LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." *Mahatma Ghandi

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're continuing to explore MOTIVATION this month by looking at some quotes and simply drawing some personal application.

*While this quote is often attributed to Ghandi, there is no reliable record of him saying this, however it aligns deeply with his writings and posture.

Last week I shared some thoughts around motivation and I shared a story of when I had been motivated by others to climb a mountain, and then I pondered the idea of motivation that comes from Jesus' invitation to simple "come to Him". You can read that HERE if you missed it.

This quote is something that I think about often.

Years ago, I can't even remember how long ago, Gina gave me a small metal paper weight with this quote inscribed in it. She gave it to me when I had finished my graduate studies, and it was simply an encouragement to me to invest my life in bringing change to the world.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down." *Abraham Lincoln

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're continuing to explore MOTIVATION this month by looking at some quotes and simply drawing some personal application.

*This quote is most often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but it's also been connected to Benjamin Franklin.

When I read this quote, I thought about motivation and realized that often I'm motivated to do things because of other peoples expectations for my life and work.

This isn't bad, and that idea of "not letting others down" is really important, but it can also lead you to do things you don't really want to or don't need to do.

My dad joined our Boy Scout Troupe back when I was 11 years old to climb Mt. Whitney in California. I don't think I had any idea what I was getting into. I thought me and a bunch of my friends were going camping, and that sounded like fun. My dad knew what climbing a 14,505 foot mountain was about because he had climbed it before. This peak is the highest point in the lower 48 states. He joined the trip to help me make it to the top.

Yes it was bad. Switchback trails straight up the front of the mountain for hours, and I've told this story before, my dad just kept telling me to take 10 more steps, then take a break. We inched our way up the mountain and eventually made it.

The motivation for me? Not letting my dad down, and reaching the summit. That motivation kept me moving and led to a moment at the top of celebration, which then turned into a rapid descent to get back to life at a reasonable altitude.

I would have never made it up that mountain had I not been carrying the expectation and the hope from my dad that I could actually do it.

That's motivation. The positive kind.

There's also another kind, the kind that comes with guilt.

I've said "YES" to so many things over the years because I didn't want to let people down, or because I thought that I was supposed to do something. Sometimes this has forced me to let down the people I care about the most in my attempt to make others happy or to meet their often unrealistic expectations.

Think about your story.

How has the idea of "letting people down" motivated you to do certain things been a positive thing or a negative thing?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." Zig Ziglar

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore MOTIVATION a little deeper by looking at some quotes and simply drawing some personal application.

I love this description I found of the 2 kinds of motivation:

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION is simply doing something because it's inherently satisfying or interesting. It's something I really want to do.

EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION is simply doing something to earn a reward or to avoid punishment. It's something that I earn or avoid for the action.

The word MOTIVATION comes from the Latin movere, meaning "to move", which is really the core idea: Motivation is what moves you to act.

I remember at a young age, maybe 7 or 8 years of age, I saw an ad in a magazine I was looking at (Highlights Magazine) and it was an ad for selling seeds (flower & vegetable) door to door. The ad simply said that if I sold enough seeds, I would qualify for a prize, and they had some pictures of kids playing with some toys like a big squirt gun, a basketball, and some spring/bouncy shoes. (Yes, you heard that right: spring shoes)

I got permission from my parents to order the seed packets, and when they arrived I was so excited to sell them. Of course, this was in the early 70's, so multilevel marketing was just being perfected by the Tupperware Company, so I had to rely on my family, my neighbors, and anyone else I could convince to buy these seed packets. I hit the road (well, the 3 streets around my house).

The goal, sell enough seeds to qualify for the spring shoe prize, and I was motivated to accomplish that. I sold, I marketed, I rang doorbells, and I'm sure my mom purchased more seeds than she could ever use from her young entrepreneur son, and I hit the target! It's a little fuzzy as to how long it took, but I did it.

The day arrived, and the spring shoes were delivered and I put them on and bounced down my street only to realize that they weren't near as cool as I thought they'd be (according to my friends on the street) and they actually didn't work real well, so a few bouncy trips around the neighborhood and my seed selling business was closed.

I saw. I conquered. I bounced. The end.

Isn't it funny when you reflect back on things that have motivated you at some point in your life? Looking back it's easy to ask why that motivation worked, but when you're in the middle of it, it's all you can think about.

I'm sure I dreamed about spring shoes for weeks, hoping that it would become an olympic sport that I could compete in!

Zig Ziglar's quote above is very basic, very true, and somewhat profound, but it doesn't answer the question of MOTIVATION. What would drive us to start something? What is our WHY?

Think back on your childhood. Can you remember a "motivation story" like mine? I'd love to hear it.