When people used to ask me why I wanted to achieve a particular goal in my business or get to a certain turnover, I never used to be able to answer them and I always came away from that interaction thinking the same thing:

Why do you want to know my why?

After all, I thought in my wisdom, it doesn’t really matter why I want to achieve those goals; the fact is that I do want to achieve them.

Hmmm.

I have to say that I have drastically changed my mind and here is the reason.

I found that if I didn’t know why I was doing something, it was pretty hard for me to achieve it. Knowing why gives me a reason to get up in the morning and a reason to try my hardest to achieve my goals.

But…and it’s a big but.

The why has to be important to you; it has to matter to you. In fact, I would go so far as to say – if you don’t want your ‘why’, what on earth is it all for?

You see, I think running a business is supposed to be fun. Think back to when you started your business. It was your dream wasn’t it – to be your own boss, to not be answerable to anyone, to be able to set your own hours, to be able to base your business around your family, to make a lot of money and so on.

If you can’t do any of this and if you don’t let your business help you fulfil the dreams that you have, then why are you doing any of this?

So, my challenge for you today is to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and really think about five things you would love to have in your business within the next year. Here are some ideas (in case you’re stuck):

• To fly to somewhere where you’d love to go and stay in a really posh hotel

• To fly there first class

• To buy a holiday home

• To put £x amount in the bank for your retirement

• To hire a language teacher

• To hire a personal trainer

• To get an iPad

• To book onto a serious expensive course that you’d love to go on

• To take your other half on holiday

• To buy a house to let

And that’s just a few ideas. Be creative and have some fun. You don’t need to achieve all of them now, or even within the next year – maybe it’s just that you’ll be working towards your goal.

These things are going to help you get motivated when the going gets tough and let you know why you’re working as hard as you are.

By knowing my why, I’ve achieved some fantastic things and I know you can too…so write down your whys today.