Les Brown Review: Invest in Yourself

I try to post these early in the morning, but I was up late studying for my test last night. Today we'll be focusing on Les Brown, another fantastic motivational speaker. Les Brown is a great speaker and also a former politician and radio host. While he was in school, he was labeled "educable mentally retarded". 

It wasn't until later on, when he had a teacher call on him during class. Brown said he couldn't answer, because he was "educable mentally retarded". The teacher told him to never use those words ever again. From that point on, Les Brown took control of his life and began to put 110% effort into everything he did. 

In this video Brown focuses on how our inability to invest in ourselves, prevents us from reaching our full potential. The whole idea is to follow your personal dreams in life, despite the fear of failure and disappointments you'll encounter along the way. Life should be an adventure, not something you just wake up and go through the motions of. The more time and effort you invest in yourself, the more satisfied you'l be with your life. I hope you all enjoy, and happy Monday!

You Know The Right Decision

Every single day of your life, it doesn't matter who you are, you have to make several decisions. When you wake up in the morning, you make the decision to either press the snooze button, or turn your alarm off and get the day started. For breakfast, you make the decision to cook, get fast food, or even skip breakfast. You decide what to eat later on, which route to take to work, what time to leave for work, what you should do afterwards, etc. As a fully functional adult, you make decisions about literally everything you do in life. At first a lot of these decisions seem really difficult to make. But here's the crazy thing.

You already know the right answer.

You know exactly which of the two decisions will be the most beneficial. Obviously there are some decisions, like buying a house or car, that do require a lot of thought, but I'm talking about small decisions that can have a big impact on your life. Typically, one decision will feel pleasure now, and the other one will be more beneficial long-term. Almost every day, I have to decide between eating fast food, or eating something healthy. A lot of times it feels like a tough decision, but deep down, I know the right decision is to get the healthy food. 

I'll often try to justify that the fast food will be cheaper, taste better and probably have more calories in it. But I already know the right answer is to get the healthy meal. 

You already know it's better to workout rather than sleep in. You already know it's better to not buy the new iPhone the day it comes out. The problem is, your making decisions based on your own biological desires, rather than what you know is best for you. That's why it's so easy to say you'll do something tomorrow, because you're trying to satisfy your biological desires, before your life's desires.

Next time you're forced to make a decision, remember to make the one that's best for you in the long-term. Your body may tell you to get the tasty cheeseburger, but your mind always has the willpower to make the right decision. 

You just have to execute.

Workout Multiplayer Card Game

We all have goals in our lives, and one of the most popular is to get in better shape. While very few people are able to commit to this, making it into a game seems to make hard work a lot more entertaining. We've all heard of the deck of cards workout (from my video from a few weeks back), but here's a sample game you can play with a group of friends. We're always more motivated when around other people, so this is a great competitive game which involves a lot of positive feedback and pressure. Give it a try!

- Pick a workout move (push ups, sit ups, squats, etc)

- First Player picks a card from the shuffled deck of 52

- That player may choose to either do the number of reps on that card or draw again

- If the player draws a higher card, the person to the left has to do the number of reps on the second card

- If the player draws a lower card, they have to do all the reps on the lower card PLUS the number of reps on the originally drawn card

- If the same number Card is drawn, BOTH PLAYERS have to do the total number of reps on BOTH CARDS
- All face cards are worth 10 reps, Aces are 25 reps, and each Joker is 50!

- The next player draws, and the process continues until the whole deck is finished

- Shuffle them again and pick a new workout move

- Continue this cycle until you're fully exhausted 

Eric Thomas Review: The Only Way I Eat

Eric Thomas is the focus for this week. Compared to some of the other speakers, I personally love Mr. Thomas' intensity level. It never fails to motivate and make you start getting to work. Similarly to what I've been doing, Eric Thomas posts a video each Monday called TGIM (Thank God it's Monday). This one focuses on one of his experiences while vacationing in Dubai. 

Essentially, while on his trip, he had to go to the Apple Store to fix his equipment. While seeking advice, he speaks to an employee, whom he later finds out is fluent in five languages! Shocked, Thomas asked where this guy went to school and how he learned the languages. To his amazement, the man learned 4 of the languages in roughly 4 years time! Thomas asks how he did it. The man replied,

"It's the only way I eat"

The man goes on to talk about how if you only speak one language in Dubai, you have to work in the fields with the common people in 100+ degree weather. This man wanted much more in his life, so he was essentially forced to learn these languages so quickly.

