Your why.

Mark Twain said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why".

Simon Sinek did a groundbreaking Ted Talk called Starting with Why for leaders and corporations. It is 16 years old but still worth watching today:

Spending some time thinking about your why - on a very personal level - can be life changing. Liberating.

It was for me.

I was at the Storyline Conference in Nashville in the fall of 2013 when Donald Miller challenged us to write down three specific reasons we were on the planet. He said we should dig deeper than the generic pat answers, and list three things specific to us.

I wrote down

• To connect people to each other and God

• To help the disadvantaged

• To tell stories

Looking back at my life, up to that point, it seemed most of the things I did that mattered fell into one or more of those categories.

I was involved in church and ministries since my late teens. I had a knack for helping friends network with other friends that had similar goals or needs. I had volunteered and helped with a number of organizations serving disadvantaged people in our community, and Julie and I were in the process of adoption. And, my career in video production and radio was definitely story-oriented. I could check all three of the boxes.

Looking back at those things helped me identify my three reasons for existing. But having those three reasons written down and front-of-mind became extremely helpful as I moved forward.

Knowing my “why” became like a filter when I was trying to make a decision. Knowing that something aligns with your whole purpose of being on the planet helps decision making.

Serving on the board of The Bridge? Connects people to each other and God √

Writing a book? Storytelling. √

Help a startup that is going to serve retired people? Connects people to each other. √

Support CUPS mission in the Dominican Republic? Helps the disadvantaged and connects people to God. √

You get the idea.

I’ve shared this concept with many of my friends and have written about it before, because it is so meaningful and helpful to me.

If you feel stuck. If you have to make a decision about something. Or if you want to feel a sense of purpose and meaning, take some time today and ask yourself - Why are you on the planet?

Write it down. Print it out. Hang it on your bathroom mirror.

If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know when you get there.