From time to time we’re going to throw a bit of mindset and motivation your way to get your head on the right track for your business. Today, we’re going to guide you through a quick exercise to truly understand your “why” in business and discover what motivates you.
Matt and I are big fans of not working harder than we have to. What’s the point anyways? We’re all about working on what we love, with awesome people, and then “evergreening” the processes with sweet systems that give us more time in the day.
Life’s too short to be stressed about things out of your control, or working with people that you don’t enjoy, or selling products that you, deep down, know you’re not passionate about.
So why do you do it?
At times we’re all guilty of doing things because we feel like we need to, but do we really?
After working with hundreds of clients and producing over $100 million in revenue for them along with our own products, there comes a point where things need to be simplified. Without this simplification (or some REALLY good organization), you’re likely to lose your focus and steer down a path that you ultimately didn’t want to go down.
Sponsor:
So, for your next project or when working with a client, keep this question in your mind:
“What’s the ONE outcome that I REALLY want from my time working on this project or working with this person?”
Here are some examples of outcomes that you could answer:
- Make more money to buy the house you’ve always wanted
- Being able to take Wednesdays off to hang with the family
- Make a connection that will open a future business venture
- Creating a legacy to pass to others
- Creating happiness for myself and family
- Giving back to others more than you ever have before
- Looking great
- Feeling great
- Paying off personal debt that’s been haunting you for too long
What’s powerful is that you can use this question for yourself if you’re spending time on a personal project or if you’re deciding to take on a client project. Either way, you’ll be able to know if it’s truly worth your time and if it’s what you really want to do.
We all have an underlying ONE thing that is driving us for each separate thing we spend time doing. Although, we might not know it off the top of our heads, it is there. We usually have to do a little work to dig it up. So, here’s our process…
To find the root “why” of whatever it is that you’re working on, you should ask yourself, “why am I doing this” 3-5 times. Each time you ask yourself, you get closer to that thing that’s really driving you!
An Example of the “Why” Sequence:
Why #1: “Why am I going to open up a new weekly coaching program to my email list?”
Answer: “I see it as a great way to give a lot of value and charge a high amount for it.”
Why #2: “Why do I think a coaching program is the best way to give value and make more money?”
Answer: “Because I can create a schedule when people expect the content on a consistent basis.”
Why #3: “Why is a schedule important to me, personally?”
Answer: “Because I’ve always wanted to take Wednesdays off to spend time with my wife and kids. I’ll be able to build the coaching schedule around this day.”
Boom! The underlying why for this project is that they wanted to take time off each week on Wednesdays and make enough money to do so.
As you can see from this example, my reasons started vague and then got a lot more focused after asking a few more times. Starting broad allows you to see multiple options on the table. From there, you can dig in and realize what’s driving you at the heart of it all.
If you do this quick exercise with yourself for anything you’re spending a substantial amount of time on or something that means a lot to you, you’ll find much more clarity. Your vision for the project will become clear, your motivation will be at an all-time high, and you’ll have a great time doing it!
