Building Your Forever Business – Step 2: Core Values
In Step 1, we looked at your current state and why it’s important to not start your journey building your forever business until you have a starting point to understand who you are now and where you want to be. Starting a business is about your personal growth so you need to measure how far you have come along the happy path, this ensures your achievements are measurable as we progress to your desired outcome.
For those just joining us at this point, you can continue and learn about core values, but it’s worth starting at step 1, My Current State, to give you better context.
Let’s get started. In our Happy Path Flight Plan illustration, we are touching on Core Values, in orange and bold below.
Your core values are the principles that define who you are. They are what’s most important to you and what you stand for as a person. Our core values help us make decisions, determine right from wrong, and give purpose to our lives. Core values help to define your purpose.
Core Values are the foundation of your purpose. Your code of ethics. This is why we cover this topic before we cover Purpose. Values help define the culture of the business you are going to build. Forming one of the foundations of your forever business.
Instead of helping us decide the right course of action, many people focus on money, fame, and image when making decisions. This leads them to ignore their core values and do things they later regret.
Discovering your core values will not only help keep you on track but also prevent regrets in the future.
Why Finding Your Core Values Is Important
Your core values are the foundation of who you are as a person, and they shape every aspect of your life. If you don’t know what your core values are, or if you don’t act in accordance with them, it’ll be difficult to find happiness and purpose in life.
It’s important to know what your core values are so you can live a more fulfilling life. A person living by their core values is more likely to be happy and satisfied with their life, as they are living authentically and what they believe in.
By ignoring your core values, you could be missing out on opportunities and not achieving your full potential. You may find it difficult to make decisions, or you may make decisions based on what you think you should do rather than what you truly desire. You may also be more likely to experience negative emotions, such as anxiety and guilt.
How to Find Your Core Values
The best way to find your core values is to reflect on different moments in your life. Be open to new experiences that challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone. These experiences will help you discover your core values and give meaning to your life.
There are various questions you can ask yourself to help identify your core values.
- What is important to you?
- What do you value?
- What do you want in life?
- If you were to die tomorrow, what would matter to you at the end of your life?
Questions like these can help you uncover your core values and give meaning to your life. But remember to be open and flexible; your core values can change over time as you experience new things in life.
We will cover the exact steps you need to take to find your core values in a second.
Core Values help to define your Purpose
While values are important to everyone, they are even more critical for people who are driven by purpose. If you have a core value of service, you will likely have a purpose in life that focuses on helping others.
Discovering your core values can help you find your life’s purpose. Your purpose drives one of the reasons for starting a business that brings purpose to life.
A core value of integrity might lead you to a life of honesty and respect for others. You can use your core values to guide you when making decisions and give you a better understanding of who you are.
Finding your core values will help you to discover your strengths and abilities. You can use your core values to decide what to do in life, such as what career path to choose or what business you start.
Knowing your core values will also allow you to better decide who you want to be as a person. It is easier to make decisions when you know what is most important to you. Your core values can even help you to find a partner and build better relationships.
What If You Don’t Know What Your Core Values Are?
If you’ve tried to discover your core values and you don’t know what they are, don’t worry. Many people don’t have a clear understanding of their core values.
You are likely living without your core values, which may be causing you stress and anxiety. This may also prevent you from making decisions and could impact your ability to create meaningful relationships. If you don’t know what your core values are, you may want to consider this method to help you discover them.
To define your Purpose, you first need to define your Core Values. This is done by answering questions about yourself that must be either typed or hand write into a document called the ‘My 3 Core Values’ workbook. This can be downloaded as part of the pack below.
The instructions to complete this document are:
Firstly, reflect and introspect about what your top 3 core values are. Refer to the list of values provided for guidance in the downloadable pack.
Second, write your Core Values in order of priority in the orange spaces below.
Third, write a short punchy personal statement for each, in blue sections, defining what this value means to you. Be creative and be original as they must reflect you.
Fourth, answer the 2 questions that reflect on the following rhetorical question, “Am I actually living like the type of person I claim to be?”
Core values and principles define your day-to-day actions and motives, in this task identify any small, medium and big actions that you do that builds the credibility that you are living by what you preach. And how can you better this over the next year.
In a years’ time you will need to review these core values to evaluate how well you did against each of them. Journalling throughout the year helps you stay your course and reinforces these values. Review your core values after one year to see if any have changed and need replacing. Reassess each of these questions for each value.
An example statement for the core value honesty is, “Honesty means doing the right thing when no one is looking.”
How are Values different to Principles
Principles define how you live by your Core Values and set the limits on how you go about realizing your Values. Principles are your guidelines that are objective, fixed, and should be applied to every decision you make. They offer guidance that ensure decisions are the right ones by being your moral compass.
Principles are action orientated and external in nature while our Values are internal and subjective, and they may change over time.
An example of a principle is The Golden Rule – Treat other people the way you would like to be treated.
If your core value is empathy, then a good principle could be an empathic listener (to listen keenly with the intent to understand their situation that improves mutual understanding and trust). Apply this technique when answering the guiding principle question above for each value.
How to Live by Your Core Values
Now that you know what your core values are, you need to consistently live by them. It is easier to follow your core values when you understand what they are. You can use your core values as a guide to make decisions in life and give them importance when facing challenges.
Your core values will help you create a better life, lead a happier and more fulfilling existence, and prevent regrets. You can use your core values to create your own personal mission statement.
It is helpful to write down your core values on a something that can be hung-up somewhere you frequent. We use The Foundation Clouds template, below that is completed after each section is covered in these blogs. So once the ‘My 3 Core Values’ workbook is completed fill in your core values ‘The Foundation Clouds’.
Journalling is also effective when the core values are referred to frequently as this embeds them into your subconscious mind. We will discuss journalling in a later step.
Warning: Don’t Confuse Core Values with Goals
Your core values are the principles you live by, whereas goals are specific actions you need to take to achieve what is important to you. For example, a core value of respect may lead you to a goal of having a healthy relationship with your partner.
Your core values are a part of who you are and how you make decisions. Goals, on the other hand, are specific tasks or events you must achieve to live a certain way. You may want to build a successful business, for example, but that doesn’t mean you must have a positive and respectful relationship with your partner.
Core values and goals are not mutually exclusive. They can be similar and overlap, especially if you are trying to achieve something that is important to you. You can use your core values to help you set goals and create a better vision for your life.
Bottom line
Core values can be the tie that binds your life together. When you understand what they are, how they relate to you, and how they can be applied in your life, you can create a meaningful existence that is full of joy and excitement. You can be a happier and more fulfilled person when you know what your core values are and how to apply them in your life.