TED Lecture - Start with WHY

  I have been known  in the evening to surf the internet. I love my work shop but I am also a information junkie, I'll watch a documentary on anything. One thing I go looking for are TED lectures-ideas worth spreading.

  Last evening I watched a a TED lecture that talked about business models and how to make your business successful.  

  My shop is not really a business and it is pretty much as successful as I want it to be but...the idea of Why being the starting place for your actions I think works in more than just business.

Start with WHY

  I think that many organizations not just businesses make the mistake of not thinking about 'why' and so suffer in the long run.  In my shop I make mostly projects for friends, family and myself, that is why I have a shop, and why I make things that could be purchased more cheaply at a Box Store. However I also make cutting boards and wooden toys that I sell at a local craft store, and sometimes making a bit of money obscures the real reason for my having a shop.

  It took me several years to arrive at a clear idea of 'why' I have a shop and I need to remind myself of that 'why' sometimes. My shop connects me with a family history of wood workers, boat builders and carpenters, not cabinet makers or specialised craftsmen. when I started out making stuff I was a wood butcher, now I am a carpenter. Since I grew up around saw dust it is how I express myself, and how I find pleasure. It really isn't about the money.  That is the 'why', everything else just follows on from that.

  Why do you have a work shop? Is it for the money, or is the money a happy by product?