Who Before How
Often, if you want to make a change or achieve a goal or change a habit, the first thing your brain will want to focus on is HOW do we do that?
HOW do I launch my startup? Where do I find customers? How do I test ideas? How do I do a marketing campaign?
HOW do I find my next role? Should I network, or apply to job postings? What should I say during coffee chats? How do I prepare for interviews?
HOW do I become more fit? What exactly should I eat? What exercise routine should I follow? Should I hire a trainer or just find a gym buddy?
These are not bad questions to ask. And if you ask around, people will be more than happy to give you blueprints and guides and 3 step plans for success.
But the HOW is not the unlock.
Because NO “how” is forever.
If there was a single “how” formula that worked for every person, every time, whoever had figured that out would be making $100B and everyone would know their name.
The reality is that, for any pursuit, there ISN’T a single “how” that works in every situation, for every person, for ever and ever.
Achieving any pursuit is NOT a matter of finding the perfect “how” upfront and then just disciplining and will-powering your way through it forever.
It’s a matter of continually figuring out the “how,” again and again, over time, as circumstances shift.
Of re-finding your balance and troubleshooting and adjusting and making little tweaks forever.
Why? Because everything is always changing. The world changes. Technology changes. Customers change. Companies change.
And YOU change. You’re tired one day. You’re energized the next. One day you’re full of confidence. The next, one conversation sours your mood for a week.
When the world is always changing and YOU are always changing, of course the “how” has to change as well.
So let me give you better questions to ask.
WHO is the person you will be at the end of this journey?
WHO do you want to be?
And HOW does that person act right here, right now, when facing THIS current situation?
These questions will help you reorient to the identity and values and way of being that are your true north star in this pursuit…
…and then use those to generate the best “how” for this moment.
This is why I say—
Who before How.
Because the Who creates the How.
Who do you want to be as a startup founder?
An icon? An industry disruptor? A genius?
How does that person…
Find customers? Test ideas? Do a marketing campaign?
Who do you want to be in your career?
A leader? A head of product? A key player in the room?
How does that person…
Network? Apply to jobs? Prep for interviews?
Who do you want to be in your health and fitness?
Someone who’s fit and healthy well into their 90s? One of those magic people that eats whatever they want and still looks great?
How does that person…
Prepare meals? Exercise? Plan their day?
It’s okay if you don’t yet know the answers to these questions.
Because this is exactly what I help people figure out.
Give yourself the gift a clear, lightweight compass that you can use again and again to make decisions, big and small 🧭
That’s what knowing your Who does for you.
You can come get a quick booster shot of coaching to get you started on figuring out your Who through free anonymized public coaching.
Or let’s talk about working together in my one-on-one coaching program so you can do some reps and experiments figuring out your Who and then establishing that identity firmly in your every area of your life.
What my clients have to say…
“I realized that I wasn't alone in a lot of my situations. In fact, what I was going through was very common.
And that there were tools and I could use to get out of this, and that I wasn’t the first person in the world to go through and I’m not going to be the last.
And that Pooja has seen this before and that she is very well equipped and familiar with how to troubleshoot these things. That helped so much.”
—Client | VP at Major Financial Institution
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