Know Your WHY and Success Is Inevitable

As the deer longs for the water-brooks,
so longs my soul for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1, BCP)

I love this first verse of Psalm 42, as it provides a beautiful image of what true longing, deep yearning is all about.

What do you long for? What is your deepest craving? Unlock this and success is inevitable. Keep this hidden from yourself and success will always elude you. Travel with me on my journey, as it may help you uncover your own deepest longing, your reason for being, your why.

In my network marketing business, when I am speaking with prospects, I ask lots of questions in the hopes of getting them to open up and reveal their deepest desires. They may have responded to a Web ad promising a six- or seven-figure income from the comfort of one’s own home. Whereas this is certainly possible, it is far from common and does not come without a lot of hard work. I never present network marketing as a get-rich-quick proposition, but who knows what someone else may have told them.

So when I begin to ask them what they’re looking for, many of them explain that they’re interested in making a lot of money. Well, just how much is a lot? Five dollars is a lot of money to a homeless man seeking food and shelter. Your unconscious mind doesn’t know what to do with a lot of money any more than your GPS would know how to direct you to someplace nice to eat. Your GPS needs an exact address; your subconscious likewise needs specifics.

More importantly, money alone is a very poor motivator for most people. Money is a means to an end. What is the end? What does the prospect want the money for? Here is an example of a very common exchange I might have with a typical prospect:

What are you looking for?

I want to make a lot of money.

Great. What would you use the money for?

To get out of debt.

Why? What then?

To achieve financial freedom?

What does that mean to you?

I could then travel the world whenever I wanted to.

Now we’re getting somewhere. When I can help my prospect pinpoint what he or she wants to do, be, or have, then—and only then—can I help steer him or her in the right direction.

I recently played this game with myself. Those closest to me know that finances are quite tight right now. My company’s annual convention is coming up at the end of next month, and this would be the first year since I joined them that I would miss convention. Quite recently I decided this was unacceptable. I didn’t know how it would all come together, but I put my intention out in the universe that I wanted to attend convention.

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8, NRSV)

Almost immediately the pieces started to fall into place. I got some new teaching gigs that would bring in some well-needed funds. I began the process of renegotiating my mortgage, to reduce my payment. And just today I arranged to purchase a reduced-rate convention ticket from someone who could not attend. I also made my airline reservations and had a very pleasant surprise. I went out to United Airlines’ website to cash in miles on an Economy Class ticket, and on a whim I decided to check “Saver” fares on First Class. To my surprise, this was available! (Oddly enough, when I checked yesterday, there was nothing in First Class.) So, not only am I able to attend convention this year, I’ll be flying there in style. And I’ll actually save money, since there are no baggage charges for people flying First Class.

What was it that opened the floodgates of opportunity for me? I am convinced that by simply focusing on my desire, it allowed me to see the solutions that had been hidden from me. Now, each day, I focus on something specific that I hope to accomplish or achieve that day. Focus is a powerful force.

But it’s more than that. I also just recently got back in touch with my why. I love to teach. I was put here on this earth to teach. I registered the trademark Demystifying Technology® six years ago when I realized that I really do have a knack for making complex technical information accessible to everyone, techies and non-techies alike.

For that matter, one reason I was attracted to network marketing was that I could see myself teaching others how to succeed—that is, once I taught myself. A few years ago I started writing a book about the industry, and I chose the title Demystifying Prosperity™ as it seemed the counterpoint to Demystifying Technology®. Sadly, my attention to the book has been sidetracked, although I am sure I shall pick it up again soon, for reasons I shall cover in another post.

The next step beyond teaching is public speaking. I took a seminar on public speaking several years ago and learned quite a bit. More recently I joined Toastmasters and have been learning so much. The best part about Toastmasters is the evaluations and feedback. I now catch my own ums and ahs, and my speeches continue to improve.

When I started this post, I wanted it to be all about you. Instead, I had to explain all about me in order to describe the positive side-effects of focusing on my why. I encourage you to do a similar exercise with yourself, peeling the onion, as it were, until you reach the core of why you were put here on this earth. There is no one quite like you, so competition need never be a concern for someone who is aware of the gifts he or she brings to the table.

As the deer longs for the water-brooks,
so longs my soul for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1, BCP)

Get in touch with your own deepest longing. Find out what makes you tick. Know your why and success is inevitable.

Tagged as: demystifying prosperity, demystifying technology, know your why, network marketing