Why are you here?

The other day my husband got a question from one of his email coaching clients about her mission. She said she knew what niche she wanted to work in, but she was stuck with her “Why.”

Wait… Why?!

You may have heard this before… that you should have a Why… a purpose, a mission, a reason for doing what you do. The conversation I had with Tony about this woman’s struggle with her Why got me thinking… and it’s time for me to be honest with you.

Frankly, I struggled with my Why for years. Because while I knew what my Why was, I thought it wasn’t noble enough. I was extremely judgmental of my Why, because it wasn’t something that sounded as good as, “To provide an amazing life for my family and be there for my kids so they don’t come home from school to an empty house.” This is the most common Why I heard entrepreneurial women say… and while it’s noble, it couldn’t be my Why because, well, I don’t have kids! And saying I wanted to be home for my cat just sounded… weird. (Though anyone who’s met Brat the Cat would tell you she’s very needy. lol)

I tried to make my Why more noble. I said it was freedom… time to travel and freedom to set my schedule the way I wanted it to be so others could see it was possible and that their dreams could become reality, too. I tried to make my Why all about watching my clients’ messages launch into the world and being a part of making that happen. I even tried on the Why of spreading my message of empowering others to recognize their stories were worth telling.

All noble Whys… none felt right.

None of them was true to my real Why. I made up these other Whys because I thought my real Why was selfish and narrow-minded. What is that Why? Making money. That’s it. It’s that simple. I started my business for profit.

And somehow I thought that meant others would judge me as being a greedy bitch… when that’s not who I was at all… but I also judged myself in that way. So I went on a quest to dive deep into my Why and discover why it was so strong.

It wasn’t until I went to a Zig Ziglar conference and heard Tamara Lowe speak that clarity dawned on my Why. She started her motivational talk about the common Whys and she brought up a good point. For those whose Why are their kids… what happens when the kids are grown and gone? Is that Why big enough to keep the business running, to keep doing what they were doing, if their mission was simply to provide finances and time for their families?

At this point, I eased onto the edge of my seat and hung on her every word.

Then she said that the noblest of Whys was to… wait for it… make money. I literally threw myself back in my chair and said out loud, “WHAT?!” at the same time as the collective gasp from the audience filled the room. Here I was feeling sorry for having such a self-centered Why, and here was this international best-selling author and amazing motivational speaker telling me that my Why was noble!? I thought I heard wrong, until she continued.

She said how families grow, and clients come and go, but the fact is money does make the world go round. Money is what makes the difference between a family having shelter and being homeless. Money is what enables food to be on the table. Money is what supports charities to continue their missions. Money is what blesses people who need a miracle. Money is what gives kids toys at Christmas… who otherwise may not have gotten anything at all.

MONEY MAKES MAGIC HAPPEN.

It was in that moment that I embraced my Why. It was bigger than just being rich. It was having the power and ability to make a difference in the world at my choosing. It wasn’t driving a fancy car (though I do love my little sports car) as much as it was getting to give friends rides in that car and spend time enjoying great weather and treating them to awesome ice cream. It wasn’t to build a bigger house so much as to build a space our families could all gather together at holidays… And any other time of the year.

My Why is noble!

Once this realization hit, I changed how I did business. I changed how I thought about money. No longer was I guilt-tripping myself for making money and having a fledgling business. Instead I embraced my talent to make money and dove in with both feet. No longer did I listen to the people who said I “should” have a different Why, because making money was selfish. Not to say those other Whys aren’t noble—they are. My point here is, I judged myself for being a self-centered asshole when in truth all I wanted was the ability to give without restraint to whomever I wanted whenever I pleased.

So now I ask you… what is your Why? Don’t just copy mine… As my husband told his client, your Why should be yours. It should be unique to your life, your mission, your loves, your passion, your desires and what drives you to do what you do. Despite what you may think or want, nobody can determine your Why for you except YOU. And once you do figure it out, embrace it and live it.

Because nothing is more satisfying than knowing every decision you make lines up with your purpose for being on this planet.

If you’d like to brainstorm your Why and how it can impact your projects and your overall goals, I invite you to schedule a one-on-one session with me at KristenOnDemand.com. I look forward to helping you gain clarity on your Why and applying it to everything you create!