Simon Sinek - Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team

Fulfillment is a right and not a privilege. Every single one of us is entitled to feel fulfilled by the work we do, to wake up feeling inspired to go to work, to feel safe when were there and to return home with a sense that we contributed to something larger than ourselves. Fulfillment is not a lottery. It is not a feeling reserved for a lucky few who get to say, I love what I do.

For those who hold a leadership position, creating an environment in which the people in your charge feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves is your responsibility as a leader. For those who work for an organization that does not leave you feeling inspired at the beginning and end of every day, you must become the leader you wish you had. Regardless of our rank in the organization, every single one of us has at least one colleague, client or vendor for whom we can take some responsibility for how they feel when they work with us. The goal is not to focus on whats standing in your way; it is to take steps that will have a positive and lasting effect on everyone around us.

The concept of WHY is a deeply personal journey born out of pain. I discovered the idea at a time when I had lost any passion for my work. The advice people gave me wasnt helpful either: Do what you love, Find your bliss, Be passionate. All accuratebut totally un-actionable. I agreed with all the advice in theory, but I didnt know what to change. I didnt know what to do differently on Monday. And thats the reason the WHY has been and continues to be such a profound force in my life. Not only did discovering my WHY renew my passion, it gave me a filter to make better decisions. It offered me a new lens through which I would see the world differently. And it was through this lensto inspire people to do what inspires them so that together each of us can change our worldthat I started preaching the concept of WHY and the Golden Circle. And people listened. In fact, people did more than listen, they joined me in preaching this message, sharing the vision. And our movement was born.

The TED Talk I gave in 2009 helped spread the idea to more people, and my first book, Start with Why, made the case for WHY in much greater depth. People and organizations who know their WHY enjoy greater, long-term success, command greater trust and loyalty among employees and customers and are more forward-thinking and innovative than their competition. The concept of WHY and the Golden Circle became a huge piece of the puzzle to advance this world I imagined. But there was a problem.

Though I was able to make the case for the existence and the power of WHY, and though I could help some people and organizations discover their WHY, I wasnt able to get to or help as many people as we needed to if we are to have an impact in lots of peoples lives. My team built upon what I started. They made my process even better. They started helping people. They even developed an online course to help people discover their WHY. But even that wasnt enough.

Thats the reason this book exists. If Start with Why makes the case for the WHY, Find Your Why provides the steps to show people how to actually do it. And just as Start with Why illustrates, though I may be the guy with the idea, I dont know how to bring it to life at scale. Thats where David and Peter come in.

Peter Docker and David Mead joined me on this journey because they were inspired by the world I imagined. Both have a unique skill set to help bring my visionour visionto reality. I may have figured out how to help one person learn their WHY, but it was David and Peter that figured out how to help a room of sixty people, for example, find their WHY.

David knows how to make things work. Years ago, inspired by one of my talks, he started developing workbooks and building training programs to help the people at his then-company. He did this without ever asking me or anyone else for help. Once I got wind of what he had done, I was blown away by how deeply he understood my ideas and his ability to put them into practice.

Peter retired from the Royal Air Force and wanted to continue a life of service in the private sector. He discovered my work and reached out to simply say how much it inspired him. He has combined my ideas with work he was already doing to amplify its impact. Soon after we met, he started mentoring folks on our team just out of the goodness of his own heart. His work was so good that we started using many of his ideas to help build our company and grow our movement.