Virginia WaltonIf you prefer the video version, click here https://youtu.be/VJuukuUiEhI
We often refer to our motivation as our “why.” Companies should have a clear mission statement or a clear why. Of course, you probably already know this. You may even be part of the team that drafts these statements.
Or maybe you have heard of Start with the Why by Simon Sinek. Great book if you have not read it!
The point is you know that a key item to success is having a clear goal. Your organization sets goals and objectives every year and those carry down to management and into your teams. This time of year you would question your superiors if this was not being developed!
So, I ask you, when was the last time you gave as much attention to your personal why?
I am not talking about setting New Year’s Resolutions like get more sleep, eat better, drink less, exercise more. Yes, these are all important things to do and if you need to tweak these habits, now is the time to start.
I am talking about your personal motivator in life. What drives you to get up and do the things you do.
Many would probably say, family or children. That is why you work hard- to provide for them, to give them the things you did not have as a child, to pay for college or other post-graduation training.
The more specific your Why is the easier it is to work towards it.
If it is your family, can you articulate your personal why as clear as you can your employers mission statement? Do you truly mean it? Do you work towards it every day?
While you think about that, let me share an example of a woman with a very clear why and how she focused on it.
This woman did not have an easy childhood. She had a very ill mother so she had to do more household chores at a younger age than most. The school knew the situation at home so they did not encourage her to go to college but to take classes just to graduate and have a schedule that allowed her to get home to care for her mother. She felt like she missed opportunities and her future was limited.
She married young so her mother would see her get married, which happened and her mother did pass away within a year of her wedding. So, goal met, but not an ideal marriage. It ended in divorce leaving her a single mother.
All of these experiences helped her determine her why. Her daughter would have better opportunities and a better life than she had. She made every choice in alignment with that goal.
She did not have a vision board on her wall or dresser with pictures of what she envisioned.
She did not write it in a fancy planner each quarter as a reminder.
She LIVED it!
Every decision she made aligned to this mission.
- She did not date because no one would tell her how to raise her child.
- She worked side jobs like cleaning houses at night to keep her daughter in the best schools in the area.
- She drove old cars so her daughter could participate in school activities and experience plays in NYC and a school trip to Italy.
- She approved of these activities because she knew a well-rounded student would have a better chance of college acceptance than the one that just had good grades.
She lived her life so that every day and every decision were advancing this goal.
It was a way of life, not just a statement for marketing material or a group of words and pictures on a poster board!
How do you think this approach worked?
Amazingly!!!
Her daughter finished her four-year degree from the 8th oldest college in the US at that age of 19, bought her home at 23, was a Senior Vice President of a $27B bank at 38 and had no debt with a six-figure income by 40.
This woman was my mom and was a wonderful teacher in terms of the value of a clear why and how to execute on it.
If you are ready to define Your Why and change how you get there, I am here to help.
Let’s connect!