Sharing my why

Back in 2017, I was lucky enough to attend the annual Infusionsoft conference in Phoenix, Arizona with my buddies, Tyson Mutrux and John Fisher.

One of the keynote speakers was @MarcusLemonis, host of the CNBC program, #TheProfit.

Marcus started his speech from the floor of the conference. He literally was sitting with other attendees. He stood up and began talking and walking through the crowd.

He gave an epic share. He talked about being adopted from overseas, about childhood sexual abuse and about the struggle to fit in as a teenager.

After his talk, the audience took to the mikes and shared some super painful, emotional stuff.

It was a poignant speech that has obviously stayed with me.

A little later, I saw an episode of The Profit with a struggling restaurant owner. The young man had taken a small amount of money he had received after the death of his mother to start his business. The business was struggling and Marcus came in to help save the day.

It turns out the restauranteur had never shared the story of his why - why he started the business, why he chose his line of work and, most importantly, why he HAD to succeed - with his team.

Marcus strongly encouraged the man to tell his story to his team members. The man took Marcus up on his advice and shared his why. The team rallied around him and business improved.

Yesterday, we had our annual firm retreat. Team members came in from Washington DC and San Diego. Most of our remote team in Argentina met up in a coworking space in Buenos Aires. We had a great day.

I used the opportunity to share my own why. I was transparent. I was vulnerable. I spoke my truth and I laid it all out there.

I explained to the team why I fight for immigrants. Every day.

My being honest and sharing with the team set the tone for the day and we all bonded in a new way.

If you haven't tapped into your why, you need to.

If you haven't shared your why with your team, why haven't you?

If not now, when?