Motivation is a commonly used, yet mostly misunderstood, word. Why? It certainly isn’t because of a lack of effort by most of us to try to understand motivation. If you manage people in your job or in your family — and in one way or another, we all do — then you certainly have tried various methods to motivate others to make progress on whatever it is you want done.
Like many of you, I have read much about motivation in an effort to better understand how to get the most out of myself and the people I choose to surround myself with. Most theories about motivation are rooted in two principles: seeking pleasure or avoiding pain. I believe those to be true, but I recently read an insightful article by author Shawn Lim, who offered an expanded view of the pleasure and pain theories. He stated that motivation comes down to the following six factors:
1. Money and rewards. One of my first bosses told me that money is not a motivator, but that the things you can buy with money are the driving factors. Lim has a different perspective and says although most people think what they want in life are money and shiny objects, the physical things they want are just the means to an end. What they truly are after is the feeling of owning the items. He says when people understand what they are after, they will understand the real reward is in the journey.
2. A desire to be the best. Lim points out how some people simply can’t accept anything but No. 1. This is a common trait with sports champions. They hate to lose, and they are willing to give nearly everything to achieve the No. 1 status. They sacrifice their weekends or their evenings and they rise early to work toward achieving their dreams so they can have a head-start on others. Lim says, when the desire to become the best in what they do is truly at the forefront, people will do most anything to become the champions in their field.
3. Helping others. Fortunately, some people are motivated by helping others. They want to see positive change in other people’s lives and will quietly fight for a better future. Lim says if you are one of these people, you should use that drive to help others and make a positive impact in the world, which will then motivate you to achieve greater success in life, too.
4. Power and fame. We have plenty of followers in this world, and they are needed. As such, we also need leaders. Lim says some people are innately inspired to become leaders and are driven to achieve greater power and fame in life. They want to lead and bring their company, their organization, their people and their nation to greater heights. Politicians. CEOs. Coaches. That leadership is driven by a need for power, and that’s not a bad thing when funneled properly.
5. Recognition. This, according to Lim, is different than power and fame. Some people simply want to prove they are right or someone else is wrong. Many of us despise know-it-alls and bullies, and some of us often create obsessions to tear them down by proving them wrong. It is not always healthy, but it is a motivator. On a related note, many people become even more motivated to accomplish goals when others tell them they can’t. My childhood friends and I knew we could talk another buddy of ours into doing most anything by simply calling him “chicken.” It worked with some kids, and it works with some adults, too.
6. Passion. Lim says the final factor that makes most people successful is passion. When someone is passionate about a goal, he or she will think about it nearly all the time. Although some people do find that passion in their work, Lim says most don’t and simply work like zombies. My friend Brad told me he recently saw a person with a T-shirt that said, “I don’t want a job. I just want money.” Therein lies the problem, and it is rooted in a lack of real passion.
Learning how to motivate ourselves and others is no easy task, but understanding these six factors and experimenting with how to use them, when to use them and who to use them with is another part of the ongoing learning process.
Have a motivated Monday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com | 
