Do you need to find your purpose to be successful?

In life and in business, we’re constantly looking for more ways and secrets to be successful. In this article that is inspired by our first session of our 3rd Bootcamp, we will take you through a reflection journey to answer your possible queries and get to a conclusion about the relationship between finding one’s purpose and being successful.

The reason behind asking the question why:

As human beings, we are curious by nature. From an early age, we start asking questions to understand ourselves, others, and the world. A frequently asked question, especially among children, is WHY. It implies a causality relationship. On a deeper level, WHY can be an existential question. It reflects the tension of the soul that is seeking resolution. In other words, the whole of who we are and the tension of living our true purpose in life.

The importance of finding your WHY:

Your WHY reflects your purpose, beliefs, values, cause, and call in life. To have a fulfilling and abundant life, We believe we should be connected to our WHY because it is the one thing that connects us to the source and to the world. Here We used the word connect rather than know or find because even if you don’t articulate your purpose or didn’t start thinking about it, yet it is always there you can feel it, and it drives you.

In business, when you speak your WHY, you’re speaking in terms of feelings and so triggering two main responses:

1. Building an emotional connection with your customers or audience in general: People don’t care about what you do. Each second, each person out there is doing something and nobody cares. They start noticing you when they know your WHY because they feel connected to your values, your purpose, your truth, and simply put your human side. With this connection being built, you can inspire others as well as sell ideas and products.
2. Stimulating the decision-making process: Our thinking brain doesn’t control decision-making, rather the opposite it is our feeling brain that does. Here we can talk about the decision to follow you or to buy your product. Keep in mind Simon Sinek’s saying “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it”.

Some tips to help you find your WHY:

Now that you know why you should find your WHY, here are some useful tips:

• Simply take a piece of paper and start drafting. Ask yourself the question why repeatedly, and go deeper each time.
• Be gentle with yourself. This can be a process.
• Acknowledging your skills can be a good start point. Ask yourself why am I good at this thing? Or why do I master that skill?. You may find a hint in there.
• Your WHY doesn’t have to define you and at the same time, you’re the only one that can define it. There is no such thing as rules for an acceptable why.

Remember that a why statement should be:

1. Simple and clear,
2. Actionable,
3. Expressed in an affirmative way that resonates with your personality and style.

To end this, your WHY is a valuable currency for success that you should consider using in every single aspect of your life and especially when it comes to business.

Dear readers, we invite you all today no matter where you are at in your journey to take a pause, contemplate, and reflect on your WHY statement or maybe to start thinking about it. And if you feel like you need help with that, maybe consider applying for our next Bootcamp from here to get the chance to work on your why more thoroughly.

This article was written by Ghaya khamassi — Skills21 alumna.