"It's not what you do, its why you do it." - Simon Sinek

At first view, the quote might might sound like something I scraped from a motivational poster.

You know the kind.

The san-serifed words would sit at the bottom of an image of child reaching for a book or a crew shell gliding through the water. The glossy posters wrap lunchrooms throughout the country.

However, after you watch this TEDx talk by Simon Sinek (embedded below), the quote carries much more meaning. While the video is worth its 18min run-time, Sinek's comments boil down to this:

People are driven at very basics levels of thought by values
People flock to organizations that espouse their values and beliefs
Organizations that uphold a value that moves people, can succeed

Or even shorter, It's not what a person or organization does, its why they do it that matters.

From building software to running a political campaign (think "Change"), values are what inspire people, not the "stuff" of life. While many times we start by talking about "what" we do, it might better serve us to start with "why".

To put my money where my mouth is, let me take a look at my LinkedIn profile (feel free to add me to your network).

Instead of saying:

"I am endurance runner, digital marketer and blogger. I want to inspire people to build businesses, live healthier lives and help others."

Maybe I should switch it around (and add a little value-ness) so it reads:

"I want to inspire people to test their limits. I hope to encourage others to build businesses, live healthier lives and help others. I help do this by blogging, running and working in marketing,"

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA"]