“When you know your why, your what becomes more impactful” – Michael Jr.
What’s your why? Why did you start your business? Was it a lifelong passion you had since you were a kid? Did you see a hole in the market and fixed the problem you were facing? Did you want to create an impact on the world? What was it that got you started?
As we grow our businesses, often times our why gets lost in the shadows. The very reason we started this business, this passion, is lost to spreadsheets, financials, day-to-day decisions, and everything else that comes with running a business. We start to feel the burnout, we get cranky and we wonder why we even decided to go into business in the first place. But when you come back to your why, the reason you started this journey in the first place, you’re able to regain focus, build energy, and dive back into your business with even more strength and tenacity.
Finding Your Why
In the book Grit, The Power and Passion of Perseverance, Angela Duckworth goes in-depth about how grit allows people to create their dreams. Not just talent and intelligence, which help. In chapter 4, How Gritty Are You? Duckworth dives into creating large goals or dreams and then focusing on small steps that get you there. The key here is only having 1-3 dreams for your entire life and simply focus on those.
She even references a strategy that Warren Buffet uses:
“First, write down your list of 25 career goals. Second, you do some soul-searching and circle the five highest priority goals. Just five. Third, you take a good hard look at the 20 goals you didn’t circle. These you avoid at all costs. There what distract you; they eat away time and energy, taking your eye from the goals that matter more.”
When it comes to finding your why, it’s important to be clear on what your goal really is. Not the small tasks you do every day to get there. Not the number figure your business needs to hit in order to be “successful.” You are looking for the reason you started it all, what goal were you trying to accomplish?
When I look to my why, I always come back to helping others lead more intentional lives. For me, this came out of helping business owners run their brands but I could have taken other paths to get here. My end goal isn’t to build a multi-million dollar brand strategy company, it’s to help others lead more intentional lives.
Look Back at Your History
From when you were a kid, to the dreams you had in college, who did you want to be? What things were you passionate about. What jobs did you have that led you to where you are today? Go back to who you were at 8, 16, 18, 21, 25, 30…. See what things lit your soul on fire. What dreams did you spend your time thinking about. What were you working towards? Odds are that you’ll see a pattern in your history that will help you see what you’ve always been passionate about, the why behind your brand.
What’s Your Why?
In the following video, Michael Jr. gives you the greatest example ever of the power of why. Watch and see.
By changing the story behind the song, by finding a why, a song that started out good turned into a tear jerking moment with a standing ovation. The why behind the song, built connection, it created a memorable moment. You as the audience, don’t even need to know the full why behind the song and simply in hearing the song can resonate, can connect.
However, as a brand it’s often a great idea to tell the story behind your why with your audience. This is just one more way to connect with your customers and show them that you are more than just a brand, you are mission to make the world a better place. And you’re here to do that by serving them! So, what’s your why?
Want 1:1 help to get to the root of the why in your business? Schedule a FREE 30-minute clarity call and lets put your why front and center of your brand. Who knows, it might just give you a standing ovation too!
