14 years ago Simon Sinek asked,
“How do great leaders inspire us?”
His answer, viewed by over 65M on Ted Talks was
“Communicate from the inside out.”
Communicate your WHY. Why do you do what you do? What is your cause? Your belief? Your purpose? What gets you out of bed every morning? People lean in and buy your belief. Your passion.
The problem is most founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders, after years of grinding lose their way in the fog of working IN their business. The joy leaks out. Their original WHY becomes small. They lose clarity and passion. Their purpose and mission becomes a job.
What can be done to course correct?
I found myself in a deep fog. After years of grinding on and in a business, I was out of gas. No major fruit was emerging. I was questioning, is this worth it?
It was time evaluate. I have to admit for a visionary strategic leader who is always scanning and charting the next mountain to climb, I was lost, with little motivation and energy. My internal compass was just spinning. It could not find true north.
The question became, "How do I stay the course and remain faith-filled and inspired when I, the leader, am lost?"
What lifted the fog for me and set the needle back to true north was not the rah rah motivational talks. It wasn't even my friends, my family, employees, or the potential for a handsome exit. It was found in the deep recess of my shriveling heart.
It was taking a time out to resurface and reconnect to my deep WHY. To dust it off and update it. To rewrite it. To clearly tie my WHY into my causes. My passions. To clarify the personal outcomes I want to see in the world. To sharpen the living legacy I want to see, build, and be known for.
Doing the deep work of going into the heart and rekindling the WHY, the CAUSE, and sharpening the focus on OUTCOMES that matter is what set me back on track with a renewed and growing heart.
What I found is that clarity on your HEART'S DEEP WHY is the biggest gift you can give yourself and your business.
- It's the compass when the storms hit.
- It's the rails for your track.
- It keeps you true to your word.
- It holds you to account.
- It says you care about your team, your planet, your customers, and yourself.
- It prompts you to enjoy the ride.
Life is short. Our time, valuable. It acts as a reminder: There is no happy destination without a happy journey.
What sets you on course and pulls you forward when you are lost?