After reading Find Your Why by Simon Sinek, it left me motivated to discover my WHY. This repo is a collection of my notes and homework that I used to help discover my WHY.
All businesses, organizations, and careers operate on three levels: (1) WHAT we do, (2) HOW we do it, and (3) WHY we do it.
We’re all acquainted with WHAT we do—the products we sell, the services we offer, the jobs we do. A few of us know HOW we do it—the things we think differentiate us or make us unique compared to the rest of the crowd, or our competition. But only a handful of us can clearly articulate WHY we do what we do...
Our WHY is the purpose, the cause, or the belief that drives every organization and every person’s individual career.
- WHY does your company exist?
- WHY did you get out of bed this morning?
- And WHY should anyone care?
Your WHY is what sets you apart from everyone else. It’s your purpose. It’s what inspires you to take action. Your WHY is also what inspires others to take action, spread your ideas, or buy your products.
Your WHY Statement is the most effective possible way in which you can articulate your WHY—your purpose... Not just to other people, but to yourself as well.
Your WHY Statement should be:
- Simple and Clear
- Actionable
- Focused on how you’ll contribute to others, and
- Expressed in affirmative language that resonates with you
Your WHY statement should be able to encapsulate all of the qualities we just mentioned—and it should be able to do so in a single sentence.
It should also be “evergreen,” meaning that it should be applicable to everything you do, both personally and professionally.
- Find your partner
- Get your partner up to speed
- Pic a time and place
- Gather your stories
- Share your stories
- Identify themes
- Draft your WHY
Please see the Discovery for Individuals section
You'll want to find someone who:
- Able to see the forest unfolding as you're describing the individual trees
- Is NOT able to complete your thoughts/stories
- Should be a strong enough relationship to deliver bad news, but not sour the relationship
- Can go into an uncomfortable situation with you, and come out with an understanding that this discovery will help to benefit YOU and stay focused
Spouces are not traditionally NOT advised due to a strong relationship to the individual.
You'll need someone who'll push you to think beyond the surface, to go out of your comfort zone and uncover the memories and experiences that are the source of your WHY. Most 'Significant Others' will be too supportive, and not be able to voice an objective view.
You'll want to look for someone close enough to share significant stories from your past and not be embarrassed with. Someone that would be hearing the stories probably hearing these stories for the first time and have an objective voice.
Your interview should be conducted in an area free from distractions and both partners should respect the 'Do Not Disturb' options on their phones. I would suggest the requestor bring the interviewer's favorite beverage to this meeting. An average discovery should plan on around three hours.
Locations to avoid: Starbucks, Malls, Bars, etc...
Preferable: Your house, with beer or wine (requestor buys)!
Ultimately you want to come up with a statement that illustrates two major pieces: Contribution and Impact
"TO _ _ _ _ SO THAT _ _ _ _ "
The first blank represents your contribution — the contribution you make to the lives others through your WHY. And the second blank represents the impact of your contribution.
Your job is to plug-in the blanks to create your own unique WHY Statement.
Here’s how Simon Sinek, one of the co-authors of this book, expresses his WHY:
“To inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, we can change our world.”
The impact Simon wants is for each of us to change the world, in however way we can, for the better.
The contribution portion to inspire people
is what ties it all together, bringing focus and direction to the impact he wants to make on the world. Simon’s contribution is essentially WHAT he does (to make his WHY a reality). The books he writes, the workshops he conducts, and the speeches he gives are all part of WHAT he does to move his cause forward—to inspire people to do what inspires them.
And the more he inspires people to do what inspires them, the more of an impact he has towards making the world a better place.
- BLOG: How to Find Your Why and Communicate Your Purpose
- Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team
- Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
- TED Talks: How great leaders inspire action
- TED Talks: Why good leaders make you feel safe
- FindYourWhy Resource: Friends Exercise