Do you know any self-made successful person who is not also self-motivated?
I doubt you do! Reaching success through your own efforts requires a great deal of self-motivation, this is no surprise. People that take control of their destiny have to somehow create this energy we call motivation continuously. On the other hand, people who are incapable of generating their own fuel, rely on others to get them going. This second group rarely reaches any lasting success.
If you want to be successful, the first step is to find out the key to self-motivation. The ability to light up the flame that sustains the energy of motivation burning and fueling your body and mind at will through the challenges and shortcomings along the way is what is going to make all the difference.
When I’m talking about success, I’m not talking specifics. Maybe success means something different to you than it does to me. It’s ok. We all agree, however, that success represents a ‘place’ in life. A successful person is someone who overcame the challenges to live a comfortable and prosperous life. To get to that ‘place’ in the world that we live in, one usually needs financial stability, so let’s agree that whatever specifics you want out of live, making it financially is what will put a ‘successful’ stamp on your face.
I make this distinction because some people (hippies?) insist on labeling success as some state of internal bliss and in this case, you can be successful even if you’re broke. That is something else. Inner peace is important, but it’s not the success we’re talking about here. The fact is, if you live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to pay your bills, no matter how successful you think you are in “other” areas, you are not a successful person in the world that we live in.
My theory is that the ability to keep the motivation flame bright relies heavily on a sense of life purpose, a vision or a great goal above the mundane tasks that surround our daily lives.
Extremely successful people have great visions that keep their juices flowing. They don’t just do things because they’re going to get paycheck as a result of that work and then they’re going to put that money in the bank and get a new plasma TV. They have greater interests than mundane things, even though they might appreciate those things too!
Motivation comes from motive. You need to have a motive to do the things you do. This motive needs to be big and you must want it really bad. When we motivated people, we usually say they are ‘ambitious’, they ‘know what they want’. Both concepts revolve around wanting something specific really bad. If you don’t want anything, if your will is weak or if you don’t know exactly what is it that you really want out of life, motivation is going to be hard. Not having anything ‘in the future’ to cling on, the motivation flame cannot light up.
Now, without this energy getting through the challenges of daily life can be a real chore. Trying to find motivation on external sources like books, phrases and seminars can help only to a certain extent: you can borrow someone else’s energy for a short time, but soon enough you’re going to go back to your old self and your own lack of motive is going to become evident again.
So the solution is: find your motives! Find something that you want for your life that at the same time will get you to that place of financial comfort you need to have a stable and prosperous life. I know it’s harder than I make it look, but this is the key.
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