What’s Your Why?

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Every morning my alarm clock blasts the same message. It helps remind me as soon as I wake up that it’s another day to take steps towards reaching my goals.

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful!” -Eric Thomas

This quote comes from a motivational speaker named Eric Thomas. In his most popular message he gives called “Secrets to Success,” he tells a story about a guru teaching a young man the secret to success. They go to a beach and the guru has the man wade out into the water up to his chin.

Then, the guru holds his head under water and the young man is thrashing trying to get back up to the surface. Finally, after a few panicked seconds, the guru lets him up and the young man gasps for air. Furious, the young man asks what the guru was thinking holding him underwater like that.

The guru said, “When you were underwater, what did you most want to do?”

The young man responds, “I wanted to breathe.”

And the guru responds, “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.”

Ever since I first heard this story it has been a powerful lesson in my life. I think back to this story often, and I’ve had the quote as my alarm clock for a few years now as a constant reminder to attack each day and strive to reach my dreams.

What’s your why?

Why do you go to work everyday? Why do you want to get out of debt? Why do you want to save more money? Why do you do what you do?

You can learn all the money tips there are, but if you never apply them you won’t see any positive change in your life. Before even trying to implement positive changes it’s important to figure out your reason for doing so. Until you figure out your purpose in life you won’t have the motivation or direction necessary to stick to the changes you want to make.

What are your longterm goals and what do you want to accomplish in life? How do you want to be remembered?

For me, the reason I’ve always been a long-term thinker and decided to learn as much as possible about personal finance can be broken down into a few main points:

• Remove the stress from money, and provide stability for my wife and future kids.
• Continue to carry on my family’s legacy that my parents and grandparents have built.
• Reach financial independence so that I’m in more control over how I spend my time and can live life on my own terms.
• Travel and explore new places, including all 30 Major League Baseball ballparks.

I’d encourage you to think through these questions as well. Once you figure out your “why,” you’ll have the motivation necessary to push towards your goals each day. You’ll be able to instill positive habits and see positive changes happen in your life. Change doesn’t just happen, it requires a reason for doing it.

One of my biggest fears in life is getting to the end and feeling like I wasted the time I had. I know by setting longterm goals and working towards them I’ll be able to avoid that fate. We may not know how much time we have, but we can utilize our time to the fullest while we still have the chance.

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