Simon Sinek’s famous book “Start With Why” offers this perspective on motivation: “People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” People don’t just buy a product. They subscribe to a belief about the company that often mirrors their own core values. If being innovative and transformative is exciting, and aligned with your own personal mission, you not only get a rush because you feel good about buying something (yay! Retail therapy!) but you get fulfillment out of contributing to something bigger. Perhaps that is to be the first person to lay hands on new technology. Maybe the purchase empowers a small business owner to continue building up towards the greater good. Who knows! We all have our “whys” and looking into the driving factors behind them helps us become wise.

“People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”

Simon Sinek, “Start With Why”

I wanted to take a moment to talk about my “why.”

Altruism, the act of helping others for the simple sake of helping others, is one of my core values. This foundational belief drives me.

As a child, my mom would say to me, “Megann, you’re trying to fix the world one person at a time.” But as I grow older, and perhaps a bit wiser, I have come to realize that I cannot fix anyone. I can only grow and develop myself and share these lessons with others in hopes that it will spark something within them to help support a change that they want to make. Also, as I grow, I learn that people need helpful and encouraging support through change.

In my professional life, I have worked in customer service and the development of others for over 20 years. I’ve worked in retail and in the financial and education sectors. I LOVE seeing people harness their own personal power and sit behind the driver’s seat in their own lives. But it’s not through advice that I am able to see others gain clarity, it’s through powerful questions. Perspective is such a gift. I learn so much from my coaching clients! I love hearing their stories and getting curious about their lives. I am thrilled to see their breakthroughs and get excited about celebrating their unique journeys.

Raised by an HR professional turned executive coach, I grew up with some really fascinating dinner conversations. We’d talk about personal development, feedback being a gift, how to reframe unhelpful thoughts, creating and cultivating identity, and so much more. It wasn’t uncommon for my dad to say to the family, “Hey, can I read you something?” and then hear words from great minds about life and growth. This unique perspective on learning and growth guides me today. Often, I hear myself telling my own family the same thing when I read something cool that is “shareworthy.” When we learn and grow together, I know that I am creating a strong foundation for my four children as well.

Something to consider, when you’re looking at your own “why” is that a why can change over time. As a young professional, my why used to be advancement, a steady paycheck, solid 401k, and growing my experience for the purpose of climbing the ladder. As a more seasoned professional, my why has changed. I love seeing others grow and experience joy. In fact, I want a front seat to those moments.

Recently, when my team was talking about professional advancement, we discussed how promotion used to be based on production. The more work you did, the higher up on the corporate ladder you climbed. Now, companies are making a necessary shift towards the value of personal development. And, immediately, one of my reps said “Yeah… otherwise, what else am I doing here?!” I love the team’s candidness. It demonstrates trust in me and their faith in our relationship to get them to the next level. For the workers in the workforce now, it’s not just about doing a job. It’s about gaining skills for advancement. They want to develop themselves. They want to be inspired by work. They want to know that they’re contributing to a greater “why.”

My “why” has become much clearer in the past year.

If you have ever been around an infant or a new parent, you know that many sleepless nights with a newborn can either lead to a combination of new habits. Two of those new habits for me were late-night shopping and a focus on deep introspection. After my fourth child was born in 2021, I took a hard look at what added value to my life. After much reflection, a conversation with my husband led to one of the best decisions of my life. We talked about what it was at my past jobs that I liked. We talked about what it was about my role that I would change. We talked about what I could control and what I could do to influence our family’s future. We talked about my stress and its potential to create stress for my family.

After each of my children has been born, I seem to take the time off to ponder my ultimate purpose which creates and cultivates new parts of my being. It’s immensely important to me to instill a sense of passion in my children. I want them to own that they are the writers of their own stories and that those stories can change at any time. But, it was in 2021, after my fourth child was born, that I decided to take steps towards realizing a life dream – becoming a coach.

Helping others take opportunities to grow is so fulfilling. It’s so funny to me that as a coach, in the interest of transparency, I have none of the answers. I have questions. My curiosity and my client’s willingness to be candid and vulnerable allow us to navigate through their potential blocks to achieve greater successes.

My why has become influencing the world positively by helping others navigate through change. I help by providing my coaching clients with tools and perspectives to enhance their own learning. My clients learn about themselves and apply those lessons to their lives and interactions with others. Recently, I shared a book (“The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz) with a client. She was so inspired that she shared the passage she read with her social media following and her coworkers. By giving that knowledge and sharing the new perspective with others, she was able to positively inspire change.

Imagine a stagnant lake. This is the status quo. Things are steady but unchanging. There is no movement. By sharing awareness and lessons in a kind and encouraging way, we toss a stone in the lake that forever changes it. The ripple effect travels throughout the once still waters. Knowledge is like that. When we find something that inspires us, we can’t help but share it with others.

Have you been still for too long? Is algae starting to grow on your surface? Do you feel a shift inside of you that you want to cultivate and grow? Contact me today to see if working together would be positive towards your goals and development. I would love to talk to you about your why.