From the time we are children till we are old, it seemsthat we get it hammered into our consciousness from our parents, teachers, friends (and today, Big Pharma) that we"are the way we are" and there's little that can be doneabout it. So party on, dude. In many ways that's true. But in some important ways it's not. Men and women from everywhere call our offices every week literally in tears, feeling hopeless that they can ever bemore than they are, unable to achieve meaningful,challenging goals, unable to stay motivated even when they DO find some meaningful work or projects to do. An all to common problem that happens is that people achieve some very cool goal, and then not long after, they coast, slide and often go right back to where they were:- Weight: Losing a ton of tonnage for upcoming weddings, beach season, and reunions, only to put it all back on after the goal was achieved and the event is over just whenthey are looking and feeling fantastic. Temporary motivation. Miserable the whole time.
Job promotions: After getting the job they wanted, theaverage person proceeds to do just enough to keep theirjob, not much more. Never looking beyond the original desire.
Athletes/Sports: Being a starter, getting drafted, signing a big contract... at some point, even world-classathletes find their comfort level and do just enough tokeep their jobs but not enough to become a superstar. They become "starstruck."- Relationships: It's so common that it's a cliche that people are on their best behavior during the courtship. Then, after the wedding or after they start living together, BAM, the real person shows up. They "bagged" a husband or wife, now they can stop faking who they really are. They forget that till death do us part is just a suggestion at best.
Independence: The goal is to move out of Mom and Dad'shouse, but once that simple goal is reached, culture shock hits and the drive to do what it takes to stayindependent/self-sufficient burns up like grass in the Arizona sun.
Health tests: The doc says you must lower your bloodpressure, so you follow a few suggestions, just barely enough to stay off medications for a few months, and then it's back to the old routines... and medications for life. Could not get inspired to eat better, exercise a bit and learn to take the challenges of daily life in stride. Why do these things happen? No drive. No desire. No motivation. No inner fire. Novision. No passion. It's a shame, because each of us is born with potential that is unfathomable, but we learn that standing out is bad. Better to blend in with the crowd.Be like everyone else. Don't rock the boat.And it's a recipe for physical pain, emotional pain, being victimized by other, more driven people. Most of you would be shocked if you learned what the most accomplished people thought about all day. It's like the Space Mountain ride at Disney World. Just incredible non-stop mental pictures and self-talkabout victory, accomplishments, goals, big dreams, long-term planning, meaningful days where new and bigger goals are set and actions are taken on existing meaningful, purpose-oriented objectives.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a good example. As a teenager, he set a goal to be the world's greatest bodybuilder. He achieved it, winning the Olympia title 7times. He wanted to be a successful entrepeneur. He achieved that, starting a successful mail order business, selling fitness equipment and training materials. He ran a bricklaying business. He had real estate ventures. He was a millionaire before he hit 30 years old in the days before big muscle-bound apes were paid six and seven figure endorsement deals for hawking protein powders. By then he had already been working on the goal of becoming the biggest movie star in Hollywood. He achieved that...his movies grossed more than any other actor for quite a few years. Then he marries a Kennedy (Maria Shriver), an important step toward his next goal... Politics. He saw his opportunity, took it, and got elected the Governator of Collie-Fornya. People like that are always looking ahead, always learning, always growing, with endless motivation to do more, be more and have more. And to do that, you have to give more... of yourself. It's not easy. It's hard. It's challenging. There are risks. Big ones.
And that is what kills the drive in most people. Motivation is wanting something so bad, you'll do practically anything to get it, be it, do it. Motivation is desire that gets you up early, keeps you uplate and makes temptation that drives many people insane, no temptation at all.Real, deep, lasting motivation can overcome and outlastany difficulty. But how do you get and stay motivated to grow and succeed and love every bit of the effort, strain, risk and sacrifice? Doesn't sound too good said that way, does it?Well, that is why the average person can't stay motivated...Because long-term success at most things is too difficult, scary, no fun at all. So how does Arnold and other super motivated people likethat do it day in, day out? Simple... They fall in love with the rewards. They live for thespoils of victory. They love the effort! When they arestraining, they're in ecstacy. The pain IS pleasure.
They become addicted to achieving more. So much so that working at their big goals is a fun game, not some painful, dreadful, dreary, boring jail sentence that most people make it out to be, sadly. So, no backsliding. No temptations that take away their focus.
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