You Know How, But Do You Know Why?

An unexamined life is not worth living ? Socrates

All too often we get caught up in how we should go about achieving a specific goal. We decide that we need to make something definite happen and then focus our efforts on what is required to accomplish the task.

More important than knowing how to make something happen, is knowing why you want to make it happen.

Knowing why will keep you focused; give you strength when you need it, and keep you in action when you are tempted to quit.

An example of this would be, "I want to create wealth." You have a winning lottery ticket and want to make your moderate winnings work for you.

You decide to start reading real estate investment books, studying stock quotes, and enroll in a taxation course so you can learn how to take advantage of all the loopholes.

A few months go by and you get bored with the routine of studying and learning. A friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime ? a month-long trip to Europe, and for a mere $10,000.

You had planned on using your lottery winnings for creating wealth, but the commitment is exhausting and you could really use a vacation.

You cash in your savings and take the trip.

Once you're back home, you have great stories to tell and memories to hold on to, but after a month or two, you become disheartened because you feel you are back on the bottom rung of the ladder and have to start all over again if you want to create any kind of wealth.

By knowing why you want to become rich, you may have created a completely different outcome.

You may have decided you wanted to become rich because:

- You are tired of being broke and working at a dead end job that gives you no personal satisfaction.

- Your parents are aging and you want to be able to help them financially when the time comes for increased medical care

- You saw how your parents struggled financially to survive and want to create a different future for yourself

By knowing your "Why" you would have been more committed to your goal and would have considered the impact taking a trip to Europe would have on your long-term plan.

You would not have sacrificed long-term gain for immediate pleasure.

Robert Kiyosaki, one of my favorite writers and author of, "Retire Young, Retire Rich," shared a personal story about why he decided to commit to creating a better life for himself.

He knew what had to be done and how to make it happen, but it was not until he was able to crystallize the reasons why he wanted to create wealth, that he actually committed to taking the action necessary.

He quoted the old adage, "Where there's a will, there's a way," and discovered that once he knew what his will was; he was able to find the way.

Before pursuing a goal, determine why you want to achieve it. What will it mean for you to realize your dream? Once you have determined your "Why" finding your "How" will be a lot easier and your commitment to your goal will be stronger.

Until next time, dream big dreams and know that you can make them reality. It's all up to you.

Laurie Hayes is a Life Strategy Coach who works with men and women who want to create a significant change in their personal and professional lives, but are struggling with obstacles that are blocking their progress. She can be reached at http://www.wheretheheartis-lifecoaching.com