I was born in a deprived part of Merseyside. I was lucky to have an amazing mother and
grandmother who taught me 5 core values. They were: integrity, accountability, determination, commitment and respectfulness. These values are my compass in life. But even as a child, I knew that to escape the poverty, I had to have a purpose.
My purpose was to change the family norm and become a role model for future generations.
So here’s what I did. At 15 years old, I decided to join the British Army. To achieve the levels of fitness and educational they required meant I had to create some meaningful daily habits. So, I started to train 5 days per week. For the first two weeks, it was easy. Willpower carried me through. But by the third week, things were much tougher. The only thing that got me through was my purpose.
Once you’re in the Army, they have a purpose for you – to become the best you can be. How do you achieve that? By sticking to those meaningful daily habits. For example, I would fold my shorts, T-shirt and trainers in a pile at the end of the bed. As soon as my alarm went off next morning, I would jump straight into my kit and get out the door – ready for action. Little habits that make a big difference.
So what is your purpose? And what habits do you need to put in place to help you work towards it? By understanding and defining your purpose it will help you grow as an individual, you will build resilience and habits that will guide you through all aspects of life.
Finding your purpose in business
For me, purpose is something that I live by at work too. I’m the co-founder of a company that has been built on a clear purpose. It’s one of our greatest assets. Combat Pest Control Ltd was founded to Create Amazing Global Impacts.
To achieve this purpose, we have a clear vision:
1. Employ our military veterans, reservists and spouses.
2. Assist and educate children in conflict areas.
3. Protect our customers.
4. Support our injured service personnel.
This really is the backbone of our business and it guides all our team in the same direction. How do I use this on my entrepreneurial journey? Well, if a big decision has to be made, I ask myself:
●Is this going to drive forward our purpose?
●Does it fit with our vision?
If the answer is no, then I simply don’t do it. If it’s yes, then we go full steam ahead. Our team members are encouraged to ask the same question. It’s crucial to our culture.
Creating a set of core values and a clear ethos to underpin your purpose and vision is vital. Some of the values we stand by at Combat are: be open minded, happy, have an unrelenting pursuit of excellence, have self-discipline and be accountable.
We have a simple ethos too:
First – look after yourself and your family.
Next – protect the company and our clients.
Then – care for the wider military & local community.
Finally – take responsibility for the greater good.
We hold team meetings every 3 months and hold ourselves accountable to this.
Habits that glue it all together
Our life is a series of habits. These are learnt behaviours that we can change at anytime to help us achieve our purpose.
At Combat, our purpose is to Create Amazing Global Impacts. To help us achieve this, we put in place a habit of counting how many invoices we have had for that month and donating the equivalent number days of education to Afghan street children. To date, we have given over 3,000 days via B1G1 giving platform. That habit is changing the world and helping us to achieve our aim of taking responsibility for the greater good.
We also employ 9 veterans and reservists or spouses and receive great reviews from our
customers for protecting them. What’s more, we support our injured service personnel with our podcast Declassified and by raising money and awareness for Combat Stress (the mental health charity) and The Poppy Factory.
To summarise, life and business lived with a purpose can achieve more than you ever thought possible. And putting in place meaningful daily habits help us get there. Think big and change the world.
What is your purpose in life and in business? What habits have you put in place to help you achieve it?
Des Fraser 
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