It’s often one of the first things you ask someone when you meet them:
“What do you do?” or “Where do you work?”
Want to know a much more interesting question? Ask them this:
“Why do you work?”
I guarantee their answer will tell you a lot about them.
And YOUR answer will help you perform up to your potential. Keep reading to find out how.
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I believe a crucial step to goal setting and living a more fulfilling life is to know your WHY before you know your HOW.
Lots of people ask me HOW to take their businesses to the next level. I can tell them a million strategies, but if they haven’t answered their WHY first, they’re not going to put those strategies to the best use.
You see, knowing your WHY ultimately makes the HOW so much easier.
I discussed this topic recently while kicking off the Summit in Las Vegas. Encouraging agents to determine their WHY was one of my four foundational steps in the event’s mission statement.
Think about it for a second — how effective are you in any project when you’re unsure of what you’re doing? When there’s no “end game” in mind, you feel like you’re floating and your focus, desire, and confidence tend to fade away.
So it only makes sense that one of the first steps to success is determining your genuine motivation or drive. To answer the question “Why do you work?”
Of course, the simple answer is to keep a roof over your head, to keep yourself fed, and to provide for your family as your best self.
But let me tell you — that answer SUCKS.
Do you want to simply exist, or do you want to excel?
Identifying your WHY becomes a much more powerful exercise when you look deeper in search of an answer that is emblematic of who you are and why you’re willing to work so hard every day. Here’s a list of questions to ask yourself, and don’t be afraid to add others that are meaningful to you:
Pretty heavy stuff in there, right? Don’t answer these questions too quickly. Do some soul-searching and provide vivid detail in your responses and boost motivation.
Like any goal, the more specifically you define it, the more it’s going to resonate with you.
And like any goal, you need to make your WHY visible and public. It might feel uncomfortable but put it out there. When you share your WHY with others, you up your cadence of accountability.
The reason the “Why do you work?” question tells you a lot about someone is because the more thought they’ve given this topic, chances are the more driven they are and the more committed to their businesses they are.
Those who truly know their WHY are people who align their behaviors with how to achieve goals and get their work done, day in and day out. To take it a step further, they’re the type of people who spend most of their time working ON their business, not IN it.
Your WHY is a very powerful thing. Do you know yours? If not, find it. Only then should you start thinking about your HOW.
If you found this blog helpful but missed being there with me at Summit, I’d encourage you to explore events coming to your area soon. Putting yourself in a learning environment and conducting exercises like this will prime you for success!
When you start with a free real estate coaching consultation, chances are we can help scale yours as well. Schedule yours today!