“Starting with why” is one of the most popular concepts in business today.
Simon Sinek made this concept famous, and I’m glad he did.
He’s on a mission to create more inspirational, safe, and fulfilling workplaces. The world needs more of those, and the 30 million views of his 2009 TED Talk is one piece of evidence that the world has needed to hear his message.
I’m a big fan of Sinek. His message is good, his research is solid, and he’s inspired many to build incredible lives.
But there have been unintended consequences.
People are starting with why, then stopping with why.
I don’t believe that there’s anything wrong with starting with why. We have to start somewhere, and there are worse places to start! But here’s the thing: figuring out our why is only one part of building incredible things.
Figuring out our why might feel like work, but that’s usually a false feeling.
While it might take emotional work to get to our why, that type of work is just one piece of creating awesome stuff. It’s more important for some people than it is for others. Some people definitely lean on their why, while others don’t quite need it.
Regardless of how you’re personally affected by your why, we’ve got to understand that there’s more beyond why.
Motivation only gets us so far.
It’s an emotion. It’s a feeling. And those things fade.
Self-discipline is far more important than motivation when it comes to getting results. Will you show up every day? Will you face down the hard work? Will you do the unfulfilling work now so that you can do more fulfilling work down the road? Will you put in the work when you don’t feel like it?
Motivation can be powerful, but not unless it’s coupled with self-discipline.
That’s one potent mix.
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Photo: Flickr/Amrit Patel