The whys have it

Got a wake-up call from a teenager.

It wasn't pleasant.?But it was necessary.

One morning in 2008 after running my small business for 20 years, I couldn't get out of bed.?I just lay there staring at the ceiling.

Earlier that week I had been diagnosed with job burnout and clinical depression.?

My gas tank had run dry.

Just then one of my four children came into the room and said, Dad, what are you doing in bed and why aren’t you going to work?

I heard his words, but all I really heard was, Dad, we’re counting on you to provide for us.?To take us on family vacations.?To send us to college.??

It was time to get out of bed.

Businesspeople like to talk about motivation.?And oftentimes the lack of it.?They usually point the finger at someone else.??

But, have you ever said?:

I just don’t feel like it today.

I’m just not up for prospecting for new business.

Our company will still grow.?I’m not into business networking right now.

Or, I’m just not motivated today.

You may think you’re lacking motivation, and you are, but what you’re missing is something crucial to motivation:

Your why.

Why do you go to work every day???

Money? Accomplishment??Purpose???Being part of something great? Sending your kids to college???Building a great company? Taking nice vacations? Paying off the mortgage?

We all have our own Why or Whys.?You see, your motivation and your Why are linked.??

Statements like, I have no time to find new customers, just mean your why isn’t strong enough.

However, if your why is strong enough, if you want something badly enough, the motivation will come.

All you need to do is plant your why, nourish it, and then watch your motivation grow.??

And with your motivation will come the results you want.?

So, what’s YOUR why for showing up every day??

Your Action Item and assignment this week, should you decide to accept it:?

Write down your why, or why’s, for working hard and showing up every day???

Then post it where you can see it.

This exercise will bring you clarity of purpose on days when you’re wondering if it’s all worth it.

It’s another step to being the best you can be.

And now that it’s written down, you can refer back to it when you hit a rough patch.??Make it part of your Resilience Notebook, that we spoke about in previous videos.

At least you’ll know why you need to plow ahead.?And that’s usually all the motivation you need.

That morning my son walked into my bedroom was the day when I knew I needed to start fixing things.?It sent me on a mission to find tools and solutions that would help me - many of which I will discuss in future issues of The Sunday Starter.?And this is when I got my first, why.

It hit me hard.?But I’ve never looked back.??

Find your why to find your purpose.

You got this!

If you found this video helpful, and you haven’t already, please consider subscribing and sharing.?

We all learn together.??

Remember - One hand washes the other and together they get clean.

Have a rewarding week. See you next time.

About?Louie Bernstein

I'm an?INC 500 Winner?for achieving rapid sales growth over a five-year period without outside investment. You get all the strategies and templates I used to get me there in?Sales System In a Box.?Grab it inexpensively at?LouieBernstein.com

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