The point of this message today, is to demonstrate that when you really really want something in your life, you will do whatever it takes to get there. The thing is, you have to truly want something, and be willing to sacrifice. If you're not willing to make sacrifices, then you don't really want that particular thing. Almost everyone wants to be in great physical shape, yet very few people are actually willing to workout and eat healthy. Almost everyone wants to be wealthy, but very few are willing to work hard and save their money. 

But those people are average, and if you came across this page, I personally believe you are already above average in your aspirations. You are already seeking motivation and life advice so you can desperate yourself from the average people around you. Now, you need to make certain that you work really hard each and every day trying to meet your goals. Today is the start of the week, and you NEED to get some serious momentum going. I challenge you to make this week your most productive week possible. I challenge you to be great today, not average. 

Beginner's Luck

Remember the first time you tried at something?

What was the result? 

Were you successful, or did you fail horribly? 

And how did this result affect your desire to try again in the future?

I could go all day with these questions, but a concept known as beginners luck, or natural talent, is known to drastically boost someone's confidence in the future. When at first you succeed, you don't question your initial success, but instead you label yourself as talented. The opposite is true for those who fail initially. These people hardly ever want to try that activity again. This is how society tries to tell us we are either good at something, or not good at something. This is a terrible mindset, because anyone who puts in the right amount of effort into something can be successful in the future.

I'll use my first accounting course as an example here. When I took the course my freshman year of college, I had no trouble getting As on the exams. Sure I studied a bit, but other kids in the class would spend hours trying to learn concepts that came naturally to me. These kids did poorly on the exams, while I did very well. My confidence skyrocketed, and I believed in the idea that I was "skilled" at accounting, while everyone else was "unskilled".

About a year later I started taking upper-level accounting courses. In these classes, I struggled to pass, while my classmates got A's and high B's. 

What happened to me?

I thought I was "skilled"?

The issue was that I wasn't trying quite as hard as I should have. Once I turned it around and starting studying harder, I did much better. That was the issue with me, and that's the issue with so many of us these days. We believe that we're either skilled or unskilled at things, instead of working hard and looking to grow stronger. This is exactly why we quit so early on at things. We quit, because the very first time we try and fail, our minds are convinced that we're not good enough and never will be. 

I know it's the weekend now, but today I want you to jot down at least one thing you're currently not good at. One thing you've thought you can't do well. And I want you to commit yourself to improve in that area within the net few weeks. I want you to work hard and prove that you can grow stronger and your talents aren't set in stone. On the other hand, pick something you're already "good" at. Then I want you to challenge yourself as hard as you can to the point where you're uncomfortable. This will make you even stronger, and much better at these activities, than talent or luck alone.

3 Things Stopping You from Success

Every single one of us, no matter who you are or where you're from, has had an ambition. You've had an ambition or a desire to do something, but you fell short for some reason. A few weeks ago I talked about a few factors that help motivate you. Today, I'll be talking about the factors that will inhibit your success. These are patterns and traps we all fall into, and can certainly be avoided with some simple, factual realization.

1) Inconsistency

One day you'll wake up at 5AM, ready to get to work and accomplish everything on your to-do list and then some. The very next day you sleep in late, and get nothing started until mid-afternoon. Your problem isn't being unmotivated. The real issue is your lack of consistency and commitment.

There's a common saying that motivation doesn't last. Neither does bathing, which it why it's recommended daily. Do something every single morning to get you in the right mindset. For me, I set my weekday alarm clock to play a motivational speech. Instead of just pressing the snooze button several times, I'll sit in my bed and listen to the speech, which gets me motivated for the rest of the day. 

A lot of us will watch or read something motivating very occasionally. Maybe once a month you'll come across a motivational video on YouTube, it listen to a speaker/podcast, or come across a page such as this one. The real issue of that we only actively seek motivation when we're down or depressed or when it happens to find us. You'll only stay motivated when you're surrounded by motivating media, so make sure to use something every day to make sure you're motivated and focused from the moment you wake up to when you go to bed at night.

2) Negative Peer Pressure

I use the word "negative" here, because some peer pressure is positive. We're exposed to both forms on a daily basis, and need to recognize the difference between the two. Positive peer pressure occurs when people around you influence you in a way that's beneficial to your goals in life. This could be having a group of friends who go to the gym every morning, a study group, or any sort of high-performance group. 

