Why did we get into business in the first place?
Probably for most – if not all of us – its because we had a Dream, but having a dream is not really something we say too much in the UK but people say it all the time in the USA, so lets call it “A Why”.
I have heard this a lot from business colleagues over the last few weeks and everything we do is driven by the why. If we do not have a why, then the how is pretty much irrelevant. If our why is big enough, we will find a way through any challenge we are faced with. If it isn’t, then it is very easy to make any excuse or use any external situation to shut the doors of our business. Our why has to be so much bigger than “I do what I do to support my family and put food on the table”.
Over the last few weeks, I am sure a lot of people have questioned what they are doing and why they are doing what they are doing, and if they should be doing it at all. Let me ask you a question. If time and money were not an issue and you could do anything you wanted to do in life, what would you do and why? Think about it and think about it hard. This is called a “Passion”. If what you were doing to generate income was your passion, it would never feel like a job.
Most of us just ended up in the business or job we are in. It was not something that was planned. Circumstances led us in that direction. This could be called “A Rut” and most of us are on that treadmill of life and stuck in our rut, and then we get to an age where we use the excuse that we are too old to do anything else, so we stick it out and continue to do something we don’t like doing for the rest of our working lives. Not a great way to live, eh!
If your dream is big enough, the facts don’t count. Legend has it that Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before finally getting financing for his dream of creating Walt Disney World. It’s also been said that KFC founder Colonel Sanders was rejected 1009 times before finding a taker for his chicken recipe. How easy would it be for them to have given up on their dream?
If you have lost your dream or the reason why is no longer there, then you will probably need help to help get it on track again, refocus yourself and to help you fall back in love with your business. Maybe you need a new why. Without something to drive you, it will always be difficult.
As I write this article in June 2020, we are all probably all going through the toughest time we have been through since the second world war and a lot of people are hurting and hurting badly. We are not going to be able to get from where we are to where we want to be on our own or with the same mentality that has got us to where we currently are. We are going to need help from several professional sources, but please make sure you check the credentials of those you outsource to. We are all looking for our Knight in shining armour to help take us to the place of our dreams, but if we don’t choose carefully, we will end up with an imposter wrapped in tin foil.
Recommended books – “Start with Why” and “Find your Why” – both by Simon Sinek
This article was first published on LinkedIn by Richard Knight on 01/06/2020