I have to warn you up front, I was watching Larry Winget videos on YouTube prior to writing this post. Here goes.

I recently read a tweet that said something like:

"If you are working for someone you are fulfilling their dreams and not yours."

This is the classic I made it doing X, if you do X just like me you will succeed too expert advice that is being oversold.

What a load of crap. If you are working for someone and are not accomplishing any of your goals or moving forward towards them in some way "it your own damn fault". Further, just because someone else makes money doing something does not mean copying them will make you similar amounts of money or even lead to happiness.

It likely won't work for you because you are not them. You need to find your own path.

You don't need to do X. 

You Need to Align Your Why!

Yes, all you need to do is align your why with the people you are working with. 

Simple stuff really.

First you need to know what motivates you. What do you believe in? What are your real goals? Not the path, but the actual destination.

If your goal is to win the Grey Cup or Superbowl good luck doing that by yourself. You will need a team. You will need to work for and with coaches and a general manager. Not willing to do this? Then winning the championship is not really your goal.

Once you know your why (purpose) you can find the right team.

The one that shares your why. Or the one that helps get you closer longer-term. 

You may need to play football in high school and college first. You may need to do well in school to get the scholarship to get into college. As Larry said at the Go-Giver Retreat last April, you do the stuff you don't like doing so you can do the stuff you want to do.

Aligning your goals with a team means everyone wins.

Great Teams Accomplish Big Dreams

Some of the biggest accomplishments in the world happen when people align their why.

It is never just one person at the top dictating the big plan and a bunch of robots or zombies mindlessly doing the work. Certainly not one where people mindlessly mimic others or just show up to earn a pay cheque. 

To accomplish great things you need a great team. Period.

One with their why aligned (at least for today). One where people can contribute the best their talents have to offer. Where everyone is achieving at their full potential.

One with a strong culture that supports the why.

Even if you are at the top you must serve (lead) your team so the team can achieve their why.

Because big dreams are most often accomplished by great teams.