How to Find and Measure Your WHY

When it all boils down, why do you do what you do?

Here's a story that highlights this and my personal story of sorting through why I REALLY do what I do and then how to break that down into something I can focus on - lead metrics compared to lag metrics. 

An American executive arrived on a beach on a beautiful island...

The executive strolled down the beach and noticed a fisherman rowing in to the shore. His boat was chock full of fish and the executive asked him what he was doing. 

The fisherman replied, “I’ve been fishing because I love it. And now I’m going to have a BBQ on the beach with my friends. I’ll play guitar and sing and hang out on the beach and then in the evening I will dine with my wife under the stars.”

“That’s crazy,” says the executive. “You’ve caught so many fish! I can invest in you and we’ll sell the fish and make a ton of money!”

“Why would I want to do that?” Said the fisherman. 

“Well, in a few months we could invest the profits and buy a bigger boat and make even more money,” said the executive. 

“Why would I want to do that?” Said the fisherman. 

“Well in a few years we could invest the profits and open a factory on the beach and process our own fish and make even more money,” said the executive. 

“Why would I want to do that?” Said the fisherman. 

“Well with all the profits from that you could eventually retire early. And then you could go fishing just because you love it. And then you could have a bbq on the beach with your friends. And you could play guitar and sing and hang out on the beach. And then in the evening dine with your wife under the stars...” (Adapted from The Prosperous Coach by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin)