Motivation, Ambition, Goals

Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation includes wanting a desired object, goal, a state of being, or an ideal. 

Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It's the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day. It's the crucial element in setting and attaining goals—research shows you can influence your own levels of incentive and self-control. The idea is to figure out what you want, power through the pain period, and start being who you want to be and were born to be.

If you took off from work for a week – what would you spend time doing instead…..?

Ask yourself: if I had to choose between anything, what activity is most appealing to me? 

Close your eyes and envision a life in which you are doing exactly what you desire most to do.  Is there an image that feels best of the ones you envision?

Sitting alone for too long with an idea is more likely to breed self-doubt than spark an action plan. Before your goal succumbs to inertia, do a phone call or have an idea party with some friends.  Gather people together at an Idea Party where the goal is making your dream a reality. You’ll see when groups are formed something amazing happens: A friend of a friend has a contact who can help, someone’s neighbor knows a workaround for what’s holding you up – and suddenly you’re out of inertia and into solution, which creates action.

“Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you.… This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.” – Rumi, from “A Voice Through The Door” 

To dream a big dream, create the space for it.

Designate a room or a space in your home as the place for your dream or goal.  It will give you a place to think and work without distraction and also demonstrate a personal commitment to the process.

Set up a writing area in the den. Create your photo studio in the basement. If you don't need or have an entire room then hang a cork board in a room to serve as an altar to your goal. Hang photos of what you want to create on the board; anytime you have a win – large or small hang it on the board as well. Start building on it so you constantly see the movement you’re making and the reality of the goal start setting in.

Whatever your goal may be, make it real and give your dream the space it deserves.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." – Adidas

Motivation is an emotion that allows you to have the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of whether you feel like it or not. One of the main reasons people fail to achieve their goals is because of inaction. It's easy to say or think about what you are going to do but actually doing what you say takes commitment. It's not that people have a hard time taking action one time. It's being able to consistently take action that is the challenge for most people.

Also it’s imperative to keep going when you feel discouraged. Brush yourself off and get back up and start moving again.

Successful people have inner drive. Behavioral scientists have found that a strong desire for excellence is the most telling predictor of significant achievement.  In other words, the success of our efforts depends less on the efforts themselves than on our motives. The most successful companies, like the most successful men and women, have achieved their greatness out of a desire to express what they felt had to be expressed.

“What kind of man would live a life without daring? Is life so sweet that we should criticize men that seek adventure? Is there a better way to die?”
--Charles Augustus Lindbergh

Remember: Envision yourself doing what you desire to do. Throw an Idea Party and share your dreams so people can pitch in with concrete offerings to get each other ahead. Designate a room or wall in your home as an altar to your goal. Be consistent in taking action and if you feel discouraged take a deep breath, acknowledge yourself for what you have achieved and then start moving again.  Give life to the desire you feel to express that which you feel you must express in this life.