Negative peer pressure is the one that inhibits your success, and it's not just limited to what they teach you in middle school health class. This also refers to anyone who holds you back from achieving your life goals. It could be as simple as a good friend who talks down or against your daily activities used to pursue your goals. 

The best thing you can do for yourself, is know the difference between positive and negative peer pressure when it occurs. Avoiding and distancing yourself from the negativity will increase your potential and stop bringing you down. You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most, so surround yourself with those who will bring you up, not tear you down.

3) Fear of Failure

This happens to every one of us at every stage in life. We want something great, but are too afraid to try and fail. If you try for something, one of two things will happen. You'll either fail or succeed, but either way you're growing stronger, and learning a lot in the process. If you fail to even try and work towards something, then there is a 100% chance you won't succeed. It's a guarantee.

The thing you should really be afraid of is not trying. Failure is but a milestone in the journey towards success, but the failure to even put in the effort is the worst thing you can do for yourself. Put in the effort, learn from your mistakes, and you'll find that the more you fail, the stronger you become. Then, after life breaks you down, there's nowhere left to go but up!

I hope this article really opened up the concept of motivation, and it's inhibiting factors. I hope you are able to apply it to your life, and see how it may be preventing you from reaching your full potential. 

Everyone has the potential to be successful, but very few are willing to do what it takes.

Ray Lewis Review: Deck of Cards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1dHZfD0O0s&t=292s

This video had a very accurate title, but saying it gave me goosebumps would be an understatement. This about brought me to tears, envisioning how Ray Lewis had to grow up with his step dad physically abusing his mom. I can't even imagine the pain and suffering he went through. But I also admire the way he handled it. Doing push-ups and sit-ups in the garage every day just to get stronger. This man is a legend, and every single one of us can learn something great from him.

I personally was lucky enough to have both parents in a stable home while growing up, while people like Ray had situations like this. The dude was only ten years old, and he had no choice but to become a man. 

Nobody was there to help him during his struggles.

Nobody was there to encourage him during hard times.

Nobody was there to congratulate him on his success.

But he made it happen.

I think I've figured out that adversity is what makes us stronger, or rather puts our limits to the test. The reason for this, is that when you are given a choice between your comfortable life, or a life of high-acheiving success, everyone would choose the more successful life. The issue is that there is not desperate need to be uber-successful, because the other option is a comfortable life, without any hard work or risk-taking necessary. In Ray Lewis' case, the complete opposite was true. His only other option was a life where he livd in a garage, and his mother was beaten on a daily basis. He literally had no choice but to become who he is today.

Consider the following scenario:

First, lets assume you're taking a class. Your professor says that the first exam is worth only 5% of your overall grade. How hard are you actually going to study for this test? You might not even look at the material given the circumstances. 

Now, let's say the night before the exam, you receive a all from an unknown number. A man answers the phone and tells you he will kill you unless you get an A on the test. Now the stakes have been significantly raised! Now there's a good chance you on't sleep at all that night since you'll be studying up until the very moment that test begins.

Obviously that is a very extreme (hopefully fictional) scenario, but I hope you get the picture. When you are forced into a position where you have no choice but to succeed, then you WILL find a way. Ray Lewis' story in't unique. Several high-acheivers had rough childhoods, or had to overcome extreme adversity to get where they are. Abraham Lincoln grew up in a small house in Kentucky with an abusive father. LeBron James grew up with no father-figure, and a sixteen-year-old mother. See the trend?

Unfortunately for some of us, we never experienced that kind of adversity. I grew up in a middl-class table home whee I was always encouraged and loved. I never experienced any real sturggles until I went to college. If you'e in a similar scenario, the best thing you can do is chase the difficulties and challenges. Force ourself into uncomfortable and painful situations where you're given no choice but to succeed. 

And then you will.

Too Old, Too Young

You’re too old to go back to school, but too young to start a business

Too old to join the military, but too young to travel 

Too old for football, but too young for golf

Too old to change careers, but too young to retire

We’ve all heard these sayings, or even used them ourselves. So many of us use these excuses as a means to stop trying and doing what’s right for ourselves. Age is just a number. You’re not really too old or too young for anything. I’ve seen 60 year olds in college and 7 year olds starting businesses. I’ve seen elderly and very young people run marathons. Age is no excuse for not trying.

What you’re actually doing is pushing your responsibilities into either the past (too old) or the future (too young). And by doing this, you’re avoiding your current responsibilities. You know exactly what you need to do in order to succeed, but you also know it will take effort and commitment. It’s far easier to make excuses, and push your responsibilities into another point in time.   

