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Find your Why

Illustration: A woman sitting at her desk. Over her it is a heart and "thinking bubles" with images of different situations

Discover your purpose and create positive change!

Many social entrepreneurs start with a simple question: What problem do I want to help solve? Finding your “why” means identifying the motivation behind your idea, organisation or business. Understanding your purpose can help you make better decisions, communicate your value to others and build a sustainable organisation that creates real impact.

This section will guide you through a structured process to help you reflect on:

  • What matters most to you
  • Which societal challenges you want to address
  • Who benefits from your work
  • What kind of change you want to create
  • How your strengths and experiences can contribute

How to use this section

  1. Reflect on your values and motivations.
  2. Identify a challenge or need in your community.
  3. Define who you want to support.
  4. Describe the impact you want to create.
  5. Translate your purpose into concrete actions.

Take your time. There are no right or wrong answers. Your “why” may evolve as your organisation develops. Below you will find a usefull tool in finding your why: the golden circle.

The Golden Circle

The Golden Circle, developed by Simon Sinek, is a useful tool to help us understand why we do what we do. According to Sinek’s optimism company, “The Golden Circle can be used as a guide to vastly improve every aspect of your business or organization—from leadership and hiring, to product development, sales, and marketing. It even explains loyalty and how to earn more. And it all starts with WHY.”

Use the Golden Circle to:

  • Identifying purpose and mission
  • Understanding community needs
  • Measuring Social Value

Learn more : https://simonsinek.com/golden-circle/

Watch the TED talk that started it all (you can also watch it further down on this page)

Why, how and what?

Summarized: With the golden circle you start defining your “why”, before you find out how and what.

  • Why? The very reason your organization exists. A purpose, a cause of belief.
  • How? Your organization’s unique value proposition or differentiator from your competition.
  • What: The product or services your organization offers.

Watch the TED talk that started it all