about? What excites me? What’s my deeper purpose?

The answer surprised him: 🐠 Ocean sustainability.

He didn’t want to just track numbers—he wanted to change them. Specifically, he wanted to reduce pollution, protect coral reefs, and help marine life thrive.

Suddenly, everything shifted.

Two months later, Ollie joined a small, passionate nonprofit working on ocean cleanup and marine education. His spreadsheet skills were still useful—but now they supported something that truly mattered to him.

He may not have had a fancy office anymore, but for the first time, every cell he filled in a spreadsheet felt connected to something bigger. His “why” was finally aligned with his “where.”

Moral of the Story:

When you don’t know your “why,” it’s easy to end up in the wrong place.

But when you do? Every action, goal, and organization you align with starts to make sense.

What is your why!?

Share your ideas in the comments!

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