Finding or Remembering Your "Why"

It's been almost a year since I began a new job and moved my family from the Phoenix area to Chicago...just in time for the third coldest and snowiest winter in recorded history.  The old cliche "time flies" doesn't do justice to the velocity at which time has passed...it's been more like warp speed!  The words of the ancient Prophet, Jacob, come to mind - "the time passed away...as it were unto us a dream."  That statement frequently comes to mind as I reflect on everything that has transpired over the past 10 years of my life. In 2006, I found the woman of my dreams, Jesika, and convinced her to marry me after a four month courtship.  Four children, four states, seven moves, two graduate degrees, and two companies later I find myself in awe of the opportunities and experiences we've been afforded.  We have traveled to different countries, met incredible friends and mentors, been the recipients of countless acts of service, and have been blessed with a variety of enriching opportunities to serve.  Professionally, I've gone from being a college student, to "the intern", and now a Vice President of Operations at a $1 billion+ publicly traded company.  My intent with this new blog is to do a better job memorializing the personal and professional lessons learned while on this journey.

For my inaugural post, it's seems appropriate that I focus on the single word to which I attribute most of my success - "why".  Just three letters combine to pose an intensely personal and indispensable question.  Why?  Why do I get out of bed every morning?  Why do I work long hours often at the expense of other personal interests?  Why did I choose my current job?  Why do I protect certain hours of each day for family time even when I consequently get less sleep than I'd prefer?  Clarity and consistency of "why" has seemed to make all the difference for me.  It boils down to this...and in this order.

1. I believe family is the fundamental unit that produces happiness and success in society and in God's eternal plan
2. I'm seeking to make "significant contributions in the care of others"

I'll focus on the latter for purposes of this post.  The phrase "significant contributions in the care of others" is in quotation marks because those are the exact words that have been the standard against which I've measured every academic and professional decision since I was a junior in high school.  That clarity of "why" has guided me to find a valuable intersection of my aptitudes and passions in a professional setting.  It has helped me surround myself with like-minded people to learn from and work with.  It has guided my interpersonal exchanges with teammates and partners.  It has provided focus to my creative thoughts about growth and innovation.  When I have been most connected to that "why", I have been the most confident, happy, and successful.  

Here's the challenge...  Life gets really busy.  Balancing competing obligations and expectations just isn't easy.  I've read books about how to do it and at times I do a pretty good job.  However, with each change of personal or professional circumstance I have to figure it out all over again.  In those times, there inevitably comes a moment of stress-induced reflection when I realize that I've let my "why" become distant.  When I bring it back to the forefront of my daily purpose, the right things start to happen.  I'm drawn to the right people and the right people are drawn to me when my actions and communications conspicuously demonstrate my "why".  Ideas come, people are mobilized, and deals get done.  For me, clarity of "why" has been the most reliable leading indicator of success.  

So, lesson #1...  If you don't know what your personal "why" is, it's worth the effort to figure it out.  If you know what it is but haven't made it a part of how you function on a daily basis, figure out how to systematically make it top of mind.  Greater fulfillment and success will follow.

Discussion:  What is your "why"?

[Note:  Reading the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek put a very helpful framework around this concept for me.  It's something that I had come to know from experience, but the book really helped crystallize the ideas and provide examples to demonstrate their importance.]