The Impact of Your Why
My Why comes from a place of service, first & foremost: To use my professional experiences to guide & empower other heart-centered entrepreneurs to discover & pursue their OWN reasons why. To use their voices, their businesses (no matter how small) as a vessel for inspiring positivity in the world.
On Monday I had the honor of leading the first session with the 6 powerful women in this SYMBIOSIS cohort. The scheduled topic was Finding Your Why. I intentionally started us there because EVERYTHING comes down to your mission. WHY do you do what you do? What lights your heart on fire? The rest, like what you do & how it’s done, is all secondary.
But can I be honest? I *almost* canceled (or at least postponed) the entire program, pausing to consider if it would be disrespectful to carry on in the wake of George Floyd’s murder — Or at least not the most effective way to invest my energy to contribute to the uprising of a demand of justice & reform. And I shared that with my cohort at the beginning of our session.
So. I did something I tell each and every client I have the privilege of working with: I took a deep breath, a step back, and sank into my Why. My impact means helping others make an impact of their own. That is one genuine way that I can tangibly be of service right now. And it’s something I won’t ever take lightly.
It’s easy and understandable to feel hopeless. But it’s not acceptable to sit silent.
What can I do, as just one person? What difference can I really make as an individual, as a member of society, as a business owner?
LISTEN. Truly listen.
Learn. Challenge your existing beliefs.
Get uncomfortable. Get mad.
Speak out. Yell out.
Use your platform. Use your privilege.
Give back tenfold. One hundredfold.
Serve.
Give a shit.
Because at the end of the day? You nor your business exist in a vacuum. Show real people that you are a real person. With values and integrity. And don’t worry about keeping it on-brand, either — Marketing rules don’t apply to fighting deep-rooted systemic racial injustice.
My point in bringing this up isn’t to solicit praise. It’s to challenge all of us to take that step back & that deep breath to reconnect to why the hell we are here. What can you do with your life, with your business, with your time on this Earth to leave it a little better than you found it?