Discovering Your Why

Julie Barton got sick of the rat race in the corporate world. She couldn’t stand managers standing over her shoulder, micro-managing her work. And she hated having to ask for time off when her grandchildren were in town. But what really angered her was when her requests were denied because there was an important meeting she couldn’t miss and instead she missed out on precious time with her family – time she could never get back.

So she decided to start her own business and quit her job. After all, she felt she had given away enough of her life building other people’s dreams…wasn’t it about time she built her own?

Julie quickly found that entrepreneurship wasn’t the glitz and glamour she heard it to be. She was wearing several hats and putting in more work than she had at any of her corporate jobs while making far less in income. As a matter of fact, most months she didn’t make anything at all. Her family had thought she was crazy when she informed them she was starting a business and she was beginning to wonder if they were right.

Not long after, she began to hear all this talk about “finding your why”. She was told if she had a big enough “why”, or in other words a strong enough purpose, as to why she started her business and why she chose the business she did, she could push through any challenge and in time her business would grow and thrive.

She was curious to know if there was truth to this, so she set out and went to work, researching and soul searching to figure out what her purpose was.

Julie thought about her passion that drove her to choose a business offering her particular service. She realized it was in alignment with her personal beliefs and values.  As she continued to reflect on her choice, she realized it was also in line with the charitable causes she supported and the very reasons she was motivated to wake up every day and push through the many challenges she faced, despite knowing finances were tight.

She realized her “why” had been with her all along and she hadn’t recognized it. Having discovered her purpose, she suddenly knew she was doing exactly what she should be doing. She HAD made the right decision to start her business. And now she woke up every day with a new sense of worth and excitement. She understood it was not going to be an easy road, but she knew it was going to be worth the ride.

Have you discovered your “why”?

Most people, when asked why they started their own business, answer by saying they want to have control of their time and money. Your “why” must go much deeper in order to keep you from being a statistics as one of the businesses that fail within the first five years. Your “why” must come within. It must be greater than a paycheck to keep you going when there isn’t one. It must be the foundation that keeps you motivated when you hit roadblocks. It must be the source of what excites you when you want to cry or scream and throw in the towel and quit.

When you feel a sense of peace and calmness in your heart and you know you have a purpose for pushing through and not giving up, you will know you have found your “why”. The entrepreneurship road is not easy, but when you know your purpose, the journey will be well worth the ride.

about

Catherine M. White

Catherine M. White, founder of Accelerated Results 365, is an author, speaker and innovator. She works with high performance clients to strategically develop effective business processes for continued high level success using her signature system, P.O.W.E.R.R., designed specifically for visionaries, and entrepreneurs. This program leads to authoritative breakthroughs by creating innovative tools that enable businesses to catapult past the competition.