Glenn Leese

tldr: If you don’t know what your end goal is, you will never be able to navigate through your daily decisions and remain on track. Find your why.

It’s hard to find your why. You can start by finding your Ultimate WHY and our Strategic WHY. These can be overarching or they can pertain to a specific areas of your life.

Why are you doing what you do? What is the reason for your decision? Why are you here? Taking the time to think about these kind of things can help you to make faster and more meaningful decisions, as well as feel more fulfilled in life.

** Note that this article is written in the context of financial independence, however its applicable to other areas of life. It’s important to understand the principles of the concept overall. **

Find Your Why

Before you know your why, you must find your why.

I have thought about this many times over the years and I personally now believe there are 2 parts to knowing your why. (I give them names to keep their separate importance) 

If you’ve never thought about it before, just start now and it will improve your guidance moving forward.

Part 1 – Your Ultimate WHY (Vision)

Part 2 – Your Strategic WHY (Mission)

Your Ultimate WHY (Vision)

This is why you are doing everything you are doing.

I discussed finding your why recently with members of the trading community. He is what I asked:

• Why are you putting in all this effort?
• Why are you working harder than others?
• Why are you committed to this community and journey when so many others are giving up?

It’s a big picture thing – and it’s super personal. It must appeal to your deepest desire and something that if you achieve, you will die happy.

Examples:

• My Ultimate WHY is my family. Being able to give myself and them the gift of financial independence so we can spend the most time together (time is our most precious resource).
• My Ultimate WHY is doing something bigger than myself. It’s to achieve financial independence and help others do the same so I can change as many lives as possible.
• My Ultimate WHY is to be so independent that I never have to rely on others. I can rely on myself, go my own way, make my own choices and be completely free and purposeful with my time.

Your Strategic WHY (Mission)

This is how you are achieving your goals and making your progress. This is your budget, your investment strategy, your timeframes, your active trades, your cashflow, your income, your savings, your debt reduction… etc.

It’s a long term commitment, with current day-day activities. It’s different to your Ultimate WHY, even though it’s long term because its strategy and detail based.

Examples:

• My Strategic WHY is long term, consistent investing in the stock market for both growth and cashflow, because I fundamentally believe in investing in real world companies that I understand and I’m committed to this goal.
• My Strategic WHY is consistent daily and weekly focus on my budget. Increasing my income and decreasing my expenses. Paying down my debt and being a conscious consumer, because I’m committed to early retirement.
• My Strategic WHY is to make good trades, consistently and keep excellent records in order to continually improve and progress as a trader, so I can develop a skill that will serve me for life and replace my job.

** An important note is that once you find your why (or whys), it must become your everyday guidance and internal compass to keep you on track. You can use it to audit your own actions and make sure you remain on your chosen path. **

We Are All Different 

One of my life rules is to “Go Your Own Way“. 

I have this rule because I have found that a huge amount of time and energy can be wasted walking in other people’s paths and riding on other people’s dreams. So remember, we are all uniquely different. Don’t be distracted by other people’s goals. Chances are if you really think about it, you don’t want them anyway. 

When you are creating your Ultimate WHY and your Strategic WHY, be completely unique in your approach. Take the core pieces and building blocks of financial independence ( or some other life areas) and rearrange them to suit you. Learn all you can and ask questions with the goal of pulling things apart and rebuilding them to serve you and your family. It’s your journey, no one else’s. Not everyone is going to be suitable for everything – nor do they need to. People achieve goals in so many ways (and in their own unique ways). 

Final notes and taking action to find your why

Dedicate some focus time to writing down your Ultimate WHY and your Strategic WHY.

The best way to do this is alone, in a peaceful environment (outdoors works well), with a notebook without internet. 

Give your mind time to think about the WHYs and let them come to you. Write down words and phrases that mean something to you and then put them together – there is no right or wrong way.

You will be amazed how effective this personal compass can be.

I’ll leave you with something that I heard once that never left my mind: “If your WHY doesn’t make you CRY, that’s not your WHY“

Try to get as close to this place as possible and you will have done a great job.

Find your why!

ps. Simon Sinek has a good short video on generally finding your why. Doing this starter/warmup exercise can unlock your mind to start thinking about the WHYs we discussed above in more depth.

Watch it below:

Key Takeaways

• Finding your “why” is crucial to navigating life and making meaningful decisions.
• There are two parts to knowing your “why”: Your Ultimate WHY (Vision) and Your Strategic WHY (Mission).
• Your Ultimate WHY is the big-picture reason why you do what you do and must appeal to your deepest desires.
• Your Strategic WHY is how you achieve your goals and is detail-based.
• Once you find your “why,” it must become your internal compass to keep you on track.
• It’s important to be unique in your approach to finding your “why” and not be distracted by other people’s goals.
• Dedicate time to writing down your Ultimate WHY and Strategic WHY in a peaceful environment.
• Your personal compass can be incredibly effective in guiding your decisions.
• If your “why” doesn’t make you cry, it’s not your true “why.”
• Finding your “why” is a critical step in achieving fulfillment and success in life.