Finding Your Why

We all know about time management and using calendars to keep track of our days and to plan our steps, but we also need some gas to keep us going. The gas is your why. Your why is the reason you are running your own business in the first place. You have to dig a little deeper to find this, but once you do, it will give you the motivation to get back on your path even when the distractions are enormous.

By asking yourself “why” five times in a row, you will drill down into the real reasons behind your actions, beliefs or desires. You can use this method to problem solve any number of situations, but here is a brief peek at how it can work to give you unshakable motivation and energy to propel you to success:

Start by asking the obvious question. In this case it would be: Why do you want your own business?

Beyond the expected “to make more money, why else, silly?”  I’m asking you to think about what lifestyle you want. As you answer these questions for yourself, really think about what freedoms, material goods, or other benefits you want to gain from your business and by the end of this process you will have a much clearer vision, a compeling “why” to go after your dream! Here is an example of how someone might answer the five whys:

* “Why do I want to have my own business?” To make money from home.

* “Why do I want to make money from home?” I hate my job and I want to be home with my kids.

* “Why do I hate my job?” It doesn’t pay enough, the hours are long, the boss is a jerk, and I have to miss the kid’s soccer games.

* “Why do you have to miss the games?” Because I can’t get the time off.

* “Why can’t you get the time off?” I have to be in the office every hour it is open.

From this process, you could gather that while the obvious answer to “Why do I want my own business?” is: to make more money, the deeper answer is “I want the flexibility to be there for my children”.

Now you’ve reached a reason that resonates with your very soul. This is the reason that will motivate you to pick up the phone and make that call or start up the computer and write that article or do whatever step you’ve been putting off. Once you have spent some time digging deep into envisioning your why and fully identifying the results you want, now you can start to harvest the benefits of intense focus. This kind of focus, this kind of envisioning the life you want to live, will give you the energy and clarity you need to ignore distractions, to get back on track when you do get pulled away, and to help you really see what your next step is. When you get into this “zone” amazing things start to happen. Resources and mentors appear that have just the information or skill you need. Success starts to happen in ways you never dreamed of. You become like an airplane that has expended 80% of its energy just getting to its proper altitude, but once it’s there the rest of the trip takes much less effort.

Where can your “why” lead you?