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Why are they important?

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7. Think back: Have your goals changed in the last 10 years? If yes, why?

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CHAPTER 3.

MOTIVATION.

Motivating yourself & others every day

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I believe in two premises: (i) most people are good people, but can do better; and (ii) most people already know what to do, so why aren't they doing it?

What is missing is the spark--motivation. Some self help books adopt the approach of teaching what to do; we take a different approach. We ask, "Why don't you do it?" If you ask people on the street what should be done, they will give you all the correct answers.

But ask them whether they are doing it and the answer will be no. What is lacking is motivation. The greatest motivation comes from a person's belief system. That means he needs to believe in what he does and accept responsibility. That is where motivation becomes important. When people accept responsibility for their behavior and actions, their att.i.tude toward life becomes positive. They become more productive, personally and professionally. Their relationships improve both at home and at work. Life becomes more meaningful and fulfilled.

After a person's basic physical needs are met, emotional needs become a bigger motivator. Every behavior comes out of the "pain or gain" principle. If the gain is greater than the pain, that is the motivator. If the pain is greater than the gain, then that is a deterrent.

Gains can be tangible, such as: monetary rewards, vacations, and gifts. They can be intangible, such as: recognition, appreciation, sense of achievement, promotion, growth, responsibility, sense of fulfillment, self worth, accomplishment, and belief.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION?.

I run seminars internationally and people often ask me if I can motivate others. My answer is no, I cannot. People motivate themselves. What I can do, however, is inspire them to motivate themselves. We can create a conducive environment which can be motivating. In order to inspire people to motivate themselves, we need to understand their needs and wants. There is a direct correlation between motivation and productivity.

People who do just enough to get by so they don't get fired will never be valuable to any organization.

66*Inspiration is changing thinking; motivation is changing action.

Motivation is like fire unless you keep adding fuel to it, it dies. Just like exercise and food don't last long, neither does motivation. However, if the source of motivation is belief in inner values, it becomes long--lasting.

What is the greatest motivator? Is it money? Recognition? Improvement in our quality of life? Acceptance by those we love? All these can be motivating forces.

Experience has shown that people will do a lot for money, more for a good leader, and do most for a belief. We see this happening every day all over the world. People will die for a belief. My objective is to share the fact that when we believe that we are responsible for our lives and our behavior, our outlook toward life changes for the better.

LET'S REDEFINE MOTIVATION.

The next logical question is, what is motivation? Motivation is something that encourages action or feeling. To motivate means to encourage and inspire. Motivation can also mean to turn on or ignite the feeling or action.

Motivation is powerful. It can persuade, convince and propel you into action. In other words, motivation can be defined as motive for action. It is a force that can literally change your life.

Why do we need to get motivated?

Motivation is the driving force in our lives. It comes from a desire to succeed. Without success there is little pride in life; no enjoyment or excitement at work and at home. Often life becomes like a lopsided wheel giving a b.u.mpy ride.

The greatest enemy of motivation is complacence. Complacence leads to frustration, and when people are frustrated they give up because they cannot identify what is important.

MOTIVATION--HOW DOES IT WORK?.

Once you understand the principle that motivates the motivator, you can proceed to achieve your goal and can motivate others too.

Your internal motivation is your drive and att.i.tude. It is contagious. Att.i.tude is the key to getting the response you want from others. How does a person stay motivated and focused? One important tool that has been used by athletes for a long time is called auto- suggestion. Auto suggestions are positive statements made in the present tense and repeated regularly. In other words it is positive self-talk.

Motivation is cla.s.sified into two types: external and internal.

EXTERNAL MOTIVATION.

External motivation comes from outside, such as money, societal approval, fame or fear.

Examples of external motivation are fear of getting spanked by parents and fear of getting fired at work.

A company wanted to set up a pension plan. In order for the plan to be installed, it needed 100% partic.i.p.ation. Everyone signed up except John. The plan made sense and was in the best interest of everyone. John not signing was the only obstacle. John's supervisor and other co-workers had tried to persuade him without success.

The owner of the company called John into his office and said, "John, here is a pen and these are the papers for you to sign to enroll into the pension plan. If you don't enroll, you are fired this minute." John signed right away. The owner asked John why he hadn't signed earlier. John replied, "No one explained the plan quite as clearly as you did."

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Fear Motivation

The advantages of fear motivation are:

It gets the job done quickly.

It is instantaneous.

It prevents loss, by meeting deadlines.

In the short run the person's performance may improve.

Performance Goes Up

It is not uncommon to see the prey outsmarting the predator, because one is running for its food and the other for its life.

We learn from history that the pyramids were built by slaves. They had to be constantly watched and reprimanded for nonperformance. The disadvantages of fear motivation are:

It is external, which means the motivation is there while the motivator is there. When the motivator goes, the motivation also goes.

It causes stress. Performance is limited to compliance.

In the long run, performance goes down. It destroys creativity.

They get used to the stick and then need a bigger stick.

A customer asked an employee, "When did you start working here?" He replied, "Ever since they threatened to fire me."

Incentive Motivation

External motivation can also take the form of incentives, bonuses, commission, recognition, etc.

What are the advantages of incentive motivation? The major advantage is that it can work very well as long as the incentive is strong enough. Think of a donkey with a carrot dangling in front and with a cart behind. Incentive motivation will only work if the donkey is hungry enough, the carrot is sweet enough and the load is light enough. From time to time, you have to let the donkey take a bite of the carrot; otherwise it is going to get discouraged. After the donkey takes a bite, its stomach is full, and you need to wait for the donkey to get hungry again before it will pull the cart. This is typically seen in our business environment. The moment salespeople meet their quota, they stop working.

This is because their motivation is limited to meeting their quota. That is external, not internal.

WE ARE ALL MOTIVATE EITHER POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY.

When I was in Toronto, I heard a story of two brothers. One was a drug addict and a drunk 68*who frequently beat up his family. The other one was a very successful businessman who was respected in society and had a wonderful family. Some people wanted to find out why two brothers from the same parents, brought up in the same environment, could be so different.