Previously we looked at why you need to find your purpose in life. Today, we understand
how to do that with the continued help of the incredible Simon Sinek.
[Intro]
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Now, today's video is the second part of the two part series on the channel for understanding
why you need to find a purpose in life and how you find your purpose.
Last time, we looked at why you should find your purpose, which if you haven't watched
it I'd highly recommend watching it before watching the rest of this video.
The video and a Playlist containing both videos will be linked in the description down below.
Now, assuming you have watched the previous part you will understand the importance of
finding your purpose. This is fantastic, but now the question is, "How do I find that purpose?".
For many, especially young people, this is a question which they struggle with as they've
yet to experience life in a way that might give it more meaning than beyond friends,
family and education or work.
How do you know what your reason for being here is, or rather why you do what your do?
Not having answers to these questions can lead to great difficulties in life.
None less so than the fact that if you don't have the answer, it's easy to look at life
in a nihilistic way, thinking there is no meaning.
So, to help me explain how to find meaning or purpose, I'm going to seek help again from
Simon Sinek, whose covered this subject in incredible detail in his books, Start With
Why and Find Your Why, as well as various seminars or conferences.
Now at the end of the video, I come up with possibly the most important point about finding
purpose of all, so please stay tuned to see what it is.
The first and most pertinent way to finding your why is to understand precisely what purpose
means.
Simon Sinek breaks this down into 3 distinct categories:
Why How
What
You see, for many people and businesses, the question isn't always about why they do something,
but they begin with what. Let's take YouTube as an example. For many
content creators, they think "I'm going to start a YouTube channel to make money", when
they first begin with YouTube.
Here's the thing, that statement defines the "what", which is to make money, and "How",
which is using YouTube. What it doesn't define is "Why", the most fundamental.
Why make money to begin with?
Why do it using YouTube?
For many, these questions aren't asked, they'd rather focus on the what and how, while to
why, or purpose if you will, remains unclear.
As in my previous video, I'll use this YouTube channel as an example to help explain this
point. When I started this channel, money, growing an audience and the like was never
really in my mind.
It all began with a sense that I wanted to grow and improve myself, both for myself and
for those I care about. My "why" is totally clear to me, to improve and grow to understand
me and my limits better, but also embody the values I want to pass onto to others and help
them live a more fulfilling and ultimately happier life.
And guess what, as I grow and change over time, I'm seeing changes in the direction
I take the channel that will be reflected in the channel, notably in some rebranding
in works for the channel that I've already put in groundwork for in my recent videos.
So why did I choose YouTube to achieve this purpose? Well, here's where my how and what
come into play.
What I do is use YouTube as a platform first discipline myself into a routine to consistently
follow through with my personal growth.
How I use YouTube is I've set up a weekly schedule to create videos, to deliver and
grow in creating content and to improve my skills doing so.
And here's an additional point about how what I do on YouTube is a fantastic way to achieve
my purpose. I create content that helps me grow, but on creating content I have created
a library that I can refer back to when I want to look back at all I've learnt in my
journey.
Not just me, but I can share what I've learnt with a mass audience, allowing me to achieve
my purpose to help others. And this is precisely what Simon Sinek speaks
about when he speaks about Why, How and What. For many, they identify what they do and how
they do it, but then aren't clear on why.
For the record, wanting to make money isn't a purpose, it's a goal.
This is why many businesses go to painstaking efforts to try and make clear mission statements,
because they need to make clear for all stakeholders in the business why it is they do
what they do.
[Simon Sinek Speaks]
So now that you have a distinction between Why, How and What? How do we make our Why
clear? Well, the easiest way is to create a statement.
And guess what, Simon Sinek gives us a neat template to help create that statement. Your
why is :
"To (blank) So That (blank)"
So how do you fill in the blanks?
Well to put it as simply and concisely as possible, the first blank should be your contribution
to help make a difference and the second blank the impact of that contribution.
So let's use an example of this channel, with this statement:
"To learn, grow, educate and give the best of myself so that others are inspired to live
the best life they can live and help change the world for the better".
Now let's take a look at this statement and break it down. The first part is "learn, grow,
educate and give the best of myself.
You see, when I started this channel, I said it was for me to grow. However, for those
who have been following this channel for a while, you'll be aware that it's not just
about my own growth, but rather about embodying the values I want to pass onto my son as he
grows, as well as friends, family and the wider community.
I intrinsically associate my personal growth with being able to give more to others. Which
leads us to the second part of the statement, which is "so that others are inspired to live
the best life they can live and help change the world for the better".
I want to try and change the world for the better for future generations, not just in
my family, but hopefully for people who I have contact with in my lifetime. This fundamentally
comes down to the understanding that my son's possible future is linked to the future of
the wider community and the world.
And this is linked to one other fundamental point about this why statement that helps
explain my purpose. That is I begin my why from within or from myself, which is fundamental
to my belief on how we can best change the world for the better, as I think before we
try to change the world around us, we need to look within ourselves first. To quote American
author and speaker John C. Maxwell:
"Most people want to change the world to improve their lives, but the world they need to change
first is the one inside themselves."
Now going back to the Why statement, you need to make sure your why statement is
- simple and clear - actionable
- focused on how you'll contribute to others - expressed in affirmative language that resonates
with you
You see, by ensuring these criteria are met, your why statement, or mission statement,
gives not only clarity, but inspires you to work towards achieving it.
Earlier in the video I mentioned I'd be finishing with possibly the most important point, which
is how do you actually identify your why.
Everything discussed up to the point is about understanding the difference between Why,
How and What and how to communicate your why to give clarity. However, before you can do
this, you need to identify your purpose.
So how do you actually do this?
Well to begin look at your past. The most clear step to take is think back and remember
the moments you felt happy, satisfied and fulfilled, the moments where you felt joy
and hope.
Now understand what it is about each of these that made you feel this way and you'll understand
there's usually a common thread, or your purpose, in all of them.
In my case, when I went through this process myself, I found it was in growth and helping
others. To name a precise moment, when in my teens I helped teach my father how to use
computers. It was something I took pride and joy in and ultimately it lead to my love for
technology. However, on reflection, it's not that computers that I have come to realise
is my passion, but rather the fact that I was of value to someone important to me and
that helped me build confidence and belief in myself.
That's one of the strongest memories I have for understanding my purpose, and where my
why statement for this channel stems from.
[Simon Sinek Speaks]
I
hope you enjoyed the video, but now I want to know,
what's your why statement? Let me know in the comments below and as mentioned before,
if you enjoyed the content please drop a like, consider subscribing and sharing this video
with others.