I attend an interesting group that meets every-other Tuesday morning to spend an hour talking about topics that affect business, growth, investment, and community. It is always thought-provoking and this Tuesday was no exception. We did an exercise looking back and forward that generated insight into why we entrepreneurs do what we do.

What I realized for myself was that I was focused on what I had done; the tasks, the things that changed and not what I had become. It took the conversations and sharing to see that aspect of what I had accomplished to bring forward and understand the full impact of what a successful year 2013 had been for me and what it meant for 2014. Chad Ballantyne, the facilitator and host of this meeting had coined this as “The DO-BE Balance”, referring to the balance between what we DO and what we become or BE that gives our results.

There was one question (“What did I create this year?”) that I could not easily break apart in to the ‘doing’ and the ‘being’, so I’m going to break it apart for you. I found I could only answer with what I had done and not with what I had become, so I want to give you three questions to start you looking at the path you are on.

If you want to try out the exercise created by Chad then you will find a link to those questions at the bottom of this article.

1. What Did You DO…

What did you do differently last year that created something new and amazing in your business?

Focus on what you have done or produced in 2013. I had created a full program and a year of marketing. I created new 2-day events that opened the stage for other speakers. I created high-end coaching and VIP day programs that accelerated people’s focus and abilities to grow their businesses. It was very exciting and it set me on a path to be able to create full programs, products and marketing calendars for my next year as well as for my clients.

2. What Did You Become…

What changes do you recognize about yourself that you purposefully sought and found?

Interestingly I had forgotten that at the beginning of the year 2013 I was still asking the question, ‘What is my purpose?’  It was not even a year ago I had concretely identified the answer to this question that I had been asking for more than 40 years. I actually had to explore some aspects of my personality before I got to the answers and then have someone else point it out for me to recognize it.

In 2013 I realized my soul (not sole) purpose was to help others follow their passion. I had to give myself permission to be more vulnerable, to admit my shortcomings, to identify my blocks, to shed my professional-always facade, and to take action on what  I really loved to do. It was a painful, time consuming, and costly journey that took the concentrated effort of almost 10 months and the help of a great coach, a mentor, two accountability partners, other peers, and specifically a life purpose coach to hand me the decoded path. It was worth everything I gave to get here because now I can pay it forward and also make money at what I love to do.

3. What Did You Give…

What did you give to find out who you became?

As I mentioned above, ‘being’ is often more costly than ‘doing’. ‘Doing’ can help us feel accomplished and valuable but ‘being’ gives you a credibility to stand on any path and confidently walk in your purpose.

Do you want to do all the work? Here are Chad’s List of Questions.