Knowing your WHY means having a clear purpose, and this makes you and your business more appealing.

If you’ve ever felt lost or unfulfilled in life, it might be a result of not identifying purpose in your life – or, as the author Simon Sinek likes to call it, not knowing your WHY.

Finding your WHY can be challenging, but once you have it in your life, you can wake up each morning with purpose and determination.

Sinek discovered his WHY after he’d lost all passion for his work. At the time, he was feeling depressed and getting lots of advice from people, but none of it felt applicable to his situation. After some soul-searching, he realized his WHY was to inspire others, and once he took this to heart, he began to see his life more clearly and with more optimism.

Knowing his WHY gave Sinek’s life direction, and he soon found that this confidence was appealing to others.

This not only applies to people, but also to companies. A case in point is Apple, which has strong competitors offering cheaper products with more features. But Apple’s customers are loyal and inspired by their motto “Think Different,” which perfectly describes their WHY. Customers would rather give money to a business with a progressive identity than save a few bucks buying from a more generic company.

To see how compelling a strong purpose can be in the marketplace, let’s look at two advertising pitches for a paper company:

The first one highlights the paper’s superior quality and affordable price; the second one highlights the company’s mission of creating a fine product that allows people to document their ideas and share them with the world. This second pitch is far more compelling and attractive, simply because it explains the company’s WHY.

Sometimes we need to advertise ourselves as well, especially when we’re in a job interview. When a client of one of the authors named Emily found herself shortlisted for a job and sitting in front of a panel of executives, she was asked what made her unique. This was Emily’s chance to share her WHY, so she spoke about her eagerness to work with others and help people become the best version of themselves.

With her clear understanding of her WHY, it’s no surprise that Emily got the job.