In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. Proverbs 3:6 The Living Bible
There are two ways to influence people, manipulation or inspiration. The former we often see in advertisements, social media and from politicians. The information is put in the best light for a given product or stance and other entities are put down in comparison. People may be drawn in for a time, but it typically doesn’t last. True inspiration on the other hand can provide that staying power by touching the core of one’s soul. It is typically simple, focused and imbued with integrity. But understanding how to inspire is not always so straightforward.
Simon Sinek, a best-selling British-American author, motivational speaker and organization consultant published a book in 2009 called Start with Why. In it he describes the golden circle that has three concentric rings, like an onion. The center he terms why. This is the central motivation for an idea, organization etc. The next ring he terms how which is the process. And finally, the outer ring he termed what which is the product or results or outcome.
Most companies or organizations focus on the what, what they do, what they sell. Many times, we see companies stressing how their product is better than the competition’s. They may tell you that their car can go 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, describe the horsepower, leather heated seats, or how many cup holders it has. They might tell you their phone service comes bundled with internet and TV, and how fast the download and upload speeds are. This is all about the what. The what is easy to articulate. It is concrete and most people focus on this. But people aren’t likely to be inspired by what you do, they are inspired by why you do it. The what is important to understand, but that alone doesn’t change most people’s actions. And often, information overload can paralyze the decision-making process.
Some companies understand and share the how, the process. But very few entities focus on the why. Apple Inc is an outlier. According to Sinek in his Ted Talk, Apple’s vision statement is organized in a similar golden circle and goes something like this. “Why: Everything we do we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. How: The way we change the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. What: We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?” Instead of focusing on how many programs are loaded on its products, instead of paralyzing us with pages of metrics on how this computer compares to everything else, they focused on simplicity, elegance, and user friendliness. And that clear focus on the central message paid off. On August 2, 2018, Apple became the first company ever to surpass market capitalization (net worth) of $1 Trillion and remains the world’s most valuable company.
Sometimes we may notice that we are focusing on the what in our religious outlook. It may be trivial things like make-up, jewelry, vegetarianism, coffee, or other more complicated issues like women’s ordination or even the 28 fundamental beliefs. It is not that what is not important. It is that the why should be the central driving focus that fills up everything, and the how and the what will naturally follow.
Long before Simon Sinek came out with his wonderful book, there was another book that has a parallel message. God’s word clearly lays out the case that we should always put Him first. What would our world look like if we could model this Golden circle with God in the center in our Christian walk? How about this for a vision statement? Why: Everything we do is to bring honor to God’s name. How: We bring honor to His name by joyfully showing love to God our creator and to man, His creation. What: Because God is first, we are the most joyful, contented (in any situation) and resilient people on earth.
By focusing on God, and allowing Him to be central in our lives, by making him our pure focus, we can be that inspiration to others. By letting His love flood our lives, our joyfulness will be inescapable and contagious. Once we acknowledge this focus, we need to have the discipline to live our lives in ways that consistently point to God’s love. The why is our core belief. The how is the actions and decisions that we take to support the why. And the what is everything that flows from this. We, like Christ, ought to meet people where they are. We should work to understand their needs and try and fill them rather than giving them something they don’t need at that time.
G Campbell Morgan, the British evangelist and author wrote a beautiful thought that resonates with me. “The deepest passion of the heart of Jesus was not the saving of men, but the glory of God; and then the saving of men, because that is for the glory of God.” The why is the glory of God. The how is saving of men. If we focus on Christ, service to God and man will inevitably follow. Because we put God first, we will inspire others to come to Him. Because we start with why.