Friday, February 9, 2018

Start With Why: My Version; What's Yours?

Why do you do what you do? For some, like my husband, this is a fairly easy question to answer. He wants to "make things awesome." For me, I struggled to articulate it. Partly because I'm an English teacher and perfectionist and I didn't feel like my vocabulary accurately expressed it. But partly because I thought it was way more complex that it actually is for me. But it's a REALLY important question.

Simon Sinek's book "speaks to me," as he suggests we say when our worldview matches someone else's. I love it. My blog is called "Heart Deep" because I want to focus on the root, the foundation, the meaningful, and that's what his book is all about: starting with your cause, your purpose, your WHY. What is so powerful about The Golden Circle is that the WHY can be consistent and unchanging, and yet the WHATs can be numerous. Sinek says "a WHY never changes." So no matter WHAT you do, if you have a strong sense of WHY, you can be a leader, start a movement, feel successful.

So here's my Golden Circle in a nutshell:
WHY: to make the world a better place by giving people something to be passionate about
HOW: doing the right thing; expecting top results; think outside and challenge the norm; take risks
WHAT: English teacher, Hope Acres Owner, church volunteer, mom/wife (and future Joanna Gaines of Ash Grove...*wink wink*)

This is why I do things like run a equestrian program: give people an opportunity to be passionate about horses. Why buy Toms shoes: my purchase helps to make the world a better place. This is the reason I started doing 20Time in my classes: inspire kids to be passionate about something. It's why I donate money to organizations like Compassion and A21: I am hoping, through them, to make someone's world better. And is why I get frustrated when people are destructive to others: they are not making the world better and I want them to be compassionate.

Why is the WHY important?

"Those with an ability to never lose sight of WHY, no matter how little or how much they achieve, can inspire us. Those with the ability to never lose sight of WHY and also achieve the milestones that keep everyone focused in the right direction are the great leaders. For great leaders, The Golden Circle is in balance. They are in pursuit of WHY, they hold themselves accountable to HOW they do it and WHAT they do serves as the tangible proof of what they believe." -Simon Sinek

To me: It's about inspiring others. It's about using your time on Earth well. It's about about being successful. It's about being a person who lives with conviction and influence. It's about leaving a legacy and making a difference.

But that's just me. I would LOVE to hear your WHY! What gets you pumped? Why do you do what you do? Please leave a comment and share!

1 comment:

  1. It is interesting, when you know a persons WHY you can see the direction they are going and help them get there. I learned a long time ago, we need to share our stories and discoveries find the people want to learn from each others experiences. You are doing that with this blog!! Now I'm curious to see if my Why changed since I did this activity a few years ago. I will dig that out and let you know.

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