Staying True to Your Core Philosophy

wesvandinter / iStock

Most of us are familiar with mission statements that companies create for themselves. These statements—if taken seriously—are incredibly helpful in keeping a company on track and guiding the choices company decision-makers make on how to move forward or handle bumps in the road. And many of the most successful people I know have created their own personal mission statements or core philosophy.

A core philosophy or mission statement reminds us of what’s important. Why is it important to build an international company or raise millions of dollars in donations? Why is it important to make $500,000 per year or find a partner? Why is it important to write that novel or lose 50 pounds? We can achieve all of those things. But without a core philosophy guiding us toward what is important, our achievements will feel unsatisfying. We might achieve great things in one area of life yet end up destroying what’s important in other areas.

When I first started running my training company Empowerment, Inc., I operated based on a core philosophy I had developed when I was an 18-year-old managing a pizza restaurant. I learned it from my general manager. He was my mentor, and he would always push me outside my comfort zone, give me feedback on how I was doing, helping me create and structure my career in the industry. I also learned from my father, watching him work and his work ethic. Of course, I also learned some things not to do from my dad as well as from my manager.

I took everything I learned and created my own core philosophy to succeed: Integrity, doing the right thing no matter who is watching. Respect, treating others as you would want to be treated. Truthful, being 100% truthful with yourself and others. Accountability, which is simply taking responsibility. Faith, following a spiritual or higher purpose and path. Simplicity, which in the Japanese world of Zen, is doing your best and doing better than the day before. Consistency, having a routine and following it. Personal, putting your relationship and family first. Peaceful, having downtime with zero interruption.

I can summarize my philosophy with the beautiful Hawaiian word Kina`ole which simply means “Doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, for the right reason, with the right feeling, the first time.” This does not mean needing to be perfect, just doing your best.

In 1997, I began running the family business (Empowerment). By 1999, I took over running a couple of our companies in California. A year-and-a-half later, I was managing five companies. We opened a company in Australia to corner the market down there and even expanded into Europe. I was running a multinational company that had offices on three continents and one island, and I had eight trainers worldwide. We were conducting more trainings than there were weekends in the year on four continents. As soon as I had achieved that level of success, for whatever reason, I walked away from a couple of my core philosophies.

I maintained all except the last two concepts of personal and peaceful. The moment I became successful, I put the very things that motivated me and kept me driven on the back burner. I neglected doing things that allowed me to reboot my energy, my mind, and my emotions.

When I first started running the company and was one of our lead trainers, on a Saturday I’d get on my motorcycle and ride up to the north shore on Oahu and eat pizza. This didn't contribute to a healthy body, but I'd leave my phone behind and completely unplug it. I also removed all distractions when my son was with me. Ethan was very young, so sometimes I’d do homework with him. I’d spent as much alone time as I could with him and always made sure that I scheduled time to take vacations with loved ones to connect.

Somewhere along the way, I walked away from that part of my philosophy, and because of that, I lost my amazing relationship with my father. I almost alienated my son. I lost a personal relationship with an amazing woman. Those things woke me up and reminded me that I needed to get back to my philosophy. I needed to get back to connecting with what made me successful. I needed to bring back my downtime. I need to bring back opportunities to connect with myself and my loved ones, and to make sure that I put my family and my relationships ahead of other things.

As I'm writing this, I have the notepad on my iPad open to notes labeled “my personal philosophy.” I remind myself of this frequently because it's what helped me to achieve what is important to me.

Your core philosophy is whatever is most important to you. If you use it as your guide, you will not only succeed but live a life that is truly fulfilling.

Mahalo,
Dr. Matt