What motivates you?

It's funny how I can find the money and the resources for the
things that I 'have to' do. The car transmission fails and
suddenly my brain goes into overdrive to solve this pressing
problem and get my vehicle back on the road.

The rent is due and the thought of being homeless during the
winter forms new neuron pathways between my left and right brain.
I find myself battling a sickness, and suddenly life's priorities
shuffle themselves into the correct order. Time spent with the
family seems more pressing than the business meeting that was so
critical. In fact, when I'm sick the only thought that dominates
my mind is to regain my health.What motivates you?

On opposite ends of the spectrum of human motivation are
inspiration and desperation. The reasons that drive you to act
can be found somewhere along that continuum. I know that many
noble feats have been accomplished through love for another
person, but this can be classed as inspiration. Love for the
object inspired the lover to perform acts that would be hard to
explain otherwise.

I must confess that I am closer to the 'desperation' end of the
spectrum than the 'inspiration' end. I am a deadline type of guy.
While in school, I always procrastinated until I just had to
write that term paper, study for that test or-you may smile-pay
for the tuition. It seemed the idea that there was no way out
placed my brains on steroids. I happen to know many colleagues
who operate on a similar principle. At the same time, there were
many students who just had to get the paper completed a long time
before the deadline.

Inspiration would appear to be a much nobler motivator than
desperation. Yet, it has always been said that necessity is the
mother of invention. Necessity is closer akin to desperation than
inspiration. It is often true that desperation can lead to
inspiration but seldom the other way around. There are countless
inventions which came about to solve a pressing problem compared
to those made for just a luxurious use.

Those who study direct response marketing tell us that buyers
respond more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. In other words,
Mr. Jones is more likely to buy the central air cooling system
because it saves him money, than for the reason that it keeps him
cool in the summer. Statistics also shows that the vast majority
of those who inherit large sums of money, either through family
or the lottery, end up losing their wealth or in some instances
their minds.

This reminds me of the old adage: 'Easy come, easy go'. There are
many parents who have passed on a legacy of wealth, and hence
laziness, to their posterity.

The critical point for the home business owner is motivation. You
can no longer lose your job because you are late, tardy; hate the
boss, disliked by fellow-workers and a myriad of other reasons.
Now you are the boss and have less to fear outside of failing
yourself! Your motivation must now be intrinsic, and you have
less people to blame for all your failures.

Although many tout the superior benefits of owning a home
business, the harsh reality of finding that motivation to get out
of bed when there are no traffic jams to beat leaves countless
paralyzed.

My advice? 'Know thyself'! Know what makes you tick and 'trick'
yourself into that frame of mind. There are many motivational
speakers who teach that you should write out your goals and even
place a picture of your dream home next to your workplace. Even
though this may work for some-and it doesn't for me-, I think
that contemplating the results for failure can awake many giant
ideas.

If you are on the inspiration end of the spectrum then listening
to motivational tapes and reading the stories of those who
overcame great odds, may just be the medicine for your soul.

Do you love being healthy or hate being sick? Do you love having
money or hate being broke? Do you love being with your spouse or
hate being away? Do you love being independent or hate being
bossed around? Do you love happiness or hate being sad? These
questions may all seem to be two faces of the same coin but very
different faces.

You may be like George Bernard Shaw who said, "You see things;
and you say 'Why?'; But I dream things that never were; and I say
'Why not?' Or, you may identify closer with Dwight D. Eisenhower
who said, "What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in
the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog".

You may be the dreamer or the dog engaged in mortal combat. What
counts most is to know who you are, and light the appropriate
burner on your motivational stove.

-Ray Edwards