There is a TEDTalk called "How Great Leaders Inspire Action", by Simon Sinek. The talk is about leadership and what inspires people to follow—to buy a product, to support a cause, to dedicate their time—but it's also about passion and the importance of the motivations we have for doing what we do. When I first saw Simon's talk, it inspired me enough to show it to my former supervisor, which, in turn, she decided to show to our whole team. Throughout his talk, Simon repeats a single mantra: "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." By the end, those of us in my department were thinking about how our company could infuse a little meaning into our products, but more than that, it had us thinking about why we show up to work every day.
What Simon succeeds in doing with his talk is putting the humanity back into a company. Using Apple as his example of a company that effectively sells the "why", Simon reminds us that before it was a multi-million dollar company, Apple Computers was a group of people who believed in something, and who wanted to share their passion about computers and design with the world. They believed in challenging the status quo and thinking differently, and that is the message they inspired more so than the devices they sold.
"The goal is not to sell to people who need what you have; the goal is to sell to people who believe what you believe."
Simon 
explains that all the great and inspiring leaders in the world think, act, and communicate in the same way: they communicate from the inside out. They appeal to people's emotions by selling them on "why" rather than "what".
If we apply this idea to our own lives, we can ask ourselves the same question. Instead of focusing on what we do, how about understanding why we do it? Simon explains that we give our trust and loyalty when we are inspired to show up for more than just a paycheck.
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"The goal is not to hire people who need a job; the goal is to hire people who believe what you believe."
So why do you do what you do? Do you believe in your work, or the message, product, or service the company you work for is selling? Does it inspire you? Does it help anyone? Does it create something that is meaningful or make a difference in the world, even in a small way? Does it make you, or someone else, happy? Purpose, cause, belief—people are inspired by the passion of others, whether it's an individual or a company. If you know why you do what you do, people will respond to it and want to be a part of it.
Ask yourself why you started doing what you do in the first place. Some of us started very young, and I think we can be afforded a certain amount of forgiveness. When we are young, we don't know enough of the world to strike out on our own. We rely on the advice and direction of others, and we're not always counseled to find our "why". When we are young, we are taught that we should, that we need to, and that we have to. Pursuing what we want or what feels right is selfish and irrational—childish. We are taught to be pragmatic and build a future. We're not old enough to realize that we might be building a future at the expense of our present.
So maybe we didn't start with why back then, but there's no reason why we can't do it now. What drives us to do what we do? Is a regular paycheck the only inspiration we have for showing up?
And if that is true, and you realize that you're not really doing what you'd like to be doing, then ask yourself why. What is holding you back? Is it fear of trying your hand at something new, something deemed insecure? Is it fear of not earning enough money? A lack of support, or fear of what people will say?
Figure out what it is, and then figure out what you can do to change it. Even small efforts in the right direction can make a big impact on your future. Stop settling for what and find your why.
If you have about 18 minutes, watch Simon's talk. The ideas he presents are really kind of fun to think about, and you'll find yourself nodding your head and smiling (his explanation of why TIVO is a commercial failure comes to mind). Simon's talk appeals to any organization that wants to succeed in inspiring others, whether that be customers or employees. But more than that, it appeals to all of us as individuals and challenges us to understand why we do what we do. Watch the entire talk below:
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html
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