You Probably Don't Know Your Why
I know that's not a very popular thing to say. Especially right now. But it drives me bananas as I scroll Instagram so it needs to be addressed.
Spend five minutes on social media and you'll find no shortage of people talking about purpose, authenticity, alignment, finding their people, finding their why, and living their truth. The problem is that most of what they're describing isn't their why. It's their job, or their business, or their product, or their service. And those are not the same thing.
Simon Sinek's work changed the way I think about business because he challenged people to start with why instead of what. The irony is that many of us hear that message and immediately turn our what into a why. We simply give it a more inspiring description.
Instead of saying, "I'm a coach," we say, "My why is helping people become their best selves." Instead of saying, "I sell financial services," we say, "My why is helping people achieve financial freedom." Instead of saying, "I'm a photographer," we say, "My why is preserving memories."
Maybe. But maybe not.
Because if your business disappeared tomorrow, would your why disappear with it? Mine wouldn't. That's how I know photography isn't my why. It's one expression of it.
If I could never pick up a camera again, I'd still be drawn to the same things. I'd still want people to feel seen. I'd still want to tell stories. I'd still want to create connection. I'd still want to help people recognize value in themselves and in each other.
Photography happens to be the vehicle. The purpose is underneath it. That's where I think many people get stuck. We become so attached to what we do that we never ask who we are. And those are very different questions.
What you do may change several times throughout your life. Who you are tends to leave clues everywhere. In the work you're drawn to, and the problems you care about. In the conversations that energize you and the values you refuse to compromise, and in the people you're naturally trying to help.
Your why isn't usually hiding. It's repeating. The challenge is that discovering it requires letting go of the thing you've convinced yourself it is. That's uncomfortable. Because it's much easier to build an identity around a business than it is to build one around a belief.
A business can change. A belief tends to follow you everywhere. Maybe that's why so many people stop too soon. They find a good answer and mistake it for the deepest one.
I know I've done it. I still catch myself doing it. The work isn't figuring out what you're selling. The work is understanding what part of yourself keeps showing up regardless of what you're selling.
That's where purpose lives. Not in the product, service or title. In you.
And once you understand that, something interesting happens. You stop building businesses around what you do. You start building them around who you are. And those tend to last a lot longer.