In his famous TED Talk, 'Start With Why', Simon Sinek puts it perfectly that, people don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. "Yes, but what if I don't know my 'WHY'?" This is a question I am often asked - especially from those I mentor belonging to the younger generation.
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In his famous TED Talk, 'Start With Why', Simon Sinek puts it perfectly that, people don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. "Yes, but what if I don't know my 'WHY'?" This is a question I am often asked - especially from those I mentor belonging to the younger generation.

For most people, discovering their 'Why' comes from many years of life experience with all it's challenges, suffering, joys and its wonders. "But how do I know when I have found my Purpose?"

In my opinion you know you've found your purpose (you're 'why') when it becomes a mission.

Before starting any business, I go away for 3-4 days and disconnect from the rest of the world. I spend the majority of my time unwinding into a peaceful state and on the last day I ask myself one question...

"What are 65 reasons why I must succeed in this business?"

If I can't come up with 65 or more, I never start that business. I know what you're thinking, why 65?

Well, it helps me ReWHYer (okay I made that word up) my brain to create a compelling future and connects my desires, values and belief to the as an entrepreneur to the mission of my company.

Plus, let's be real. If I can't come up with enough reasons why it is an absolute MUST for me to succeed then I really don't want it bad enough!

I choose 65 reasons because it's tough, period!

I've tested this across hundreds of people from all walks of life and what I've noticed is that most people (I included) can easily come up with 10, 20 or even 30 reasons.

Things like. I want the business to succeed so I can buy a nice car, travel the world, buy a big house etc Now don't get me wrong these are all valid reasons, but I've been around business long enough to know that making money is a by-product of the value you provide or the change you create within an industry.

So whilst these reasons are important they won't pull you through the tough and challenging times in business.

In my experience, I've found that it's usually around the 33rd reason where people get stuck and then QUIT. Why?

Because the reasons why they want to start that business is not congruent with their values, beliefs and desires. Therefore once the surface level reasons are out of their system there is nothing left!

In my opinion your reason for success needs to be much bigger than materialistic objects, they need to include things like: how are you going to transform the industry, the millions of lives that are going to be impacted by your service or product and so on.

When you write down and look at these reasons throughout the good and tough times in business you are consistently reminded of why you got into business in the first place and impelled to take action..

Doing this will enable you to truly master the art & science of achievement. You move away from the traditional frame of thinking (Goal Setting) and move towards purposeful living.

When people create this WHY, I see huge shifts.

All of a sudden Saturday and Sunday's become regular working days, 80+ hours at work are no longer a drag, Monday's mornings become their favorite part of the week and every day they wake up feeling excited and pumped to take on the world.

And not because they have to, they GET too.

This is one of the reasons why I don't believe in motivation or inspiration. If you have a big enough reason WHY (65) you don't need constant motivation and you don't need to search for inspiration. You are impelled to go forward.

To gain further insight into the power and importance of having a big enough reason WHY, I recently spoke with Pauline Nguyen, an Award Winning Author, highly sought after International Speaker and one of the most grounded Spiritual Entrepreneurs around the globe.

"In business, having a clear understanding of your why will set you apart from your respective industry and differentiate you from your competitors and industry peers. Breakthrough leadership is the same for our team members at my restaurant Red Lantern.

My team doesn't think of themselves as employees who just deliver food and clear tables. They have a deeper purpose to bring family and friends together by creating joy, love and surprise to all those who come through our doors." Pauline explains.

Your purpose should fulfill you because success without fulfillment is the master of failure... and besides, if it is what you are meant to do in this life, it will happen regardless.

Whether you know your purpose or still searching for it, below Pauline shares a 4 step process you can take to help you gain clarity on discovering and developing your 'Why' no matter what area of life you're currently focusing on.

"The first distinction I make is this; we are not born automatically knowing what our life's purpose is. Purpose is not a race. The second distinction is that there need not be solely one purpose in life. There can be many.

So what makes us humans truly happy? I believe there are two things that make us truly happy - Purpose and Progress. If you don't know yet what makes you truly happy, then you must discover it by trial and error.

1) Become a Seeker

Keep seeking until you find it. "How do I know when I have found it?" You will know by how it makes you feel. Once you have checked in with yourself and identified how it has made you feel, the desire to feel that way on a regular basis will become your mission. Everything changes when it becomes a mission. I love hanging out with Seekers.

2) Find out what your strengths are

One way to find out what you are good at is through the Gallup Strengths Finder. I believe everyone should be aware of their weaknesses but not focus on the weaknesses. Know your strengths and work on these strengths instead. Why? Because doing what you are good at will make you happy. Fish are not meant to climb trees!

In his book, A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, Ekhart Tolle puts it perfectly... "People who are exceptionally good at what they do perform largely free of ego while they work.

They may not know it but their work becomes a spiritual practice. They are one with what they do and are fully present to respond to the task at hand." I wish I had known my strengths at a young age.

3) Be self-aware enough to identify when you are in Flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, describes flow as being the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

In essence, flow is characterised by complete absorption in what one does. Achieving flow is often referred to as being in the zone. It is single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate experience in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning.

In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channelled, but positive, energised, and aligned with the task at hand. Complete engagement leads to a higher level of wellbeing.

The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, and even rapture, while performing the task at hand. When what you are doing is something higher than yourself, and most importantly, when what you are doing, makes you feel good and it is work that you love, that's when you know you've found your purpose and your life's mission.

4) Go 7 levels deep

First, ask yourself the reason why you want to succeed in this business. Then ask the same question of the new answer until you go 7 levels deep. Take your time with the answers. Purpose is not a race.

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