The Impact of Why
Have you thought about the impact of why? Why? Everyone asks that question at some point in their life.
- Why do we do this?
- Why are things that way?
- Why is she like that?
‘Why’ can help you understand. ‘Why’ can motivate you. ‘Why’ can change everything. ‘Why’ is important for you personally. ‘Why’ is important for business. ‘Why’ is an influencer for the ‘how’ and ‘what.’ ‘Why’ is about vision, purpose and goal setting. ‘Why’ can determine what success is. Have you thought about your ‘why?’
Consider how many times a child will ask the question, ‘Why…’ I can remember talking with my parents and asking why this, or why that hundreds of times about all kinds of things. Why is the sky blue? Why are we going where ever? Why did someone do something? I was searching for a greater understanding of the world around me. I’ve always been curious. ‘Why’ caused me to explore. I’m sure ‘why’ has inspired a few people to pursue their dreams, their passions, their version of success.
I’ve been following Simon Sinek for at least five years as a result of watching his TED Talk with over 34 million views titled: How Great Leaders Inspire Action. In this TED Talk, Simon points out that ‘why’ can inspire your whole perspective on a product or brand. He goes on to explain the ‘why’ of something has the opportunity to inspire participants in the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of their actions. The explanation of ‘why’ tells you what motivates action and how that action can be accomplished.
In my pursuit of ‘why,’ I was lead to explore success. Everyone has different dreams, passions and goals to achieve their vision of success. Your ‘why’ and your definition of success is what makes you, you. If people know what gets you out of bed in the morning, they may be encouraged to help you along the way – especially, if they are passionate about similar things. The even better option is gaining a referral to move you in the direction of your success if they can’t help.
John Addison wrote a blog article, How to Find Your ‘Why’ in Life. He recommends writing a personal definition of success. He asks you to take a deep dive into your personal ‘why’ success definition. He gets you to think about your passion. He asks what are your skills? He poses the question: if money were no object, what would you do? Your idea of success and your ‘why’ are about creating your desired outcome. If you take one step at a time in a direction, you will eventually get there.
John Addison forgot to add the involvement your network of connections to help in your pursuit of success. Get out there. Meet some people. Clearly state your ‘why’ whenever possible in social media profiles, your resume, your business card and the list goes on. Make your passions known. Share what your skills are. I think if you’re smart you’ll take advantage of all the ways to connect in person and on social media.
Think about how you can #payitforward. Pay it Forward is an awesome movie that came out in 2000. The story is about a young boy and how he is influenced by his teacher at school to go out and make a positive difference in the world. The young man does random acts of kindness because of the story his teacher shared with his class. The end result is the community is changed. The ‘why’ of this whole story is people would do random acts of kindness because of someone else’s unprompted act of kindness. I think this movie is a great example of the influence of ‘why.’
This is what’s really cool. “Why” can drive you as an individual. “Why” can drive business. The message of “why” influences. “Why” is a clarion call, the trumpet blast to come along and create change! “Why” can push you, a business, or customers to rally.
