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There’s a simple question we do our best to avoid- “Why?” It’s only one word but it packs quite a wallop. It’s a difficult question because it makes us question our assumptions, which isn’t normally comfortable but is almost always profitable.

Why do you do what you do? Why get up early every day to do your job? Why start something that’s so challenging? Why risk it? Our off the cuff answer is to say it’s about the money. We say we want to get rich and buy a bigger house or some other toy. But is it really about the money? Like the Baboon Rafiki in the Lion King I would ask you to “look harder” and see below the surface. Perhaps for you it really is about the money, but for most of us I think our ‘why’ runs much deeper. Towards the end of this keynote speech by entrepreneur and internet celeb Gary Vaynerchuk he articulated his motivation for business., “To make my parents proud and because I love the game.” What a simple and honest answer. I have a friend and mentor named Lee who runs a small company in Wylie, TX. One day over coffee he told me his why, “So I can spoil my wife (because she deserves it) and so I have a business to give my kids should they ever want it.” Again, simple and honest.

The reason this is important to identify is because at some point the yogurt is going to hit the fan. Your product isn’t going to work like you thought it would, your partner is going to quit on you, or your launch might end up less than stellar. At that moment it’s going to be important that you feel your ‘why’ down to your bones.

Photo Credit: annnna.