Read any good books lately? I sure have. I was motivated by my sisters-in-law last year who both read an incredible amount of books. I’ve always been a “book” person and love nothing more than to bring a book (or my Kindle) to the beach or pool and read for the day or to curl up on the couch on a wet or cold day reading. My sweet and smart mama inspired me because her goal was to read all the library books in the library! She didn’t accomplish that before she died, of course, but she sure tried! So my goal for 2019 was to read 50 books. I figured I could read almost one per week. Well, due to taking courses for health coaching, homeschooling, family, and life in general (know what I mean?), I haven’t met that goal quite YET (I emphasize yet because the year isn’t over)! So far I’ve read 42 and am working on 2 more as I write this.
One highly motivational book I just finished is “Find Your Why” by Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker. The subtitle, “A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team,” summarizes exactly what the book is about – finding your purpose. One quote from the book says, “Every one of us has a WHY, a deep-seated purpose, cause or belief that is the source of our passion and inspiration.”
The authors discuss that happiness comes from what we do, but fulfillment from why we do it. So if we want to feel passion for what we do, we need to find out WHY. The book discusses details about the process of discovering your WHY for both individuals as well as businesses.
Think about three concentric circles (one inside the other). The outer circle is your WHAT, the middle circle is your HOW, and the innermost circle is your WHY. Your WHY or purpose for doing anything is the guiding reason of how and what you do in life. It sums up your core values and beliefs.
For a business many leaders think their WHY is to make money, but the authors state that is actually the result, not the purpose or reason the company is functioning. Once businesses figure out their WHY and actually demonstrate it in actions, they can help their employees to understand it which will ultimately lead to a successful business where employees enjoy coming to work, have good attitudes, customers buy the goods or services, and refer others, and the company grows.
For individuals we all need to know our purpose and WHY we are here. If you are a person of faith and especially a Christian, your ultimate purpose is to know the Lord and show and tell others how much He loves them. But we all have different ways to demonstrate and live out our purpose – in various occupations, duties, and responsibilities.
Some of the chapters focus on identifying past stories in your life, themes, drafting a WHY statement with the help of another person, stating your HOW, asking high-mileage questions of yourself or business, and how to actually write a final WHY statement and implement that personally or professionally. You can clarify your WHY or purpose of your life’s work using the tools in this book.
I highly recommend reading this book and using it as a stepping stone to find out your WHY for the New Year. Or add this to your books to read list. So what are you waiting for?
If you’d like some help in figuring out your WHY, you can contact me here for a free consult. I’d consider it an honor to help you be the best you can be!
