You Can’t Youtube WHY

I was staying at a friends house this past week as part of a trip to do some leadership training. While I was there, my friend was telling me about some home improvement/rehab stuff he had been doing on some properties he purchased.

Being completely NON-handy, I was enamored by how my friend, who is also not inclined to be handy, had done the work on his own by watching youtubes and then working at it. It didn’t make me want to do this…I’m non-handy because I just am not remotely inclined and would rather do practically ANYTHING else, but it did remind me that if I really HAD to, and committed to doing so, I could also youtube how to do practically anything and then eventually get it done.

Finding out HOW to do something has never been easier than it is in our modern world. In fact, if you look up how to do something, you will find several different ways to do the thing that you want to do. All of these ways will result in the outcome you are looking for, but have a different path to getting there using varying resources and techniques.

There’s virtually no reason why someone can’t figure out how to do something. So, having said this, and given that it is in fact true, how come so many people are not accomplishing the things they say they would like to do?

Because knowing HOW to do something is the least important part of doing something. You have to know WHY and you have to know WHAT before how matters at all….and you cannot youtube or google a WHY. That can only be found by searching inside of you.

Most Things of Significance Had No HOW in the First Place…

Think about this for a second…or a minute…or ten. Everything that matters a lot from an advancement standpoint in society, was visualized and cared about LONG BEFORE anyone had a clue of how to bring it to reality.

The visions and the reasons are what drive people to work at figuring out the how. Yet, so often this is the question I hear. “How can I…?”

I believe one of the primary reasons a majority of people are not chasing their dreams or goals with gusto and diligence is because they haven’t taken the time to really dig down and explore why that matters to them. Once you have deep clarity on what is most important, and you commit to bringing it into fruition, the how will reveal itself as you go.

A Written Goal Without a Why is Nothing More Than a Waste of Ink

Many of the goals I have set in my life I didn’t achieve. Yet, the purpose of those goals, the why of those goals, have MOSTLY been achieved. I find that fascinating when I really drill down on it.

You see, purpose is the foundation of why. It is something that is deep and driven by values. It is unyielding. It will make everything else go.

Why do the majority of people learn how to do something, begin doing it, and then stop doing it before they achieve the result they truly want?

Because their purpose/why was not defined enough, embraced enough, and likely not deep enough to carry them through the times when it is hard. And by definition, if you want to achieve something you have never achieved, you will have to do things you have never done, and to a level you have never done them. And THAT IS HARD. You have to be willing to walk in the space where you don’t know the answers, where you are struggling to step, when you are doubting even what you DO know. And just knowing how doesn’t cut it.

When I am doing training, or coaching on an issue or topic, one of the first things we have to do is establish why this is important. Because without that, there’s no need for anyone to care, and no need for anyone to listen and implement.

This is similar to idea of mindset. You can have all the skillset in the world, but if you don’t have the right mindset, you will never use those skills to the best of your ability, and you won’t stick through the inevitable times when you have hit a ceiling in the return on your skills and you have to grit your way to the next level. Below is a video I recorded a few years ago on this topic.

I’m just a regular guy. I started with very little, made lots of mistakes, have fought my own internal demons and doubts continually everyday, chose a route most people didn’t think could work, failed and failed and failed….and I live exactly the way I want to with abundance in all the things that matter most to me. How did that happen?

Besides being a long journey, the how came through the WHY. I wanted freedom so bad I was unwilling to settle for anything else. I wanted to create a special life for my family so bad, that nothing else was optional. And I care about serving and helping others so much, that I won’t do anything in my career that does not come from this happening.

Why. Why. Why.

Figure this out, and the rest will start to be visible. If this article was helpful for you, please share with others.

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