Our WHY is our purpose, cause or belief—the driving force behind everything we do. Our HOWs are the actions we take when we are at our natural best to bring our WHY to life. Our WHATs are the tangible manifestation of our WHY, the actual work we do every day.

The Golden Circle provides compelling evidence of how much more we can achieve if we remind ourselves to start everything we do by first asking why.

Everything we do, we do for a reason.

WHY: Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money — that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?

It is not just WHAT or HOW you do things that matters; what matters more is that WHAT and HOW you do things is consistent with your WHY.

From the late 1800s to the late 1900s... science suggested that human beings are the direct byproduct of their own past. [...]

Research now shows that a person’s past does not drive or dictate their actions and behaviors. Rather, we are pulled forward by our future. [...]

From this view, [...] all human-action is goal-driven [or purpose-driven], even if the goal of the behavior isn’t consciously considered by the individual. [...]

There is always a why for everything someone does. That why is their reason or goal for what they’re doing. [...]

While [...] purpose may not [always] be conscious or inspiring, [a person's reason behind their behavior] still exists. Even if the goal is simply immediate gratification or escape, [as in the case of wasting time] on social media.

It is everlasting and must be relevant in both your personal and professional life. It is a statement of your value at work as much as it is the reason your friends love you. We don't have a professional WHY and personal WHY. We are who we are wherever we are.

The WHY can help set a vision to inspire people. The WHY can guide us to act with purpose, on purpose.

Knowing why you're doing something provides the inspiration and motivation to give the extra perspiration needed to persevere when things go south..
..Purpose provides the ultimate glue that can help you stick to the path you've set. When what you do matches your purpose, your life just feels in rhythm, and the path you beat with your feet seems to match the sound in your head and heart. Live with purpose and don't be surprised if you actually hum more and even whistle while you work.

Success comes when we wake up every day in that never-ending pursuit of WHY we do WHAT we do.

Success comes when we wake up every day in that never-ending pursuit of WHY we do WHAT we do. Our achievements, WHAT we do, serve as the milestones to indicate we are on the right path.

Discovering and being authentic to our-selves, finding out what we want to do and do not want to do — we do this by being committed to our own experiences. We must do everything because it brings us joy and peace, from the job we have to the clothes we wear.

If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.

Don't forget that a WHY is just a belief, HOWs are the actions we take to realize that belief and WHATs are the results of those actions.