What Are You Motivated To Do?

I am always fascinated by the power of motivation and how it influences everything in our lives. In order to be successful, you have to get up every morning and tell yourself, “I can do this,” but what makes you do that? What motivates you?
Enthusiasm drives most of the choices we make. Of course, we may also choose to behave a certain way based on our perceptions of responsibility or obligation. We can also even choose to do something because we expect an eventual payoff, such as when we engage in painful exercises in the hope of looking and feeling better at some point in the future. We also make choices in order to avoid pain or a perceived disadvantage, as when we manage to avoid charging something on our credit cards because we do not want to face the big bills.

Ideally, however, ambitious women understand what motivates them from a passionate standpoint. They know the secret of how to tap into that motivation to push themselves to do more.

When the movie Saving Mr. Banks was first released, audiences were fascinated by the story of how Mary Poppins came to be. Walt Disney waited 20 years for the screen rights to that story, but he finally managed to make the movie in 1961. Not only did he know that the movie would be successful but he also knew that children around the world deserved to see it made professionally and beautifully. It was a labor of love for the children of the world, and you better believe Walt Disney was passionate and motivated!

It has been said that you must be passionate about something or disturbed by something in order to be motivated. I believe it is always better to be passionate than to work from a position of negativity, although I realize that negatives can be powerful motivators. Think about how it feels when you look forward to something: the excitement, the physical reaction, the joy you have just thinking of an event. Now think about how you feel when you are facing a relatively unpleasant or boring chore that you could care less about doing. Do you see the difference?

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“The strongest factor for success is self-esteem: believing you can do it, believing you deserve it, believing you will get it.” Unknown

You may have heard of “loving yourself” without really understanding what that means. It does not mean being enamored of yourself so that you think you can do no wrong. It also does not mean always blaming yourself for everything that happens, good or bad! Instead, it means treating yourself the way you would treat your own child: expect the best but love in spite of the flaws.The simple truth is that if you are no good to yourself, you are no good to others. Building self-confidence and self-esteem comes from only one thing: you have to believe in yourself and love yourself for who you really are.

 
It is almost impossible for you to love yourself without taking a good, honest look at yourself, “warts and all.” Yes, you may be carrying a few extra pounds or you may not be any good with managing money. However, I would be willing to bet that the person you fell in love with and chose to be your life partner is not perfect. I would even be willing to bet that your children are not perfect, although it is hard to admit it! If we love these imperfect people so deeply despite their flaws, why do we have such a hard time loving ourselves in spite of our own flaws?

 
At the other end of the spectrum is recognizing your self-worth. No matter who you are, there are things you are good at. You possess certain critical talents. You have an affinity for something. Whatever it is, recognize and celebrate it! Start out by saying, “I know I am very good at _____” and fill in the blank with a genuine compliment. I recommend taping this to your bathroom mirror so that you see it every morning. What better way to start your day than to fill yourself with self-confidence and self-esteem? Show that you believe in yourself and love yourself and soon you will begin to reap the benefits of this mindset.

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“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” Tommy LaSorda

The key to determination comes from being committed to your goal, connecting with your purpose, and visualizing your goal’s possibility. It is not easy being in business for yourself. In fact, in many ways it is just simpler to work for someone else! I want to share three things with you that may help you stay determined and focused. These tips are found in my new book The Ambitious Woman and I am convinced they are key to your success.

First, make a decision once. One problem that women encounter when they start a business is the underlying assumption that we are inconsistent or do not take charge well. Do not justify that belief. Your decisions are just as good as anyone else’s and you have just as good a chance of success at your new business as any other entrepreneur, provided you stand firm.
In addition, you must be very clear with your goals. Write down exactly what you want to accomplish. How will you make decisions if you do not know where you are headed? Your goals can be changed or adjusted, but set them down so that there is no doubt in your mind where you want to be.

Finally, take action. Something great starts to happen when you do what you are supposed to do. This may not always be fun, but you know where the necessary work is! In the 1970s my husband and I opened a worm farm. Yes, you heard right: a worm farm. I did not ultimately remain a worm farmer, but I had accomplished an even more important goal: I had started my own business, and I learned a great deal by doing so! The seed was planted inside me that would never again let me be content working for someone else. I knew the right opportunity would present itself, but I also learned that you have to get your hands in the dirt in order to succeed sometimes.

Never give up, and keep dreaming. Sooner than you think, you will achieve your goals!

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“Do not wait until you are ready to take action; instead, take action to be ready.” Jensen Siaw

Do not wait until you are ready to take action, or it will never happen! If we all waited until the “time was right,” nothing would ever get done. Sometimes just starting is the most important thing you can do. What does taking action mean to you? To me, it is a mindset, but I realize that is not true for everyone.
The first step in taking charge is to realize that everything begins with you: just take responsibility. This means that you are responsible not only for beginning but for the final outcome as well. Even if the situation is not your fault, take ownership of it. Never play the “blame game.” That does not mean others should not be held accountable but that blaming others is a losing prospect. When you blame or find fault, you are looking backwards instead of ahead.
The next step in taking action is to take inventory of your goals. You must have concrete goals or you will not know what you are working toward. Writing down goals is a great way to envision them and will help you decide how to take action. In order to take action you must stay in the present. You must not allow yourself to be distracted by others or by your own thoughts. Always ask yourself, “Am I doing what I really need to do right now to move forward in this situation?” Sometimes the answer to that question is yes, even if you are doing something boring or seemingly unimportant.
Finally, you must be accountable to others for your actions. Telling others what we are going to do helps us develop consistency and keeps us honest. It is much harder to back out of our goals if we share them with others.
Taking action is often a matter of just getting ourselves in the right frame of mind and taking that first step. When we hold ourselves accountable, create our goals in a concrete form and ask others to keep us accountable as well, we are on our way to useful action!

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Is Your Life Filled With Wonder?

If not, you may not be looking in the right places! Wonder is something we must cultivate if we want to be successful, because it reminds us of our true place in the bigger scheme of things. Even in something as small as a mustard seed, the wonder of it causes you to realize that life is bigger than who you are.

Albert Einstein said, “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead, his eyes are closed.” Einstein knew that there was more to life that just formulas and equations. As focused as he was on mathematics and science, he knew that the human experience is grounded in fancy as well as fact.

This is an important fact to keep in mind if you are trying to be successful. Ambitious women understand the power of wonder. It is the power that drives us to imagine things, dream our dreams and set incredible goals for ourselves. Walt Disney said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” I think so, too! That wonder and magic in our lives makes them richer, but it also makes us unstoppable. Human beings are created to be incredible, and when we allow wonder to work in our lives, we will find that we can achieve things that others never thought possible.

Of course, there will always be naysayers and doomsday prophets. These are people who have allowed wonder to die from their lives and may never be more than what they are right now. That is not us as ambitious women, however! Instead of saying “no” or “it cannot be done,” we wonder at the miracle of life and look for ways that it can be done! If we continue with that attitude, we will ultimately be successful.

Remember that when you open yourself up to true wonder, you find that life is bigger than you. You stop being the center of your own attention and start seeing how all the pieces may fit together in a grand design and pattern that blankets the ages and the universe. Allowing wonder into your life makes you must more open to new experiences, including success!

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