Simon Sinek distinguishes a personal 'why', the fixed origin story formed in youth that drives you, from a 'just cause', a collective vision of a better world people pursue together. The Declaration of Independence ideals are a just cause that sparked a social movement.
Chapters
Every individual has a why, but so does every organization. And it's fundamentally an origin story. That's basically what it is. Like you and I are products of our upbringing. Who we are, literally who we are, is made up of all the experiences we had when we were kids. And your why is fully formed probably by your mid to late teens. You are who you are, and the rest of your life offers you opportunities to live in balance with that. And when you're operating at your natural best, it feels like flow. Everything feels easy. Difficult tasks feel enjoyable, even if they're stressful. And if you're out of flow, even. I've done this thing a hundred times. I don't know why it's not working. It's because. The why is somehow missing. So a why is objective, the process of uncovering a why. And I call it uncovering, discovering is objective. You only have one why, and it never changes your whole life. You are who you are. Just cause is subject. It is an idealized vision of the world that you imagine that you direct your life and your career to help build, to advance towards. And because it is an ideal, you will never get there. So one of my favorite examples of a just cause is, was written down for us in our Declaration of Independence. All men are equal, endowed with unalienable rights, amongst which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This idea of all people being equal. Now our nation is an experiment that is trying to get towards there. And we see progress. Women's suffrage, civil rights, gay rights, we see progress. Sometimes we fall back, sometimes we fall forwards. Each of those imperfect in their own right. And you can see we will probably never get there. But my goodness, we will die trying. That is the point. And we have metrics to make us feel like we're making progress. And there are finite games within that infinite game. So a just cause is simply the vision you have. Those who believe in your cause will join you in common cause and march towards it. And that cause will become their own. And that's when you have a social movement.
