As a coach, I often hear people say things like, “I struggle with will-power and motivation.” They seek help with accountability and a task manager. While I’m happy to help, just focusing on your will-power is not enough!

Motivation is an area I love to focus on with clients because once you learn the power you have inside you, you can change your life’s circumstances pretty quickly. In this article, I’ll share with you 3 things about motivation you might not know in order to help you grow.

3 Truths About Motivation

• It begins in you! Do you wake up every day ready to face your day or do you have to drag yourself out of bed? I used to have to drag myself out of bed every day. Until I found my passion for helping myself and others grow and learn to serve others. Once I found what I was really good at and had a simple plan in place, every day I wake up ready to go- most days before my alarm goes off! If you’re not feeling motivated, chances are you...

It’s easy to see how leaders might want to fix their people, especially to get them to produce more. However, it’s counterintuitive. The sub-conscious message you send when you do these behaviors is that your people need to be fixed.

Emerson said, “Where your focus goes, your energy flows.” That means what you focus on you get. If you focus on your people’s problems, issues, challenges, or shortcomings- you get more of them!

So what’s a leader to do?

Neville Goddard said, “The man who imagines others at their best and exercises forgiveness performs a miracle.”

• Flex your imagination muscle and try to see them as performing at the highest level
• What is ‘their best’? What does that look like?
• Forgiveness is a superpower and when you allow your people to be who they are and imagine them at their best, they will rise to your expectation.

At the very least, when you picture your people at their best, your attitude change. They...

Creatives live longer. Michaelangelo was still working at 80, Gothe wrote FAUST at 80, Edison invented things into his 90’s, and Picasso was painting well after the age of 85.

Then why, when I talk to leaders, they are ‘done’ and stressed and overwhelmed at younger and younger ages? Why do some leaders believe the ‘job’ has to be stressful?

Sure, systems, processes, and building a team really helps but the belief is the real problem.

Are you excited about your work and your team? Do you believe your job has to be difficult? What would it be like if it didn’t have to be hard?

Creative people believe in play, having fun, and exploring. They tend to live longer and enjoy life better because of their belief that life doesn’t have to be difficult.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just live longer, I want every day to be better than the last.

Take an honest assessment of your beliefs. Where do you stand? Are you an old...

"The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions." Robert Louis Stevenson

I’ve talked with dozens of leaders throughout this pandemic and there seem to be three types. Which one are you?

• Stressed: the overwhelmed and overworked, the leader who doesn’t know what to do and struggles making decisions
• Blessed: the leader who says everything is just fine, yet their actions aren’t aligned with that belief
• Resourced: the leader who has a right assessment of what’s happening, makes quick decisions, and does the best they can to serve their people

Which one are you? Which one would you like to be? What’s the difference between these leaders?

Only one difference: their attitude!

We can choose our attitude at any time. If we choose to be happy, regardless of our circumstances, we give of a different ‘vibe’ that our people feel and follow.

Happiness is a present tense word. Don’t wait...

"Once a scientist attacks a problem which she knows to have an answer, her entire attitude is changed. She is already half way to the answer." N. Weiner

Attitude is the combination of thoughts, beliefs, and actions. I think most people understand that if you don’t believe something will happen, it probably won’t, right? I love this quote because scientists just have a different way of thinking, don’t they? Honestly, sometimes their faith rivals that of people in a church!

If one truly believes there’s an answer, they will go after it to find it. I think of our current day and all the scientists that are trying to find the immunization for COVID 19. They KNOW there is an answer and that they CAN find it and they PERSIST.

I’m positive they will reach their goal.

What about us? As leaders, what are we so sure about that we KNOW will happen? I talked to a couple leaders this week in the technological field and they are burned out right now. The last few...

Pessimism is a dangerous mindset and thought pattern to cultivate. It’s like growing weeds in your mind! It has several devastating effects and can actually cause you to physically heal slower! If it has that sort of effect on YOUR physical body, think about what your pessimistic attitude does for your TEAM….

Pessimism is contagious!

How can you prevent it?

• Acknowledge that you have a problem and seek help from a trusted advisor or friend
• Play around with different perspectives when faced with a problem
• Seek out optimistic people on your team and ask for their help
• Focus on your team goals and celebrate every small win you can

If you struggle with this and are real and honest with yourself and your team, things WILL get better! Your people will thank you!