Many of today’s most successful serving entrepreneurs focus on how they can improve the world. They work to expand their influence by effectively using the different media to grow their businesses faster.

It would be easy to say they are masters of marketing communications.  However, this is only part of the story.

The missing piece of why serving entrepreneurs continue to grow and prosper and while other entrepreneurs fail to grow comes down to several intangibles that may not be so easy to see unless you look for them. Many times it’s lost when looking at financial statements and sales revenue numbers. What is it?

I believe that successful serving entrepreneurs know more about themselves. Knowing who they are allows them to connect on a much deeper level than other people who are building organizations.  Here are five things serving entrepreneurs must know about themselves.  Knowing this energizes them. It makes them virtually unstoppable. These five questions help you understand yourself and your motivations on a much deeper level.

The first question for serving entrepreneurs is “What makes you get out of bed in the morning?” Simple question, but what’s your answer? Has it changed over time? Do you still have the passion you need to get out of bed every day?

Another way to ask this is “What keeps you from leaping out of bed in morning?” Are you tired and beat down? Has the government or employees made taken the joy out of the work you’re doing?

The second question for serving entrepreneurs is “Who is the most important person in your world?” Another simple sounding question, isn’t it? So think about your answer. Has it changed? When was the last time you answered this question easily?  Have you ever answer this question easily? Though it’s hard for many people to say, one of the things I find with purpose driven entrepreneurs is the most person in the world is them.

Not exactly what you expected me to say, is it? I’m a serving leader, I serve others. I need to focus on their needs first. They will take care of me. Bad news, you’re waiting for a train that may never arrive. Empowered people take charge of their lives.

Many people answer their spouse or lover, their children or grandchildren, or some third party that is outside their influence. I’d suggest that if you take care of yourself first, other people benefit. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years, and it’s taken me a long time to come to this conclusion. You should put yourself first because it’s the only person you have complete influence over.

The third question for serving entrepreneurs is “What is most important to you in this world?” Now here’s where we start to see how great entrepreneurs begin separate themselves from the pack. Success comes to the person who is certain about what is most important to them. In my case, I would say my clients. The more I focus on them, the more opportunities that come along. These new opportunities bring their own benefits, including new people and friendships to keep my life interesting.

Focusing on clients and partners has many advantages. It provides you significant opportunities to grow and expand what you know about the world. By clearly knowing what’s important to you, you are able to better understand what you want to do. It allows you to say no faster and invest more time in the things you want to do and accomplish. It helps you to decide what to say yes to.

The fourth question for serving entrepreneurs is “What do you love about your life?” When answering this question, it is important to understand what you are passionate about.  Think about the things you really, really love about your life. Successful serving entrepreneurs are very grateful for everything they have in life. Ask yourself, are you spending time doing the things you love?

The final question for serving entrepreneurs is “What do you want to leave behind for your legacy?” Another way of asking this might be, “What do you want to achieve with your life?” No one lives forever. How do you want to be remembered?

Ask this question of a successful serving entrepreneur and they become very animated. They start to share with you what they really want to do and why it’s important to the world. This single question is capable of changing a person immediately.

I’ve watched 90 year old men and women become as energized and enthusiastic as teenagers when answering this question. The more they think about it, the more empowered they become. Try it out with the important people in your life. I think you might be surprised by the answers you get. They might even inspire you to your own greater possibilities.

To do this, serving entrepreneurs need to be high energy and able to inspire others. This Friday we begin helping you by increasing your health and vitality. See you here Friday!