I want to give you four wonderful pillars for motivation, four main themes to underpin a healthy sense of drive and inspiration. - The first main pillar of motivation is to gain recognition from peers. When soldiers in wartime give up their lives during combat, why do they do it? Is it because of patriotism, a belief in the cause they are fighting for, or a fear of court martial if they do otherwise? Perhaps all these things play a part, but extensive research has shown that what really motivates a soldier to fight well incombat is the desire for the respect of the person who is fighting right beside him. This is much more important than medals or other forms of public recognition. This is similar to what motivates salesmen on the floor of a car dealership, students in a classroom or a team of lawyers trying to win a case. In the English Premier football league, all the players will tell you the best award that they want to receive is the acclaim of the others players and to receive the players player of the year award. Think of ways that you can develop recognition from your peers to enhance your motivation. The apply them to your life. - The second pillar of motivation is recognition from respected experts or authorities. In my own life, I love the fact that the wonderful multi-selling author in the US has helped me, guided me and become my friend professionally and personally. I desperately wanted to earn his respect. Has there been someone like that in your life? It is important to realise that a respected expert does not have to be someone who is known far and wide throughout the world. You are the one who establishes the qualifications, though very often people whom you find impressive will be equally impressive to others. Once you've met such a person, or even if you have just seen them from a distance or perhaps read an article about them, stop hesitating and politely approach them and introduce yourself. Unless you happen to catch them at a particularly difficult moment, most successful people are eager to help others and to pass on what they've learned. The great thing about establishing a relationship with a mentor is that you eventually come close to that person that you can sometimes hear them advising you when they are not actually around. Think about how you can get recognition from a respected expert or authority. You can really stretch this concept to be good parents, local teachers, councillors as well as business people; interpret this in the best way for you. - The third pillar of motivation is family. Although the approval of peers and experts may be important to your career, in your life, nothing compares to the influence of your family. Let me explain what I mean by this with an example of my own; when I had come off stage speaking at an event in Dublin last year, a man approached me and asked me for some advice on the best way to stop smoking, he knew that I was the author of The Secrets of Self-Hypnosis and wanted assistance. My immediate response was to ask him what his reasons were for wanting to stop smoking and he said the following to me: "My wife is pregnant with our first child and I want to have more after that. I want to be able to enjoy playing and having fun with my children and I want to be a healthy influence on their lives too." I spent some time talking to him about some specific techniques and strategies. I have not heard from that man, but I know that he was driven by his family and am sure of his success. Think about your wealth goals; so many of us want to be able to rpovide for our family and for them to have what they want. So think about the ways in which you your fmaily can motivate you and get that lodged into your mind. - The fourth pillar of motivation for today is something closely related to number three and that is sharing the wealth and wisdom for the good of your fellows. To illustrate this pillar, I am going to mention a story I love about Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish immigrant who founded the United States Steel Company in the early nineteen hundreds. When Carnegie died, a yellow sheet of paper was found in his desk on which he had written a note to himself when he was in his twenties. This note illustrated the main purpose of his life. It read: "I am going to spend the first half of my life accumulating money, and I am going to spend the last half of my life giving it all away." During his lifetime, Carnegie's fortune was estimated a four hundred and fifty million dollars - the equivalent to four and a half billion dollars today. In addition to building Carnegie Hall in New York City, he founded libraries in hundreds of small towns all across America and participated in dozens of other philanthropic activities as well. When we look at these found pillars of motivation, what do you really see? The thing that I immediately notice is that they all involve other people, whether they are peers, mentors, family members, or simply fellows of the human race. Ironic isn't it? To be successfully motivated you need this very internal, very unique thing called your motivation. To acquire that innermost quality and set it to work, you need to recognise other people as reasons to believe. |
