Creating A Joyful Planet: How Kelly O’Keefe is Helping

Patrice Tanaka, Founder & Chief Joy Officer of Joyful Planet LLC, interviews people who are actively living their purpose and contributing to a more joyful planet. This interview spotlights Kelly O’Keefe, Professor and Chair of the Creative Brand Management program at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter and Brand Advisor for PadillaCRT.PT:  Kelly, what I love and admire about you is how you’re pursuing your passion and living your purpose, in part, through the amazing work you’ve done throughout your award-winning career in branding, beginning at your own agency, O’Keefe Brands, then later at PadillaCRT and the Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter, and the myriad ways you contribute to the community and to your profession through the Richmond Future Think Tank, RVA Creates, Boys Home of Virginia and the Future of Advertising Project at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, among others.  Can you share your life’s purpose with us?  When did you discover it?  I define a life’s purpose as one that leverages your greatest talents, expertise and passion in service of people and planet.KO:  I don't think one finds their life’s purpose. I think your purpose finds you. For me, it wasn’t something I ever saw looking forward, but when I look back, everything started to fit together.At one time, my roles as a teacher, a business leader, a community activist and a father all seemed to be fighting with each other. There was never enough time to serve every master and I began to feel that when I threw myself into my work, I was cheating my family and when I threw myself into my family, I was cheating my work.But I came to realize that when these needs converged, everything was easier. I learned that my gift, across all of these activities was to help people, organizations and causes to accomplish more than they thought possible. It isn’t about what I’m capable of doing; it’s about what they’re capable of doing. So I take people who are operating at 65 percent of their capacity and I show them what 100 percent looks like and I help them to understand they’re more than capable of operating at 100 percent.For students and my own children, my focus is to help them understand that they’re capable of greater work than they understand. I try to help them see just how powerful their ideas can be with a little more effort and refinement. When they see the results, they start to really believe and that’s when they don’t really need you anymore. They know they can do great things and they are no longer content to operate at 65 percent.And for businesses and social causes, it’s really the same. They’re so busy getting things done that they don’t have the luxury of slowing down to ask if they can do it better. And they often lack conviction in their views. I help them to get that conviction, to pursue a clear focus with the certainty that their efforts matter. Once they get focused and galvanize their conviction, they start to operate at a much higher level. We all do. None of us give our all to something unless it really matters to us. My work helps them understand what matters most. PT:  And once you determined your purpose did you find yourself begin to actively live it? How did you begin? What did you do? KO:  Well it sounds selfish, but when I started to focus more on what I really wanted to do, and not what other people wanted me to do, I became more useful and more successful. I’ve always had a strong interest in innovation so I used to go to these venture capital community meetings because that’s what everyone did. But everyone was just pitching each other or socially climbing and I hated it. It took me a while to realize I don’t have to play that game. Now I let my work stand for itself and when the day is done, I’m home with family or doing artwork. This has made me happier and more productive. I think living with purpose is as much about subtraction as addition. It’s not just about what you do, but what you stop doing.PT:  Did knowing your purpose in life change what you do in your professional life in any way? And in your personal life?KO:  Oh yes. It makes everything easier. I am exactly the person I want to be and that’s a powerful thing.PT:  How does it feel to be living your life’s purpose? Specifically, how would you describe it in terms of the success, fulfillment and joy you experience?KO:  In simple terms, I’m having more fun than I’ve had in my life. I absolutely love walking in the doors of the VCU Brandcenter and can’t wait to meet with the students. And I have time to help the causes that I care about. In high school and college, I was an activist, but now I’m doing more for important causes than ever before. And instead of this being something separate from my teaching, I’ve brought it together. So now students are volunteering to help and they learn how powerful they can be. Just last year, we rebranded a shelter for LGBT youth and we launched a new program for a cancer center. My students are learning that their work can change minds and change lives. Nothing is more satisfying than that.PT:  What is the result of knowing and actively living your life’s purpose? Is there a power that comes from knowing your life’s purpose in being able to actively live it?KO:  I find that I can get so much more done, because I’m focused on what I love and what I do best and where I can be of the most help.PT:  What are your greatest hopes and dreams for the life purpose you have chosen?KO:  For me, it’s not about what I accomplish. My greatest hope is that through my teaching and my work I help empower an army of thousands of people who are doing the best, most important work of their lives.PT:  What do you think you would be doing now if you hadn’t determined and then actively begun to live your purpose?KO:  I really don’t know. As I’ve said, I think your purpose finds you so even if you can’t see the beacon, it’s there and you’re being drawn to it.PT:  I know you believe that organizations should have a business purpose.  In fact, your branding process guided PadillaCRT in determining that “helping clients achieve their purpose” was the agency’s purpose.  How important do you think it is for individuals to discover their life’s purpose?KO:  I think most of us start out living the life we think we’re supposed to live and doing the things other people want us to do. That’s a tragedy, because we can’t win that game. When you start to understand what you really love to do and start to stand up and just do it, that’s when you’ll feel most powerful. What could be more important than that?PT:  What advice would you give others about discovering their life’s purpose?KO:  There’s a line in the movie “Groundhog Day” where Bill Murray’s character says, “I’m not going to live by their rules anymore.” Start living by your own rules. You’ll do fine.[author] About the Author: Patrice Tanaka is a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded three award-winning, PR & marketing firms and, most recently, Joyful Planet, a Business & Life Strategy Consultancy. “Through Joyful Planet, I am doing what I love and what I do best, leveraging my creative, problem-solving talent to help individuals and organizations discover and live their purpose and move forward more successfully and joyfully in business and life,” says Patrice. This is the subject of Patrice’s new best-selling book, Beat the Curve, co-authored with world renowned management consultant and coach, Brian Tracy, and other business leaders. Her chapter is entitled, “Live Your Life’s Purpose and Unleash Your Joy.” Connect with Patrice@JoyfulPlanet.com via LinkedIn/Patrice Tanaka and Twitter/Patrice Tanaka.  [/author]