Simon Sinek is best known for his best selling books on the topic of Why. You might have heard of him, or read one of his books.
He poses the question:
Why do we do what we do?
When I think of the word, Why, I think of my 2 year old self annoying my parents.
Yep, I was one of those kids who said the word WHY after everything. I was curious.
I still am.
Why do I do what I do?
Why does anyone do what they do?
When we stop to really think about what drives and motivates us in life, we begin to open the pandoras box to what our life is really all about, and the very reasons we’re in the place we are today.
You’ll often find that when you stop to reflect on your life, a lot of what you did in the past was likely driven by unconscious thoughts that led to certain actions.
Whether we like it or not, our subconscious fuels the majority of our decisions in life, up until the day we wake up and start to consciously steer the ship.
Have you ever had the painful realisation, “I thought I’d be further ahead by now?”
This is usually around the time when we start to unpack all the reasons we think we’re not in the place we wanted to be.
It is also the time we discover concepts like the Why Statement (which I will explain in a moment).
I call this part, doing the inner work.
So given we’re now starting to awaken, where do we want to take our lives, and how do we course correct in a way that gives us the success we desire?
When we focus specifically on the career part, are we even headed in the right direction or pursuing the right path via our career choice?
It’s scary to think that we might have been putting our energy into the wrong place for all this time.
In reality, we need to uncover our Why.
Our best life depends on it.
Without a purpose we are merely floating about in the wind and when our Why is unclear, we lack the direction that will lead to our best life.
This is why I’ve spent the last few years really trying to understand my Why.
My real Why.
Because it’s not just some fleeting surface level thing.
Your true why is often rooted in deep meaning and purpose.
So, how do we find our Why?
Well, the first step is to start asking yourself a lot of questions. I call them the Why questions.
These questions will start off fairly surface level, but eventually, you’ll begin to see the deeper side to it all.
Why is understanding your Why so important for our career?
Let me quote the famous line from the master himself - “People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek
Understanding your Why gives you direction, and when it comes to business, communicating your Why can help you identify who you should be working with and who you shouldn’t.
The idea is you want to attract those who are on board with your mission, and you’ll do so when you have a clear Why that is true to you.
Unpacking your Why will give you two things that are crucial for success - clarity and focus.
Once you have these, everything you do from hereon in will become a lot more purposeful.
It will feel good.
Like you’re finally on the right path.
In flow.
Your Personal Why Statement.
In Lesson 2 of the first Module of my Masterclass for Women in Real Estate, we work through a series of 5 questions where I ask participants to deep dive into their inner psyche and answer thoughtfully, leading to a clear and intuitively formulated personal Why Statement.
The best way to explain a Why Statement is to show you one…
Some examples of Why Statements are as follows:
“To push myself to be the best I can be so that I am there for myself, my family, and the people I love.”
“To help people find their purpose so that they find real meaning in work and life.”
So, what is my Why Statement, you may ask?
Well, I have two which are specific to each of my business pursuits, but ultimately, you will notice there are similarities in both.
For my Buyer’s Agency, my Why is:
“To support busy professionals in their quest to secure their dream home so they can enjoy life and celebrate the fruits of their success.”
Pictured with my client Nicole whom I helped buy her Dream Home in Ascot during the pandemic. We became close friends shortly after she made the move to Brisbane.
My Why for my passion project, the WENDYRUSSELL Institute:
“To inspire women to build purposeful, successful careers so that they are empowered to lead the life they want.”
If we simplify both of these into one Why statement for myself, by extracting the deep and meaningful parts that underpin my Why, it would look something like this…
“To support and inspire professional people in their quest for success so that they can enjoy a fruitful life on their terms.”
Have a think about what your Why might be, and if you want to work through the discovery process together, enrol in my Masterclass.
THE POLISHED PROFESSIONAL
or REVIEW THE COURSE OUTLINE here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Russell writes about the realities of a career in real estate. She is a self-made woman and Independent Buyer’s Advocate based in Brisbane Australia, representing busy professionals in luxury home purchases.
