What keeps you going?

I read a recent blog posting by Bernard Jansen called "The Motivator".

The main character reminds himself frequently of the reason he is working away from his family - to make money. This is such a common tragedy. In our materialistic world how many of us compromise our inner values in the pursuit of financial well-being?

Money is a common quoted motivator. We've all heard "I'm doing it for the money" or "gotta a make a living somehow" but isn't it actually the experiences that money can buy that should really be motivating us?

Like the experience of seeing your children grow up for example.

Why is motivation important?

Without motivation, I don't see how anything could ever get done. You eat because you are motivated by hunger, you help your neighbour to move because you are motivated by kindness, you get out of bed at 5am to get ready for work because you are motivated to earn money. Motivation counts!

By itself, motivation is not good or bad. It is the resultant force from the sum of any number of drivers. Right now you are possibly sitting reading comfortably but if someone were suddenly to deny you of oxygen you would have a very high motivation to take your next breath.

I see motivation as the culmination of your set of values. Some of the most common and basic are water, food, shelter and companionship. If you honestly ask yourself why you do things on a day to day basis you'll soon learn what your values truly are, not necessarily what you hoped they could be.

The important point here is that your values determine to a large extent what you do and what you actually do is what determines your legacy. I suspect many people leave legacies that are more accidental than chosen.

If your desired legacy is as important to you as the air you breathe the motivation to do what is required to get there will be irresistible.

Order emerges out of deep but simple rules

A legacy is something that has order of some kind. Here are some rules I find useful.

Rule 1. Unreasonable expectations - No one outperforms their aspirations

Rule 2. Elastic definition of yourself - Don't be trapped by what you are doing now

Rule 3. A cause, not a title - In order to be revolutionary you must be prepared to shed parts of yourself

Rule 4. New voices - Listen to voices outside of your normal comfort zone

Rule 5. Find a market - People are attracted to passionate people who are already doing something!

Rule 6. Experiment often with a lot of small bets

Rule 7. Cellular division - A lack of change means death

Rule 8. Connectivity - Find ways to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and skill sets