I recently saw a short video of Damon John of Shark Tank fame talking about why. He said that he didn’t find success until he found his why. Why we start a business and what we want to accomplish in that business cannot have success without your why. Your why becomes your passion which is a necessary key ingredient for success. Money cannot simply be your why. What happens when you reach your money goal? Do you go out of business? It is your why that keeps you moving forward.

It is imperative that we as business owners define the “why”. Why am I doing this? What is the real reason that gets me up, excited and passionate about working in my business. Maybe it’s helping people by protecting them with great insurance products. Maybe it’s being able to take care of your family. Maybe it is the promise of financial freedom. Maybe it’s building a team of professionals to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. You have to keep the “why” in front of you every day. Otherwise, we fold like a lawn chair when things get tough.

Here is the reason why it is important. You will have rough days, weeks and sometimes months and years. You will want to give up. But if you have a strong enough reason, you will be able to persevere through those tough times. In my experience of training over 1,000 insurance agents over almost 25 years, it is the people in the agent’s life that are sometimes their biggest enemies to their business. They tell them to “give up, quit, told you it wouldn’t work” or “go get a real job”. You know the job with your name on your shirt. See a lot of people, even the ones that love us, deep down don’t want us to succeed, because they don’t have the inner drive that it takes to succeed. They are full of self-doubt and fear. If you succeed, it can make them feel vulnerable that you are able to do what they only dream of or wish they could do. You need to surround yourself with like-minded successful people to help you get through the tough times. People that are happy when you succeed not jealous. I’m not saying to forget your lifelong friends and family, just insulate yourself from the negative. Remember you do become those people you hang out with most often. Your why helps you stay positive to reach that ultimate goal.

Sit down today and define your why. Here’s to your success!

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy”.-–Dale Carnegie

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, grandfather of 2, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, employee benefit specialist, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 30 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.