I was listening to the Start with Why podcast where they were interviewing Simon Sinek, author of the book Start with Why. Sinek said that a person’s why produces one or more hows that are expressed situationally as whats. That might sound confusing, but hang with me and I think you’ll see what Sinek was saying.
If you know your why but aren’t living it, you are like a painter who has some paint but never paints. Knowing your why doesn’t give your life purpose and meaning. Living your why does.
Living your why requires you to know some hows. Are you an encourager, teacher, strategist, coach, organizer, manager, etc.? These are the ways you express your why. These are your hows. According to Sinek, you can have as many as five of these. You will put your hows to work in specific situations. These are your whats.
We have a tendency to focus on what to do. That’s why many people select their career paths and, later in life, choose to refocus their lives. They chose something to do that was outside their whys.
Lots of people want to know their whys, but only a portion of that group is serious enough to actually live their whys. Given the chance to live your why, would you really want to do it? Think about it.
What is the primary reason you want to live your why?
