How To Get Crystal Clear On Your 'WHY' [And Be Successful]

How To Get Crystal Clear On Your 'WHY'

There is one thing more powerful than willpower and discipline themselves.

One thing powerful enough to keep you pushing even when everything feels like it's coming down on you.

I've mentioned the idea of having a powerful WHY in many of my previous articles.

It's been looming around my articles like a vengeful ghost, yet I have not spoken about it in depth.

So what is your 'WHY?'

What is the force that drives you to do what you do today?

Whoever you look at in the world has a WHY.

Some people's WHYs are just weaker than others.

Whilst some rare cases - Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and all the other successful people - have extremely powerful and moving WHYs.

Their WHYs have managed to keep them going in the face of challenges that would cripple a normal person.

Elon Musk managed to take Tesla from a dying company, only a month away from bankruptcy and overwhelming doubt from the media, to what it is now - the leader in electric cars.

Jeff Bezos managed to turn Amazon from a store for selling books into the largest commerce platform in the globe.

Compare these stories to someone who shies away from a challenge, to someone who gives up after the first sign of danger and resistance.

I remember when I first started entrepreneurship. my first business, an e-commerce dropshipping company that sold back stretchers, went down faster than it was even built.

After the smallest signs of resistance, I decided to quit the store.

My WHY was not powerful enough. At the time I just left school because of the pandemic and I didn't want to go to university.

So I wanted to make a lot of money so that I can stay home.

Business after business, I started to realise that the businesses were not the problem.

Everything is all in my head - it's the reason for my success or my demise.

Forex - I failed again because I didn't have a strong enough WHY that motivated me to put my own money on the line and trade it in the markets.

It wasn't until I started to read some books that I started to realise the power of your mind.

I've written a few articles on my favorite books I think every entrepreneur should read.

After reading these books, I started to see how small I was thinking.

I started to see how the 'WHY' can be the light in the dark that can guide you.

All along, I've never wanted to work - yet I never knew how it felt to work a real job, like ordinary people.

So when I started my first job as a door-to-door salesperson, I saw the hell that I was trying to escape from the whole time.

It only amplified my WHY and made me want to become successful to avoid jumping in a hole that I can't climb out of.

I always tell those who have not yet committed to something that they should first experience working a job in order to realise that they don't want to spend their lives in one.

So why do you need a powerful WHY?

Your WHY will be the thing that either makes you fight on until you're successful, or it will be the thing that ultimately tells you to give up and stop trying.

Although many people think that they can get things done using willpower and discipline alone, entrepreneurship is a long and tedious journey.

No one will ever survive it if their only lifeline is willpower or discipline.

If you're doing something you truly don't want to do, your loathing for it will always trump discipline.

However, when your WHYs are powerful enough, they will act as a beacon of hope, a constant reminder telling you exactly why you're doing what you're doing.

What is a 'powerful WHY?'

A powerful WHY is something so strong that you're obligated to make it happen.

Making millions of dollars is not a strong WHY.

Wanting to quit your job is not a very powerful WHY.

A powerful WHY must connect to you emotionally and make you dedicate your whole life to this one goal.

A powerful WHY can be giving your parents the life they truly deserve, traveling the world, and enjoying their early retirement.

A powerful WHY is giving humanity a fighting chance by building the most advanced pollution filter.

A powerful WHY is putting the whole world on the same playing field by giving 3rd world countries access to the same things that we take for granted.

• Clean air
• Clean water
• Clothing
• Homes
• Toys
• Devices 

When I was building my app - Condensr - our ultimate goal was to give everyone in the world the same chance to learn and apply the information, making dreams and aspirations come true.

So how do you get crystal clear on your 'WHY' and speed up your rise to success?

What do you want?

The first exercise to help you get clear on your WHY is to first know what you want.

What are your goals?

Do you want to make a lot of money, do you want to travel the world, do you want to have all the time in the world?

Now, you'll want to make some emotional links to what these goals can enable you to do.

You may want to have a notepad and pen out for this.

What will making a lot of money help you do?

Maybe someone in your family passed away from an accident and couldn't make it to a hospital in time.

Your WHY can then be to build new hospitals and make them accessible everywhere in the world.

Why do you want to travel the world?

Your WHY may be that you want to help 3rd world countries reach the same level of prosperity as the modern world.

What will having all the time in the world enable you to do?

Your WHY could be as simple as having enough time to be there and see your family grow up. 

In order to come up with your WHYs, you must first know what you truly want in life.

From there, you're able to link this to something so powerful, that you believe in, which will keep you pushing in the face of uncertainty and failure.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Although not everyone will be remembered as an icon throughout the world, you will always go out and be remembered for something by someone.

I'm sure you'd want this thing to be a positive memory.

Another step in finding and getting crystal clear on your WHY is to think about what you want to be remembered for.

Do you want to be remembered by the whole world for something, or do you want to be remembered by your family for something great?

Think of something powerful which people will likely remember you for.

Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors ever, is most commonly remembered for bringing light to the world through the invention of the light bulb.

A lot of people will tell you to think of things such as your:

• Motivations - It's the thing that makes you wake up in the morning and keep you excited to perform every day.
• Strengths - These can be your experiences, education, natural talent, and your overall skills. Something that comes easier to you than most other people
• Passions - What keeps you up at night that you can't get off your mind? It's something that intrigues and always leaves you wanting more
• Values - What do you stand by and believe in? these are the values that you live by, your compass.

In reality, you're the only one who can come up with your WHYs.

For every person, the WHY originates from a completely different place.

When we watch movies and shows, the heroes and villains usually have a powerful WHY that pushes them.

In the Avengers, for example, Thanos was wiping out half the population of the world because his why was to see the universe prosper, yet the population was growing larger and larger.

This is not a WHY that comes to you by sitting at a table and thinking about it.

Take note & be aware

The final thing to mention is that you will want to consciously know what is happening in your life.

This can be a simple sentence at the end of each day in a notebook or on your phone that summarises your day and how you felt throughout.

You will want to talk about what you did, how it made you feel and what you may have liked to do which you didn't.

If you're currently unaware of your ultimate WHY, this is a great way to find it.

Simon Sinek, a motivational speaker, and one of my favorite authors, talks a lot about finding your WHY.

He has two books 'Start With Why' and 'Find Your Why' which are crucial for someone looking to find their life's purpose.

I recommend reading these books before the next venture you start, as finding your WHY will be the decider between continuing on your path to success or giving up.

Once you start to understand your WHY, you will want to keep it as a constant reminder.

You can use the article I made about vision boards and create a powerful vision board that reflects your WHY.

On top of this, I also have some cards near my bed.

As soon as I wake up, I read out my WHY's and affirmations before continuing on with my day.

What is your WHY?

Let me know in the comments below.

Till next time,

Mohamad