We’re continuing with the “M” principles that are important for you to apply to your business (and for your life too). Last time we talked about mindset. If you missed that one, go back and spend some time there. Your mindset is like a foundation for the rest of the M’s and I want you to get the most out of this series.

Today we are tackling motivation and why YOU are the only one who can move yourself to action. I want you to QUIT waiting for motivation to come.

No one else can do it for you. It won’t show up at your doorstep or arrive each month like a magazine subscription or auto-ship vitamins.

You may be thinking, but Carrie, I NEED you to motivate me! What gives?

The truth is, I CANNOT motivate you.

I can inspire you, sometimes even persuade you into getting rid of your excuses but I can’t be the one to motivate you. Only YOU can do that for yourself.

Motivation means “move to action”.

You are the only one who can:

• pick up that pen,
• pick up the phone, or
• pick up your feet and start moving yourself to action.

YOU are the only one who can motivate YOU.

Motivation is important, hugely important. I want you to find what motivates you and then keep on fueling that “thing” that I like to call your WHY so that you are continually moving to action.

I want you to live an extraordinary life and in order to do that, you must know what it is that fuels you to press on:

• when you are tired
• when you hit an obstacle
• when others think you’re crazy for doing what you’re doing.

I remember learning in school that there are basically two types of motivation: Extrinsic and Intrinsic.

• Extrinsic or External Motivation is based on either receiving a positive gain or avoiding a negative outcome.
• Intrinsic or Internal Motivation is when you are motivated by an internal desire because you enjoy the behavior in and of itself. You want to keep doing it because you enjoy it and that’s that.

I challenge you to spend some time thinking about what motivates you both extrinsically and intrinsically. Find your WHY and let that be what moves you to action on a daily basis.

Perhaps you aren’t really motivated just by making more money (most of us aren’t) but you are motivated by the choices that making more money affords you.

You may want to help someone else with a cause they believe in, pay cash for something coming up like the dress, hair, nails, and shoes for your daughter’s prom, or maybe you wish you could pay for private school or a nicer place for your parents to live??

Maybe you want to fund adoptions, help out your sister who is a single mom or secretly fund a scholarship for a teen that wants to go to a fine arts camp.

Find your WHY and then post it everywhere so you can continually fuel the fire and keep moving forward. I’m being literal here.

• Write it down…on actual paper
• Put it on a post-it in your planner
• Post it on your message board in your office
• Write it with a dry-erase marker on your bathroom mirror (or lipstick, whatever 😉
• Make it your screensaver on your computer

Your why needs to be right in front of your face and at the top of your mind for you to keep moving forward. The more you see it, the more you believe it and until you start believing it is really possible, you will have a hard time jumping out of bed each morning and getting to work on those goals.

Each and every day as you shower off the grime, the disappointments, the “no’s”, I want you to think of your WHY and intentionally “put on” your motivation for moving forward to places that only you can take yourself to. Stop telling yourself that motivation is someone else’s responsibility and start moving yourself to action.

You can do this.

Let me hear from you in the comments below if you KNOW what MOTIVATES YOU!! I’d love to hear some of your tips for staying focused and motivated!