What motivates you? Money? Recognition? Fear? Self? Others?
As an entrepreneur finding a source of motivation is something you will routinely do. In fact if you aren’t then most likely you’re stuck in park, unable to move forward.
So what or who do you look to for motivation?
Other People
Looking to others for motivation is a good place to start. In fact it’s a likely source to helping you get over that hump, or moving to the next level. Learning from others that have been where you’re trying to go is a helpful way to help spur you on. Personally I look for stories where people have overcome adversity or great odds to achieve something. People that have started with just an idea and grown it into a movement.
I also don’t look to just people in business, I find inspiration and motivation from a variety of areas.
However I want to warn you, if you’re motivation continually comes from those around you then you are going to have a difficult time. The truth is most of the time the road is lonely and learning how to be self motivated is something you must develop.
Money
Many people will say it’s not a factor and perhaps its not a big factor…but its a factor. The thing is that money in and of itself really isnt the motivation, it’s what you can do with it that you are most likely motivated towards. Whether its using the money to travel, invest, purchase that new thing or donate, it’s the object that is motivating you, not the money.
Having money as a motivating factor is ok, in fact money is deeply woven into the characteristic of being an entrepreneur. My warning to you though is that if it becomes a dominating motivating factor you will not be as successful as you could have been. In fact if you ask most successful entrepreneurs they will tell you that it’s not about the money at all, its about so much more. I would agree with that 100%.
Fear
This is a common motivating factor amongst successful entrepreneurs. Fear of failure is a driving factor that keeps us all from stopping, keeps us all from resting where we are at and keeps us striving for more. There’s a fine line with this though. Too much fear and you re paralyzed, frozen from the ability to take the necessary risks. On the flip side though a complete lack of fear can lead to complacency and ultimately failure to move ahead.
I happen to lean on fear as key self motivating factor for myself. For me it’s more of a fear of not utilizing all my talents and trying new things. I don’t want to look back and say, I wish I would have. It’s that fear that drives me in different directions, drives my curiosity and drives me to try new things.
Challenges
Another source of self motivation for me are different challenges. Its another key ingredient to success. Are you willing to try new things? Are you willing to fail? Are you willing to push yourself? For me the answer is yes. All of those come to mind when I look at doing something new. For many the challenge of new things or the confrontation of the unknown is a frightening idea. The key is to use a healthy amount of that fear and move on.
Finding your source of motivation is essential. Whether its one of the above or not, being a self motivated person is not an option when it comes to the business world these days.
What about you, what motivates you? Would you consider yourself to be self motivated?