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Dennis: Tell me about Should be richer, thinner, your “why” and why the fitter, prettier. concept of having a WHY Should do this, that, and is so important. the other. Edwina: If we aren’t careful, Should have a bigger we can go through life house, better car, fancier ticking boxes that are clothes. not necessarily right for us! Following the norm, The solution is to get you leave school and go crystal clear why you are on to higher education. doing what you are doing. Choosing a career path at Whether that’s why you 17 or 18, based on your want to lose weight, or marks and what you think change careers, or borrow you want to be. Then, get money to buy a fancier a job, get married, buy car, if you identify what’s a house, etc.—getting driving you, you may see lost in a life dictated by things very differently. a “shoulds list” that you Moving toward pleasure didn’t even write. and away from pain is a compelling WHY—you Add to that the trap of just need to be clear on living reactively rather your definition of pain and than proactively, and we pleasure in relation to your potentially have a recipe choices. for a frustrating and hollow existence. Then For the entrepreneurs in one day, we find the time this space, I challenge you and energy to stick our to articulate clearly why head up above the noise you are doing what you’re and clamor of the world doing. For me, it’s about around us and realize that leaving a legacy for my we don’t even know who kids, financial security for we are anymore, let alone the coming generations, what we want. and living a life that feels purposeful and fills me If we don’t take the with pride. time to stop and think about why we’re doing Dennis: What kind of something, it’s easy to get advice do you have lost on a hamster wheel of for entrepreneurs reactionary living, dictated struggling to find their by the word “should.” “why”? Do you have any quick tips that may help
them? Edwina: I learned a little trick from Dan Graziosi about asking yourself why seven times. It seems to be a magic number for some reason, and it works best if you do it with somebody else. So whether it’s “I want to lose weight” or “I want to start a business” or “I want to make a million dollars”—whatever the “why” is, ask somebody to work with you by asking, “Why do you want that?” seven times. Dennis: Talk to me about the role of vulnerability and creating connections with your audience. Edwina: Vulnerability is a topic that we get to thank Brené Brown for shining a spotlight on. We’ve moved away from the idea that the people that we’re learning from—our teachers, our mentors, our coaches, our guides—have to be perfect in all things, all the time. The very nature of staying connected to our humanity is understanding the role of vulnerability. To strive for perfection is not only paralyzing for the person who’s trying
