Start With Why

At the recommendation of a friend, I started reading a book recently called, "Start With Why", by Simon Sinek. While the book is intended to help leaders inspire and motivate, rather than deceive and manipulate, it's also just a simple, straight-forward idea: So much of WHAT we do and HOW we do it ultimately fails or fizzles out because we don't start with the most important question of them all: WHY? 

[I hit on this subject a couple of weeks ago in a post called "Early Resolve".] 
Let me give you an example.

If I told you, "I need to work out more" - and you kindly inquired as to "Why?" - and I proceeded to tell you that 1) I really want abs like Brad Pitt's and 2) my favorite jeans don't fit so well anymore - while those might be honest answers, they really aren't going to sustain me or ultimately inspire or motivate me. But if I told you, "I need to work out more" - and you asked me "Why?" - and I told you that my doctor said I needed to lose 6-10 pounds, exercise at least 4-5 times a week, and make some drastic changes to my diet so that my family's heart, cholesterol, and blood pressure history didn't sneak up on me - so that I could be here to watch my kids grow up - you would probably guess that this WHY is going to sustain and motivate and inspire me a whole lot longer than my Brad Pitt poster. (Not that I have a Brad Pitt poster. Anymore.) You see, it all has to start with WHY!

WHY = The purpose, cause, or belief that determines the WHAT.

This was the New Year's Challenge I gave this past Sunday in my sermon. If you'd like to check out the podcast, you can listen or download it HERE. 

Are you starting a new diet? Please make sure & determine WHY first.
Joining a new gym? Better get your motivation straight.
Need to be reminded of WHY you should daily be walking with Christ - WHY you should be seeking and pursuing Him? Check out these scriptures:
2 Peter 1:3-11
2 Corinthians 13:5
Matthew 13:18-22