Last night I was watching the end of the movie “The Magnificent Seven” and took great interest in the Eli Wallach character questioning Yul Brynner “You came back, why? Men like you (Brynner, Steve McQueen and the others were gunslingers hired for virtually nothing to protect a village from bandits but left, then returned to rid the village of the intruders) to help a village like this – why” It made me think of something I learned a long time ago.

Why do you do what you do? Why do you work so hard? What is the true why for you?

Do you have clarity for why you do what you do?

Why are you in business? Why more money? Why more time?

What is it that pushes you to the next level?

Why is the ultimate motivator. It is not what you want to achieve, it is the why that you want to achieve it that motivates. Many will convey that they want to be successful, want to grow their business, want to make a million dollars. However, all of those goals/wishes are hollow without the reasons why you want to be successful or be a millionaire.

Whenever I work with a client on their goals, I have to keep them focused on the why as the reason they are creating their goals. Often times, it takes digging deep to get them to understand their why. Is making a million dollars the true why? No it is not. It may be what the money can provide – the education for your children, the luxuries, the warmth of providing for your family and the joy of seeing them get the most out of life. Or it can be the burning desire to achieve the great scientific break through which will serve mankind, or simply to help others.

I learned a long time ago that people would do more for others than they will for themselves. This is the real secret of achievement. I know I would always do more for my family, my friends, and those loyal to me, than I would for myself. I can sacrifice. I do not want them to sacrifice. Life is hard and I want to make it easier for them, not life without challenges – because challenges help you grow, just to make it a little easier.

That is why it is imperative that you, the businessperson, get clarity on your why. Once you do that it is easy to develop goals and strategies to move you and your business forward so you can provide for your why. When one starts in business most have a fairly clear vision of the why. However, as time passes, most get so caught up in the day-to-day activities of the job, the clarity gets clouded. That is why you need an anchor or coach or something to constantly remind you of your why. You need to fight through the distractions, masses of work, the details of the day and remember your why.

What is your why? Do you have clarity of your why? If not, take time to think it through. It will make a huge difference in moving you forward.