36 Self-Motivation and Zest for Life
b"Entrepreneurial Journey with Thomas O'Grady\\n\\nMy topic today is SELF-MOTIVATION:\\xa0 How do you GET it, BUILD it, and REPEAT it over and over again?\\n\\nThink about people you know who are filled with energy and zest for life.\\xa0 These are the people who seem to be up and going at dawn.\\xa0 Then think about those who are on the other end of that spectrum.\\xa0 We all know people who fit both descriptions, but, the truth is that most people are probably somewhere in between.\\n\\nSelf-motivation is not some outside force that motivates you, nor is it \\u201cpassion.\\u201d\\xa0 Remember from Episode 25 what I said about passion.\\xa0 \\u201cPassion sucks!\\xa0 And it can pull the life right out of you!\\u201d\\xa0 You CAN develop a passion for what you do, and I\\u2019ve seen it happen in many different occupations.\\xa0 However, even people who are THE MOST PASSIONATE have some tasks that they DON\\u2019T love or feel passionate about or even like.\\n\\nIf you are in business or are going into business, you need to find that motivation to get PAST all those things that you don\\u2019t like to do.\\n\\nLet me illustrate it this way:\\xa0 A guy may decide to open a restaurant because he pictures himself welcoming in his friends, and he loves to cook.\\xa0 He may quickly find out that he can\\u2019t do what he WANTS to do because of all the other things he MUST do.\\xa0 These tasks can\\u2019t\\u2014or won\\u2019t-- be done by anyone else and they take up most of his time.\\n\\nWhat else can we say about SELF-MOTIVATION?\\n\\n\\tYou build self-motivation through self-confidence.\\n\\tOver time, you gain self-motivation to get each task done and then the next one.\\n\\tYou have to learn skills to motivate others and motivate yourself.\\n\\nSelf-motivation changes with age.\\xa0 When people are young, they are TOLD what to do, what is needed, and what is expected.\\xa0 Parents and teachers give permission, rewards, punishments, and guidelines.\\xa0 Most people don\\u2019t develop much self-motivation until 18-20 years of age when they learn responsibility at entry-level jobs.\\xa0 These experiences are important to help us learn what we should and shouldn\\u2019t do.\\xa0 Later on, people have to define their own goals, passion, and steps to take.\\n\\nDo you want to develop more confidence and self-motivation?\\xa0 You have to have successes.\\xa0 The best way to do this is to break down what you do into multiple small bits and pieces.\\xa0 Over time, you build more successes, more confidence, and more self-motivation.\\n\\nMy analogy to explain this concept involves my neighbors, my lawn, and my yard work habits.\\xa0 My neighbors are constantly amazed at how wonderful my lawn looks, but I spend almost no time maintaining it!\\xa0 I break the \\u201cbig job\\u201d down into small pieces, none of which takes more than 15-30 minutes at a time.\\xa0 I have a bunch of small, satisfying tasks that keep my lawn looking great:\\xa0 mow the front yard, mow the back yard, do spot-weeding, trim, put down lime/fertilizer, etc.\\xa0 If I don\\u2019t have much time, then I meet my expectations by accomplishing small tasks.\\xa0 Some of my neighbors have terrible lawns, simply because they look at it as a HUGE job, and they never get around to it.\\xa0 On the other hand, my method gives me a great lawn with all tasks accomplished, and I have a great reward for each small task along the way.\\n\\nI used the same SELF-MOTIVATING strategy in college: breaking large tasks into small pieces of study, breaks, etc.\\xa0 Each task is a small goal that helps build self-confidence.\\xa0 For example, writing a book or a dissertation is a HUGE task.\\xa0 It is impossible to accomplish unless you break the job into little pieces, and each piece is a success!\\xa0 Think of each task as a confidence-booster, a pat on the back, and motivation to move on to the next task!\\n\\n\\xa0\\u201cThe process becomes a tool for increasing our own ability to truly self-motivate, not by pushing ourselves as much as being attracted to what we can do next and what we are going to do next.\\u201d\\n\\n\\u201cAs we overcome mild challenges, our satisfaction develops, and we recognize our own achievements.\\u201d"