Market Driven Hippie Bakeries

There are lots of organizations and groups of people I can help through my unique purpose that could prove to be very meaningful indeed if I am just true to my core values. And I believe this is true for all of us.

I was given the great tip to swing by a funky cafe several miles off the beaten path through the wooded and rural area west of I-5 in Oregon. The person who told me about it shared that it was established as a part of a commune several decades before and that it blended Hindu thinking with a hippie flare.

I was there right around when they were opening for the day, but there was already a line out the door, which means Yelp and Instagram and TikTok have been there work of making the hidden gems less hidden. And honestly, with places like these, I’m thrilled for them. I’m sure they use a large chunk of their profits on good causes. And the baked goods were delicious too, so they’ve earned my vote for sure.

But beyond this isolated success story, I’ve been thinking today that maybe there’s a deeper lesson we can learn from this eclectic bakery. We talk about being ourselves and not conforming to some perceived expectation for ourselves so much that it’s almost trite to talk about it in general terms. But the interesting thing about the example of the cafe I visited this morning is how they built a hybrid model one composed of many beliefs and strategies and old fashioned market entrepreneurial spirit.

The cafe was built on an underlining purpose and meaning and selling vegetarian baked goods and sandwiches is part of the way that it can fulfill that purpose. I’ve been trying to understand what my purpose and meaning for my individual life for the last several years. I’ve gone through several deep dive explorations of reflecting on significant life stories, core values, motivations, and fears.

I feel like I’m narrowing in on my “Big Why” but there might be hundreds of avenues to fulfilling that vision for myself. When I first started on this journey to discover what I’m meant to do with my life, I started by focusing a lot more on specific professions that would lead towards my being able to help specific organizations to solve specific problems. Now I see that there are lots of organizations and groups of people I can help through my unique purpose that could prove to be very meaningful indeed if I am just true to my core values. And I believe this is true for all of us.