How to Find your Own North Star

Our North Star is our guiding light — a trusted source of action, and inspiration.

Thousands of years ago, when civilisation was just getting started in multiple human-powered pockets around the world, not many things united all societies. Fire for food and warmth, communication via body and verbal language, as well as some form of culture, education and mythology, are some examples that did. 

Up until around 15,000 years ago, most human groups were nomadic too. So they moved often. By day it would’ve been easy to tell where they were going, by following the movements of the Sun. But by night, no other star was as reliable as the North Star (aka Polaris) to guide them — at least in the Northern Hemisphere.

Because of the North Star, people could sail the unforgiving seas, and cross the vast, trackless deserts without getting lost. And during slavery times in the United States, those who escaped counted on the North Star to light their way to the free states, Mexico or Canada. 

But what makes it so special, and how can it help me?

Polaris is famous for holding seemingly still in our sky, while all other northern stars move around it. It’s close to the north celestial pole, and it always marks the way due north with its light, while never appearing to move, only revolving in its own bright spot. It’s also a great metaphor for focus, and growth.

Part 1. Why is the North Star important in modern times?

When considering the pitfalls that people and companies face — including a lack of purpose, passion, or overall harmony — this can usually be avoided if there had been enough focus. Just like the night sky helped our ancestors navigate difficult terrains, so can an already established goal (or strategy), become our North Star.

At the enterprise level, a “North Star” is a company’s unwavering definition of its highest goal — its top focus. This could be its customers, its products, or its very purpose. This level of clarity helps founders and employees, when striving to reach that goal, their vision, which can then be shared with their partners and investors.

Building a business without first establishing a North Star greatly increases the risk of straying from the true direction of the company’s vision. And it’s often too late before these companies realise that they’ve gone way off course. That very principle applies to people, too. Knowing your highest goal is a mark for success.

So how do you go about identifying your personal North Star?

Part 2. Examples of North Star Successes.

If you do an online search for finding your North Star, you’ll find dozens of websites saying you should have a few key objectives, or goals, as your North Star. Even some top-shelf business and self-development websites make this mistake. But this will once again lead to a loss of focus, as it gets dispersed into different goals.

It’s not that it’s bad to have multiple goals, objectives or milestones. However, just like there is only one North Star in the sky, there should only be one in your own life. Steve Jobs’ North Star was making “insanely great products that really change the world in some way, enriching people’s lives”. This hasn’t changed after his death, as it was then followed by Tim Cook — his polar opposite in personality.

You may not like their products (I do!), but what cannot be denied is that their extreme focus on premium quality for their customers helped Apple to become the first company to hit a $2 trillion valuation. A similar case can be made for Amazon’s success, which is the world’s largest internet company by revenue now. 

In one of his annual letters to shareholders, Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos said: “Amazon's North Star is the consumer, not the seller” and then, furthering on this later, he said that Amazon had an “all-consuming obsession with the customer experience”. Amazon may be known for taking other stores out of business, as well as worker issues, but the vast success of The Everything Store is truly undeniable.

Part 3. Finding your North Star.

Identifying your North Star requires you to take a step back and consider, what is the most important thing you would like to achieve. If you are a business founder, it would be the same for your new-found enterprise. Forget about metrics, talking about product features, followers, or customer avatars.

What is your highest goal?

This is all about focusing on the # 1 thing you would like your customers to remember you by. Then strive to achieve this every day. If you would like to find your North Star for your personal life, then how would you like other people to think of you? This will be your unifying principle — your guiding light — for your success.

When you have an unwavering focus for what you’d like to achieve, obstacles, challenges and other bumps on the road will not deter you from your path. If anything they will only make you stronger, as you strive to reach your objectives.

With this focus, you (and those supporting your vision) can approach decision-making with clarity, as well as a sense of direction. The path will not always be known, but you can always go back to your unifying principle. Your North Star will guide you.  It also provides a higher meaning to your life, and to those sharing this vision.

Part 4. What NOT to do, when choosing your North Star.

As you hone in on what your North Star is, it’s a good idea to keep in mind what it should NOT be. Because your North Star should be something that inspires you (and others), it should not be revenue or vanity focused. This path leads to eventual failure. And possibly madness. It’s also not your page views, your ‘likes’ or even your growth rate. Your North Star should be about the value you can deliver.

So instead of focusing on so-called vanity metrics, focus on how you would like your customers to feel. This should be at the heart of your company. When a customer has connected emotionally to your product or service — when they’ve experienced the unique value of what you have to offer — this is your North Star. 

This again applies not just for businesses, but for any person seeking self-growth. What is the emotional resonance you would like to focus on — where’s the heart?

Too often nowadays most people and teams get caught up in the numbers, the metrics that are supposed to tell them how successful they are. And so they leave the emotions out of the equation. But if you’re not connecting emotionally to your clients, or to the people in your life, they may not stick around to know what else you have to offer. So even if you have the most amazing product, they won’t know.

We all have incredible experiences, value and connections to offer others. By shaping your decisions around the guiding light of your North Star, you will be able to share this light with those around you. The entire world could benefit from what you have to offer. And with your most inspiring goal in focus, nothing will stop you.

To find out what your North Star is and live The Big Life, you can contact me here.