Find your purpose: The methodology behind NYU's most popular class

Finding personal purpose requires excavating values, identifying aptitudes, and uncovering economically viable interests. This process, central to the "Becoming You" methodology, reveals that purpose lies at the intersection of these three data sets. Leadership is often misunderstood as purely visionary; however, effective leaders must shuttle between high-level strategy and the trenches of execution, while recognizing that individual contributors are vital to organizational success. Most people struggle to identify their values because they confuse them with virtues or allow external expectations and life events to suppress them. Data indicates that when individual and organizational values align, retention and productivity increase significantly. While aptitudes are fixed by age 15, individuals can improve their lives by acknowledging value conflicts and consciously choosing whether to negotiate those tensions or prioritize specific values over others.