Andrea Seydel Live Life Happy Unconventional Book Club Highlight
FIND YOUR WHY- Simon Sinek
Discover how bringing your WHY to life allows you to reveal your purpose, find more inspiration and enhance your level of fulfilment. Simon Sinek, in his book Find Your Why, states that fulfilment is a right not a privilege and that the key to achieving fulfilment starts with understanding WHY we do what we do.
BENEFITS OF KNOWING YOUR WHY:
You are better able to articulate what makes you feel fulfilled
You better understand what drives you when you are at your best
You inspire others to buy from you, work with you, join your cause
You work from your purpose, on purpose
You go with intention through life
Knowing WHY brings clarity
Helps set a vision
WHAT, HOW AND WHY:
Entrepreneurs, team leaders, managers and people that start with why are more powerful and influential. Sinek, used examples like Apple and said WHY is about going deeper to understand what motivates and inspires people. Not just a list of here is what we do and how we do it, beyond listing features and benefits. WHY is what inspires and connects us on an emotional level. The level of our brain that controls behaviour. People are more influenced by the value of WHY as it commands trust, loyalty and emotional connection. The 'WHAT" are the products, services and job functions. The "HOW" are the strengths, guiding principles and action that makes you stand out. The "WHY" defines what you stand for and is a combination of purpose, cause and belief. WHY, connects to the Limbic part of the brain which controls emotions, behaviour, feeling and trust. You can see how this piece of the puzzle is essential for so many things in life, connecting with others, leading staff, selling your services or talking with your kids.
START WITH WHY:
Sinek mentions in his book, "How we feel about someone or something is more powerful than how we think about it or them." Instead of starting with What and How, he encourages you to start with WHY. Here are some tips and actionable ways he suggests to connect to your own personal WHY.
HOW TO FIND YOUR WHY:
Step 1 Gather Stories- Pull together at least 5-10 stories that express who you are when you are at your best. Take notes. Be specific and draw from your memories. Ask yourself questions like, Why does that matter to me? What is it about that that stands out to me? What was the specific contribution you made? What impact did you have?
Step 2 Identify themes- The purpose of the stories is to discover your purpose, cause and beliefs. Take notice of common themes among your stories. Listen to your stories or get a partner to share the stories and ask them to help. Notice when you feel "that's me" or "that's who I am" insights.
Step 3 Draft Your WHY Statement- From your notes and insights isolate what contributions you have made and what has your cause been? Also, notice what impact those have made in the past. Now insert content and play with your own statement. To________________(insert contribution/cause here), so that____________________(insert impact here). That is it you have your WHY statement. An example might be: To inspire a new ways of thinking so that individuals can feel more in control of there life.
It is amazing the power your WHY can play on your level of influence and motivation. Why inspires actions and connection and from the book Starting With Why, we can now clearly identify our own personal WHY and truly life a life of fulfilment,
Book Link: https://amzn.to/2G0pQkj