Why Are You Doing This?
January 13, 2011 by Cat Matson
By Cat Matson, Alito
As I write this post, the flood levels are rising in Brisbane, Ipswich and surrounding areas. I live in Brisbane. This is my town. And every time I check Twitter or Facebook I see another colleague, friend or connection affected … in a major way.
In this context it is a gross understatement to say one reviews their priorities. The business goals I set enthusiastically in the first week of January fade in importance as I embrace my boys and my husband in the safety of our unaffected home … and I welcome into my home indefinitely my sister and brother-in-law, who most certainly will lose their house only blocks from the river.
Yet, after the waters recede, the residents start the clean-up and the city returns to a ‘different’ kind of normal … life for those of us ‘unaffected’ will continue … status quo.
So my new focus for the year is becoming ‘WHY?’ ‘Why do I do what I do?’
‘Why do I have the goals that I have?’ No, it’s not a ‘oh my goodness, my life up until now has been a waste of time’ … instead, for me, it’s a very personal connection to what is really important to me … and how I live my life, and build my business, to reflect those priorities.
WHY do I want to build a reliable revenue stream based on online workshops and classes? Because it will give me more time to spend with my family.
WHY do I want to finally launch an ebook? It’s no longer just so I have productised some of my IP … it’s so I have a revenue stream that isn’t depedent on a geographical (local) market.
WHY do I want to teach people how to strategically use social media platforms? Because the divide between those who are connected and those who aren’t is growing … and those who aren’t will get left behind in more ways than just numbers of ‘friends’.
It is those themes of ‘why’ that I’m currently using to stay focussed and motivated on my business goals … striving for ‘utlimate emotional, financial and physical outcomes’, not just milestones. For me it’s a subtle yet significant distinction … as my task-based list of goals gains emotional ‘bite’.
The WHY you do what you do is a critical driver in business behaviour, motivation and inspiration. It keeps you on track, focussed and congruent with your wider life values.
So my question for you today is ‘WHY do you do what you do?’ ‘WHY are you building the business that you are?’ ‘WHY are you striving for your current goals?’
WHY?
MORE GREAT POSTS BY CAT MATSON
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Cat Matson - AlitoCat Matson ignites the performance of small business owners, their teams and ultimately their businesses through a range of robust mentoring, coaching and education programs. She is a strong advocate for practical, pithy and ‘real’ business advice and loathes the ‘one-size-fits-all’, ‘you-too-can-be-widely-successful-if-you-just-follow-OUR-system’ approach taken by many ’so-called’ business experts. Cat runs Alito with her husband Keith who provides synergistic and smart accounting expertise to their clients who enjoy having streamlined business advice across all key areas. When not working, Cat enjoys spending time with her two young boys and reading interesting business books and biographies.
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Cat, I echo your sentiments as we face the amazing forces of nature in the wide country of ours.
Here in Perth, which in 2010 had the lowest annual rainfall since records began in this state, we have avoided any of the rain which has drenched our drought-stricken country.
As a personal historian, I am filled with dismay as I watch so many people lose their family collections of photos, memorabilia and memories to either deluging floods or bushfires.
Like you, I want to establish a dependable annual revenue to enable more family time.
Like you, I have produced an e-book, covering all of the information I teach in my 4 week face-to-face workshops as I need to expand my business boundaries nationally.
Like you, I teach people through workshops and one-day seminars, focussing on how to gather, organise and preserve their family stories to leave as a family legacy.
Why do I do this? Because it is the most vitally important task that all Australians should be addressing but few people actually do.
Great Post Cat a timely reminder for us all to look at the WHY.
Hope your sister and family are safe.
Thanks Sue
Cat,
A timely post as I holiday here on the Sunshine Coast. My thoughts are with all Queenslanders who like your sister and family have lost homes and belongings. As my husband and I said as we sat and watched the rain pour down for days on end; at least it was only our holiday that was a little disrupted, not our whole life.
I’ve done a lot of thinking over the holiday about both what I do and why I do it. My reasons are similar to yours:
1. I want to create a lifestyle that gives me more freedom to choose where and when I work so that I can spend time with my son and husband.
2. I know that I have skills and abilities that come very naturally to me yet not so for many others. I genuinely want people to be able to live a better life and to find ways to achieve that instead of putting up with things as they are.
3. I’m a bit of a gadget geek and I’m socialable so I want to capitalize on the opportunities social media presents for connecting with people globally.
Wishing your friends and family a fast restoration of their lives.
Hi Cat,
Brilliant post bringing home the point we are all getting through these trying times for Queensland (I am a North Queenslander by birth and proudly get my slightly more pronounced Aussie twang from there)
I have resilient energy for my business because my WHY is crystal clear to me. My family is the most important thing to me the only way I will have any real quality time with them is to create a well paying successful business. Achieved with a combination of passive income and a premium client base. So each day I wake up and hug my WHY’s and continue to raise the bar on what level of client I work with and look for ways to create more free time.
All the best to you and your new house mates, enjoy the time together that you wouldn’t normally have.
Kind regards
Tony
A timely post for me too personally. As you know, I am in the process of setting up a business (my first) and have been struggling a bit lately with procrastination stemming, I think, from fear of the unknown.
Your post has helped to remind me WHY I am putting myself f-a-r outside my comfort zone and has helped to reaffirm my desire to do so –
I want to help people change their lives.
I want people to experience the joy and exhilaration that comes from setting a (physical) goal which far exceeds anything they have ever done before, work towards it and then achieve it.
I want people to realise and learn that our actual limitations far exceed what we percieve those limits to be.
I want people to live their lives with courage. The courage that comes from knowing what they are actually capable of.
Thank you.
Why am I doing this is such a simple, yet profound question. So many simply don’t know why they are doing what they do.
If they did, their frustration in life would be reduced, however once we have the answer to why am I doing this, we may have to make a bold decision. Striking out takes courage, but it sure beats the heck out of staying in the same old, same old.
Your friend
Catherine
Annie … your *why* is so timely … preserving family legacies. Thank you for your comments …
Suellen & Jen … I love how our ‘whys’ are so similar … and Jen, you’re right, the ‘why’ helps SO much when it comes to getting through the bits that are ‘tough’.
And Catherine … you are so right … bold decisions do come from a clear ‘why’ … and so does a fare more enjoyable (and less frustrating) life. Even if the ‘why’ right now is just to pay the bills. One’s ‘why’ doesn’t have to be altruistic … sometimes ‘why’ we do what we do is literally just to keep a roof over our heads, to enable us to get to the next ‘phase’ of our life or to provide our kids with strong opportunities.