Purpose Over Popularity

Choosing Substance Over Clout

There comes a moment in every person’s life when they have to ask themselves: Am I living for purpose, or am I performing for approval? It's a quiet question, but it echoes loudly in the age of algorithms, influencers, and digital performance. For many, especially our youth, the answer has become dangerously entangled with the pursuit of clout—that seductive mix of attention, notoriety, and status that too often replaces real impact with empty validation.

Clout can look like power, but it has no roots. It doesn’t sustain, it doesn’t nourish, and it certainly doesn’t build legacy. What does? Purpose. And across countless lives and stories, we see what happens when substance is chosen over show—the results are transformational, not just temporary.

Clout Can’t Carry You

Take a look at Keanu Reeves—a global movie star with blockbuster hits under his belt. Despite his fame, Reeves is known not for chasing headlines, but for living simply and treating others with quiet dignity. He rides the subway, donates millions to children's hospitals, and avoids the spotlight unless it’s in service to something greater than himself.

While others in Hollywood may lean into status and image, Reeves consistently models humility. He’s proof that you can be widely recognized without compromising your character. His impact stems not from self-promotion, but from a deep sense of grounded humanity.

That’s the truth about clout: it might get you noticed, but it won’t keep you grounded. When the cameras are off and the audience fades, only purpose can hold you steady.

We’re living in an era where popularity is confused with credibility, where virality is confused with value. A trending post can make someone an overnight celebrity, but it can’t make them a leader. Because leadership requires something clout can never offer: sacrifice, consistency, and humility.

Let’s call it what it is: we are in a cultural crisis. The dopamine rush of likes and followers has become a drug. Young people, especially, are being conditioned to equate their self-worth with their digital performance. A 2023 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that adolescents who spend more than 3 hours per day on social media are twice as likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression.

This isn’t just an emotional or psychological issue—it’s a spiritual one. We’ve traded authenticity for aesthetics, character for clicks, and calling for convenience.

In chasing applause, we’ve forgotten how to sit in silence. In curating the perfect image, we’ve lost the courage to show our scars. And in trying to impress strangers, we’ve neglected our responsibility to impact our own communities.

This is not sustainable.

The Power of Purpose

Purpose is not glamorous. It often asks you to be patient, to be disciplined, to walk away from fast success in favor of long-term significance. But it is the only thing that can outlast trends, weather storms, and inspire others to do the same.

According to the Harvard Study of Adult Development—spanning over 80 years—the clearest predictors of long-term happiness and fulfillment are meaningful relationships and a sense of purpose. Fame, wealth, and status barely register on the scale of sustained well-being.

In other words, the most meaningful lives aren’t the ones that are most seen, but the ones that are most felt.

You want to be impactful? You want to matter? Then ask yourself not what will get you attention—but what will leave something standing when the lights go off.

One of the most damaging dynamics in today’s world is what I call the performance trap. It’s the feeling that you must always be “on”—presenting, perfecting, performing—for others to accept you.

This mindset is especially toxic for anyone trying to navigate life’s challenges or rebuild after adversity. Instead of being met with grace and space, people are often pressured to prove their worth—to appear inspirational, polished, or exceptional just to be accepted.

That’s why purpose-driven healing must go beyond appearance. Recovery isn't something to display for approval—it’s something to live through deeply. It requires courage to confront discomfort, honesty to acknowledge pain, and strength to understand how unresolved trauma can shape thoughts, choices, and direction.

Some of the greatest changemakers of our time didn’t have huge followings when they began. And they come from all walks of life, cultures, and experiences—reminding us that purpose is universal and transformative.

• Bryan Stevenson - is a civil rights attorney and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit that provides legal representation to those unjustly incarcerated. He began his work with little attention, choosing to focus on truth, justice, and redemption. His humility and persistence led to the creation of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and helped shift national conversations about mass incarceration and racial inequality.

• Malala Yousafzai is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist. After surviving a Taliban assassination attempt for advocating girls' education in Pakistan, she continued her mission globally—not to gain fame, but to ensure every girl has a right to learn. Malala’s unwavering focus on purpose—not popularity—has elevated her voice on the world stage as a symbol of courage and integrity.

• Chef José Andrés is a renowned chef who could have stayed in high-end kitchens but chose instead to lead disaster relief efforts through his organization, World Central Kitchen. From war zones in Ukraine to hurricanes in Puerto Rico, Andrés shows up, cooks meals, and stands beside those in crisis—not for applause, but out of a deep sense of service.

• Yamiche Alcindor is a journalist who has built her career on asking difficult questions, holding leaders accountable, and amplifying voices that often go unheard. She doesn’t chase spectacle—she chases truth. Her reporting, often calm and grounded amid chaos, is a model of integrity in a media landscape too often driven by clickbait.

  
  

If the loudest voices are those who say the most outrageous things for attention, what does that teach our children about worth? About leadership? About value?

We can’t afford to let our children believe that being seen is more important than being grounded. We can’t allow likes to define legacy.

Our youth are watching us. If all they see is performance, they will never learn how to be present. If all they see is perfection, they will never learn how to heal.

Ground Rules for Building a Purpose-Driven Life

To live with purpose, begin by anchoring actions in values rather than visibility. Ask yourself: if no one ever sees this, would I still do it? That question alone has the power to shift your entire motivation.

Real transformation happens in the shadows, not the spotlight. The hard work—the growth, the healing, the accountability—that’s done when no one is watching. That’s where real change is born.

We must be committed to making our impact outlive our image. Legacy isn’t measured in metrics; it’s measured in the lives you touch and the systems you help transform. That means putting in the kind of effort that may never trend, but will always matter.

Purpose also requires that we stay teachable. Lifelong learning isn’t optional—it’s essential. Being rooted in purpose means allowing new insight to reshape old patterns, and letting humility guide you through the evolution.

And finally, who you surround yourself with matters. Mission-minded people sharpen you. They hold you accountable, not for how you appear, but for who you are. If your circle isn't challenging you to grow, it may be holding you back from the person you're meant to become.

Purpose requires you to choose the long road. It asks you to do what’s right over what’s easy. It’s not always seen, not always celebrated—but it’s always sacred.

When your life is rooted in purpose, you don’t need the clout. You don’t need the flash. Your presence alone becomes a testimony of substance, endurance, and hope.

The truth is, some of the most powerful work you’ll ever do will be invisible to the world—but not to the people whose lives you touch.

In Purpose and Power,

Troy Rienstra