Listen and hear the story of my mother's powerful Why and how learning to lead with your why can change the way you interact with the world.
It can be tiring fighting in this battle for freedom. For days and weeks on end we get up early and stay up late, researching, studying, emailing and talking to our legislators and connecting with other freedom loving Iowans. Sometimes the battle can be exhausting. That's why it's important to remember our Why. Why we are standing for freedom in the first place.
It's important to take a moment and find that place of inner peace, remember our why and find a way to lead with it.
The greatest leaders know who they are and lead with their Why and you can as well. It's the difference between being someone who leads through power and authority and someone who is a true leader that people are inspired to follow because they want to, not because they have to.
During this talk I gave seven months ago at a Leading With Liberty event I share this wisdom with the audience. I had planned to talk about another topic, but not long before the event, my mother passed away. We were very close. She was an incredible woman and an important part of my life. If you've read my book THE WAY: A Small Book of Wisdom, you know that she was my first spiritual teacher and taught me how to develop a close relationship to Christ.
While cleaning out her apartment my sister and I found this little green notebook sitting on a table by the chair she spent most of her time in. What I discovered in that little beat up green notebook inspired me to change my speech just a few days before the event.
There were doctors and attorneys and legislators speaking at the event about medical freedom and I showed up and asked them Why.
I hope you enjoy the talk and that it helps you uncover and remember the Why that fuels you. I've now come to call that Why your Freedom Factor and have started asking my guests at the end of my podcast what their Freedom Factor is. What is their Why for being in the freedom movement. What is the fuel that keeps them going when things seem to be to difficult or overwhelming. Your why is your higher purpose for doing what it is you're doing. All great and inspiring leaders know their Why and lead with it.
If you can remember your why and lead with your why you can accomplish anything. And more importantly you can inspire those around you and be a force for good in the world.
Uncovering Your Why for Being in the Freedom Movement
Uncovering your Why is simple. Here are the steps;
1. Ask Why: Ask yourself the question or a friend: Why are you in the freedom movement?
You may get an answer like, "I'm tired of big government infringing upon our rights." or "Because I want my kids to grow up in the free Iowa that I enjoyed when I was young."
2. Ask Why: So then you ask something like, " Why is it important to you that your kids to grow up in a free Iowa like you did?
The answer may be, "because they need to be free to enjoy life and to flourish, to have options and to be free from indoctrination."
3. Ask Why: Why is it important to you that your kids have options and are free from indoctrination?
You might get the obvious answer here: "Because I love them and would give my life for them to be free." So freedom and a deep Love for your children. Love is the Why.
4. Just Keep Asking Why: Ask in a different way each time based on the previous answer until it comes to the deepest value that is the driving force behind the habit, behavior or action.
It could be Love, Freedom, Liberty or God. But it's the important value that always comes up and it only takes a few deep questions to uncover.
You can find the Why behind any behavior or habit by using these same steps. When someone buys a new car you could ask them why they bought it. Then keep asking, questions like "Why is that important to you. ?" Eventually you may find that driving it makes them feel "Free" or "Significant" etc... It always comes down to a basic feeling or value.
Your Why is the fuel. It's your Freedom Factor. When we know it and understand it within ourselves and others we can make an even bigger impact and have a greater influence. When those around you see that you truly lead with your Why, you inspire them to do the same.
You heard how powerful my mother's why was in the video. She reminded herself of it every day and it had a powerful affect on the people around her.
Unfortunately, people get so caught up in the what and the how they do something that they often forget their Why. This is when they flounder and lose hope or experience extreme disappointment when things don't go their way.
So as I said in my Leading With Liberty talk - We have to ask ourselves the following questions:
Do we want to be the kind of leaders who get so caught up in what we do that we forget who we are and why we are doing it
or
do we want to be the kind of leaders who exercise the ultimate freedom of self awareness, leaders who are able to inspire those around us because we have discovered our Freedom Factor and lead from our Why?
What kind of leader do you want to be?
Warmest Regards,
Oliver
Find Your Freedom Factor
"Our Liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain."