I kind of wish I could have got a hold of him.

Grabbed him by the shoulders, looked him in the eye, and asked: “When did your WHY stop keeping you focused and start making you chase every shiny distraction?”

[And when I say “why”, I mean his purpose, his cause—the reason his organisation exists in the first place.]

Because that’s what I was watching in real time.

He’s a friend of mine. A wonderful guy, with a rock-solid call of God on his life – his “why” – and an utterly unique “what” and “how”.

But he was disappearing down every new rabbit hole that felt like another perfect expression of the mission.

While the two or three projects that were actually the clearest, most fruitful expressions of that “why”…?

Neglected. Half-baked. Bleeding momentum.

I’ve done it. You’ve probably done it.

We fall in love with the feeling of alignment more than the fruit of focus.

The “why” stops being the filter and becomes the justification.

And you only need to look to Jesus (of course) to know that focus matters. Luke 9:51 tells us that Jesus “resolutely set His face toward Jerusalem” when it was time to finish the assignment He’d been given (the will of His Father in Heaven).

Another translation puts it this way: “He turned toward Jerusalem and was sure that nothing would stop Him from going.” (NLV)

The Seduction

Simon Sinek’s golden circle was meant to be a tool to help protect us from being “just another” anything. The Start With Why principle is supposed to keep the main thing the main thing. The "how" and the "what" come into focus when driven by a clear "why".

We’re not supposed to stay in the “why”.

But when every shiny idea can be reverse-engineered to fit our “why”, the golden circle stops protecting us and starts suffocating us.

Suddenly, we’re not saying “no” to good ideas.

We’re saying yes to 50 of them and calling it obedience—forgetting that Jesus Himself said no to entire crowds so He could stay on mission (Mark 1:35–38).

Three Questions That Hurt (In The Best Way)

Ask yourself out loud:

1. If someone else had to step into my role tomorrow with no emotional attachment to my work, which current projects would they kill off first — and would I secretly be relieved?
2. Which of these expressions of my “why” is actually making money, gathering momentum and impacting people right now? Stewardship includes cash flow, not just goosebumps. Jesus taught us to count the cost before we build (Luke 14:28–30).
3. Am I chasing this new thing because it’s truly strategic, because it’s what God told me to do, or because I’m bored with the grind on the thing I already know God wants me to finish? Finishing matters. Read John 17:4 if you’re not convinced.

If you can’t answer those in ten seconds with brutal clarity, your “why” is no longer leading you. It’s gone from being your North Star to your favourite excuse.

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The Hard Medicine

Here’s the sentence I want every leader to tattoo somewhere painful:

Your “why” deserves your focus more than it deserves your enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm is a dopamine hit, but it scatters.

Focus compounds.

The apostle Paul said it this way: “I press on toward the goal…” (Philippians 3:13,14).

Jesus had a “why” that He literally died for.

He still said no to 99% of the legitimate human needs walking past Him every day. For every person He healed, for every demon He cast out… how many people “missed out” because of His absolute focus on why He was sent to live among us.

All so He could say a very blunt yes to the three-year sprint that truly changed everything.

The Gauntlet

I think it’s time we killed some sacred cows, and it starts with three questions. Run every new idea, every exciting initiative, every supposed opportunity, every suggestion you’ve been given through the following filter:

• Does it replace or complement something we’re already doing, or just add to the pile?
• Can we fund it without starving the current engines (that actually make money, have momentum, transform lives)? Remember, faithfulness with what we’ve been entrusted includes stewarding the resources we’ve been given (1 Corinthians 4:2).
• In 12 months, will this be the most evident proof we were ever here — or just another half-built monument to our passion and enthusiasm?

If it doesn’t pass, kill it and move on – and you don’t have to be kind about it. Because reckless expansion is not Kingdom stewardship (Proverbs 21:5).

A Closing Thought

I will defend the “why” to my last breath.

Proverbs 29:18a says, “Where there is no vision [no prophetic revelation from God], the people cast off restraint.”

In other words, without God’s revealed direction, we lose discipline and focus.

Every one of us must have something that gives voice to God’s call on our lives. But it takes discipline and focus to move from the “why” of God’s call to the “how” and the “what”.

Too many good men and women let their “why” become the very thing that shipwrecks their calling — because they forgot their God-given “why” never gave them permission to be reckless or distracted by every bright light.

So, here’s to the rare, terrifying courage it takes to protect your “why” by saying no to almost everything that feels like it belongs.

Even when it sparkles.

Especially when it sparkles.