When I ask people what their ‘Why’ is, I always gets some funny looks and odd responses. To be a good mother, to be a successful businessman, to be physically fit, are just some of the responses that I get. These are good responses but they are a bit shallow. They are important, but I would argue that they are incorporated in or part of a person’s bigger ‘Why’.
Your ‘Why’ should be something so important that it makes you jump out of bed each day, it creates excitement, it gives you purpose and meaning to your life. Is it a dream or a passion? Of course it can be but it should be something that is achievable, reachable, doable in your lifetime.
So your ‘Why” cannot be superficial. It has to be deeper, bigger, hairier, and even scarier objective because it has to be difficult to achieve. In other words, it won’t be easy. It will take work but in the end the reward will be worth it.
For example, my why is to live debt free, running my million dollar network marketing business, on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, with my family. Now is that not a large hairy ‘Why’ to keep me going every day?
Why do you join or do anything? What is it that interests you? Does it touch something deep down inside of you? Sometimes we do not realize why we do something, but I guarantee that we do it because of something inside of us. We become doctors and nurses because of our desire to help the sick and injured, we become policemen to enforce the laws and protect the innocent, we join the military to serve our country, we become inventors to address our problems, and we give back to help those that are less fortunate. All of these thing happen because of our ‘Why’.
I love this diagram by Lynne Cazaly that refers to the book by Simon Sinek – “Start with Why”. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it if you have not read it. It explains why knowing your ‘Why’, is so important for success in anything you do.
Simon says, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it”.
So when it comes to network marketing, why are you doing it?
Is it because you want to be in charge of your business, one where you control your time, and you are not controlled by someone else?
Is it because you want the freedom to do the business on your schedule and not on someone else’s schedule?
Is it because you want financial freedom, or the benefits from having a home-based business?
Or maybe you want to have more time for your family, for the children. Maybe you are an entrepreneur at heart and enjoy the rewarding challenge of building a business.
As a young farm girl growing up in Alberta, I watched my parents build the family farm business. I listened to them strategize on expanding the business, from obtaining new machinery to buying more land. It excited me, and I believe that is why I got into business at an early age.
It was my ‘Why’ to be an entrepreneur and build something by myself and for myself, something I would be proud of, just as my parents were so proud of their establishment. I never looked back and from that point on I became focused on building businesses. From franchise owner to real estate investor to lifestyle entrepreneur, I have continuously worked to achieve my ‘Why’. It keeps me going every day and makes my life so worthwhile and exciting.
My husband, on the other hand, wanted to fly, to soar with eagles. That was his ‘Why’ from his teenage days. He had no idea how he was going to do it or what he needed to do, but he never gave up on his ‘Why’. He eventually became a pilot, although there were may set backs along the way, and has flown throughout the world, in fact around the world a couple of times.
This leads to me to my next point. By identifying your ‘Why’, you can now determine ‘How’ you are going to achieve it, and the ‘What’ needs to be done, and in ‘What’ order. In other words the actions that need to be taken. These actions will be constantly reviewed and may even change as you work towards achieving your ‘Why’. Some people do this, some businesses do this, but many do not.
My primary company, Evolv Health, for example, has a Why to eradicate child malnutrition. That is a big hairy audacious ‘Why’. How are they going to do that – by focusing their business (vision and mission) on providing nourishment to these children worldwide. What are they doing – they have partnered with a company that has been in this charitable cause for some time, they have developed a ‘one for one’, policy that for every Evolv product sold (‘Buy 1, Nourish 2’), food is distributed to the cause, and they have established an App that tracks not only what the Company is giving, but what every Evolv member and their team is doing in contributing food to those children that desperately need it. This is truly amazing. But it all started with identifying the ‘Why’.
So do you know what your ‘Why’ is? If not maybe it is time that you determine it. You may be doing a lot of things in your life that will take you nowhere. Your ‘Why’ will change this. It will keep you motivated, it will give you passion, it will keep you moving in the right direction, it will keep you focused, it will enhance your life as well as the lives of others, and in the end it will be make your life so worthwhile. You may find that your ‘Why’ is more tied with living a happy, rewarding lifestyle that lets you experience and fulfill your passions.
By determining your ‘Why’, then you will set in place a game plan that will take you there, and result in a richer, more fulfilling life. Your ‘Why’ may be completely different to everyone else’s, but it is your ‘Why’’. It’s important you take the time to focus on the type of life you’re aiming at creating for yourself through your ‘Why’.
Everything starts with ’Why’. It is time to identify your ‘Why’. Do it now.