The School of Greatness - 393 What and Why

Episode Date: October 14, 2016

"Figure out the what and make sure the why is meaningful." - Lewis Howes If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at http://lewishowes.com/393

Five Minute Friday, episode number 393, what and why? What and why? So the other night I just did a three hour group coaching session with my School of Greatness Academy members. Shout out to SOGA members listening. And there was a common theme. All the questions from all over the world from people seemed to come down to what and why. A lot of people were confused. They were in transition. They weren't making the money they wanted to make. They weren't doing the things they wanted to do.

And I kept asking people, what is it that you actually want? What do you want? What do you want? Give me a specific vision. Give me a specific goal in the next six to 12 months of what it is you want. A financial goal, a health goal, a relationship goal, a career goal, whatever it is, I don't care. I just want you to get clear on what it is you want. When we are clear on what it is we want and we can put a specific number, something tangible, we can hold it in our hands and see it, specifics, not just, I want to make more money. I want to be in better shape. I want to find a better relationship. You've got to be specific and be able to write it down with a number and a date by when you want to create that.

That's the first step. What you want to create. You need to figure that out. What you want to have. What you want to create in your life. How much money you want to make. You need to know what it is and write it down. If you're not doing this, you're going to be confused.

You're going to be wandering through life frustrated frustrated, constantly seeking information, seeking inspiration, seeking people to help you to figure it out, seeking advice, seeking for mentors. You're going to be seeking because you're not clear on what it is you want first. This is the first step to having some sort of direction and potential fulfillment in your life is understanding what you want to create. If you're just on a soccer field kicking a ball around with a bunch of teammates and there is no goal, there's no soccer goal with a net, then it's impossible to score. It's impossible to put the ball in the net if there is no goal.

You're doing the same thing in life if you don't know what it is you want to achieve or what it is you want to create in your life. If you have no vision, you have nowhere to go. You're wandering. Just like on the soccer field, if there's no goal, you can't score. You're wandering around. You're just doing drills. If you've got great routines, great habits, great mindset approach to life, you're doing all the right things.

And you're wondering, well, why aren't I achieving what I want? Why aren't I getting the results I want? I've got all the habits. I'm doing all the teaching, you say, Lewis. I've got the morning routine. You know, I'm working out hard. But I just don't feel like I've figured it out. I haven't figured it out.

I'm not where I want to be. Well, figure out what you want first and where you want to be first. Create a simple, clear goal with tangible details, specific number. You've got to be so clear on what it is. Don't just say, oh, I want to impact more people. I want to help people live a better life. No. Tell me how many people and by when in the next 6 to 12 months.

Be very clear and then write it down. Something powerful happens when you write down your goals. And not enough people do this. Put pen to paper and make it real. Make it tangible. Write it down. Figure out your what. The next thing, if you just say, well, here's what I want. I want to make $10,000 a month in the next six months. Okay. Why? Why do you want that? That's the second part. What and why? Why do you want to make that 10,000? Why do you want to get in shape? Why do you want to get out of the relationship? Why do you want to have a raise? Why do you want a new job? Why, why, why? And start asking yourself, why do I really want that?

Is my why powerful enough? If it's just, oh, I want to make more money because I'm selfish, things are going to get challenging. There are going to be a lot of obstacles in your way over the six to 12 months. If you're trying to create something new, you've got to do something you've never done. And that means you've got to be uncomfortable. You've got to be willing to step out of your comfort zone. You've got to go through adversity, challenges, obstacles that are going to come in your way. So you've got to be so clear on why you want to create your what. And if you are not clear on your why, and it is not a bigger thing than yourself. If it is not to serve other people as

well as yourself, then it's going to be a selfish why only for you. And quite frankly, it might be a lonely road to get there. And it might be a lonely road after you achieve it. My why was not powerful enough in my 20s and teen years. I wanted to be all state, all American. I wanted to be a professional athlete because I wanted to prove other people wrong. That was my why. And it drove me. It gave me the power, the energy, the drive, the commitment to do whatever it took to put

my body and mind through the test to achieve my vision, my what. But I tell you what, at the end of the day, I was always miserable. I was always unfulfilled. I was lonely. I was sad. I was frustrated inside because my why was selfish and it was not an inspiring why. It was a uninspiring why. It was to prove others wrong. It was all about me, to make me look better, to make others look bad. That is not a strong enough why, and you will ultimately fall along your journey. Your why must be inspiring. It can be because you want to be in a better place in your life.

Okay, that's a great why. It can be because you're not happy with where you're at right now, and you're not satisfied because you know you can give better. Awesome. That's a good why. But it should also be because you want to inspire other people along the way, your family, your loved ones, your team, your business, the people that work with you, whatever it may be, you want to serve other people along that why.

When we are in service along our journey, we are able to go through any obstacle and adversity along the way with much more ease than if it's only for ourselves. Get clear on your what and make sure your why is extremely powerful. That is the only way you're going to set yourself up to win along the journey to achieving what you want. This is 5-Minute Friday. If you enjoyed this, then make sure to let me know over on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook at Lewis Howes. Send me a message. Let me know what you thought of the what and the why. Let me know if this was helpful for you.

If you've been struggling figuring out where you're heading next in your life, if you have been, then I hope you wrote down a vision, something very clear, something very tangible in the next six months you want to create. And I hope you wrote down your why, why you want to achieve it. Look at it and make sure it resonates with you. Make sure it's powerful enough for you for when things do get challenging, you're willing to stick it out. Otherwise, you're going to quit and you're going to go back to just looking for more inspiration and more feedback and more advice and more mentors to teach you how to achieve something you want. When if you don't have a goal on the game of life,

on the field of life, you are not going to be able to score. And then you're going to be constantly wandering, wondering what you're doing. Figure out the what and make sure the why is meaningful and powerful. If you know someone that thinks you could be supportive to, make sure to email them and send them this link, lewishouse.com slash 393. Send it to them. Share it over on social media as well and tag me at Lewis Howes. And if this is your first time here, thank you so much for being here. I love all the new people that come in every time we release a new episode, which is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

We bring on inspiring leaders in the world on Monday and Wednesday to reveal and share their stories about how they overcame all their obstacles to get to where they are. We bring on great ideas, lessons, and share that on Mondays and Wednesdays. And on Fridays, I come on here and do a little five-minute Friday on a message that's been resonating with me. And this one has been powerful for me this week because everyone's been coming at me with this question. So thank you for being here. Make sure to subscribe over on iTunes and leave us a review if you found this useful or valuable

in any way. I'm so grateful you're here. You're the reason I do this. It means the world to me and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.