A few weeks ago, I sat with a group of entrepreneurs and strategized for the year. We dreamt about our biggest goals, divided them out into quarters, and started to work backward to figure out how to achieve them.

But before we got into my favorite part (the nitty-gritty strategy, duh), my mentor Lewis Howes asked us 3 questions about who we are and what we care about. He explained that when you know why you do something, what you get in return doesn’t matter as much.

Today, I want to inspire you with these questions because they completely transformed the way I strategized for 2019.

1. What made you start your business?

When you think back to what made you pick up a camera, go to design school, write your first book or sell that first house, can you remember the drive you had? Can you feel the excitement? Remind yourself of what made you start in the first place, and this will lead you to understand your core values.

2.What is your ultimate business goal?

A follow-up question to this is: How will you know you made it? Because if you don’t know what your ultimate goals are, the ones that will take 5, 10 years to build, you won’t know when to pause. Without this clarity, you won’t know when you’ll finally be satisfied with your business and that, my friend, would be tragic.

3. What are you committed to creating?

I like to think of this question as what would it look like if you were living in your purpose every single day? What do you absolutely love doing, that you could do every single day for the next 3 decades and still be fiercely committed to create? Do that, boo, and please don’t ever stop.

4. What do people think when they think of you?

Maybe people describe you as kind, thoughtful, ambitious, or creative. Whatever the words that your best friend would describe you as: own them. Often, we know deep in our gut what makes us special, but sometimes we don’t give ourselves permission to embrace it.

In the new year, I hope you consider these questions so that you can step into your power and position your business to stand out. They will help you identify your why, what you’re committed to, and propel you into the new year with clarity and intention.

Now it’s time for me to ask YOU: What is the reason you started your business? Head over to Instagram and tell me because I would love to get to know your business better, but more importantly I want to get to know you better. I’ll see you there!