So what can you do instead?

Whatever it may be that you want to achieve. Whatever desire you have that you want to achieve. Make sure you start doing something NOW to work towards it. Not when you’re older, not next week, not tomorrow, not an hour from now. Right NOW. Now is the only moment in time where you have 100% control over the decisions you will make. You can’t simply trust that you’ll make the right decision tomorrow. You can’t control your past or your future. You can only control the decisions you make today.

If you choose to continue to push your responsibilities away, or choose not to try, then you are doing yourself a disservice.

But if you choose to try, and put forth the effort today, that’s the best decision you can make for yourself. 

Have a great day everyone!

Having vs Earning

Bill Gates' first-born daughter, Jennifer, has $20 million to her name. She is only 20 years old and hasn't even finished college yet. You could say she has a lot of money, and that would be an understatement! At age 20, she has more wealth to her name than most of us will in our entire lives.

Meanwhile, John Fischer, the Founder and CEO of Stickergiant.com, owns a company with a net worth of $10.2 million, only half of what Jennifer Gates has. As crazy as this may seem, who do you think appreciates their wealth more? 

Is it the one who has more to her name?

Is it the one who had to go out on his own and build his wealth?

You can probably see where I'm going with this. While Gates has more economic spending power, Fischer likely appreciates his money since he had to work for it. Nothing against Gates (I'm sure she was raised right by her high-achieving father), but simply having something will not motivate you to action. When you're accustomed to receiving things for no reason, you begin to feel entitled, rather than appreciative. When you have to work hard to get something, it creates a mindset inside you where you tend to achieve success, rather than simply beg for the prize at the end. 

Tony Robbins covers this concept in one of his website articles. By rewarding yourself only for accomplishments, you'll end up rewiring your brain to relate positive emotions to personal success. This is why Alcoholics Anonymous rewards members with chips for being sober. It's also why individual teams or companies give trophies or medals to their own members. A lot of times, the best way to do this is to create external stressors that will force you to act.

Food for thought:

What if you rewarded yourself for your hard work, rather than treating yourself for something insignificant?

What are some things you're looking to achieve in the near future?

How can you use incentives and reward yourself for milestone accomplishments?

Tony Robbins Review: 6 Human Needs

Tony Robbins is one of the most influential motivational speakers of this generation. This man has spent his entire adult life working with people, including celebrities and billionaires, helping them find fulfillment in life. In today's video, Robbins talks about the six basic human needs. This particular video is one of many where he covers this concept. Understanding how you tend to meet these needs is the key to understanding a simple, yet difficult to answer question. 

Why are you the way that you are?

All humans have six basic needs that must be met. I'm not talking about food, water and shelter, but about the six psychological factors that all people need for a happy, successful life. We all find our own individual ways to meet these needs in our lives, but this is the core of human behavior. These needs can motivate people to become very successful, very lazy, or even commit crimes. While we all have the same general needs, we all find different ways to meet them, good or bad. All actions and decisions reflect the desire to meet these needs.

The first four are: 

• Certainty

• Uncertainty

• Significance

• Love/Connection

These needs are absolute, meaning that no matter who you are or what situation you're in, you WILL find a way to achieve all of these in some way. Robbins claims that "God had a sense of humor" when referring to our need for both certainty and uncertainty, but it's very true. We may find certainty in getting a job with stable pay, and find uncertainty by going on a road trip. We may find significance by starting a business, and find love/connection through marriage, dating, or even being part of a social group.

He also explains that these needs can be met in a negative or disempowering way. We may find certainty through bossing people around or significance through physical violence. Violence, especially through the use of guns, meets all four of these needs. It's extremely negative and dangerous, but this is the reason why people "act irrationally". There's always a rational reason behind these actions, and it's to meet that person's needs. You need to figure out how you meet these first four needs, and if it's in an empowering or disempowering way. 

The final two needs are not absolute, but they are necessary to experience true fulfillment in life. They are:

• Growth 

• Contribution

Improving and giving. As I mentioned in my previous post, the best think you can do for yourself is invest in yourself and then give to others. That's the last two needs right there! If you really want to get the most out of life, you need to find a way (or ways) to grow, develop, and then contribute your worth to society. These final needs should be the basis you use to set goals in life, and hey should make up your core values. We often sacrifice our values to meet our needs. That can have negative consequences in the long run.

The first four needs will be met regardless, while the last two must be actively sought out. As Robbins says "if you're not growing, you're dying." You need to set goals and work to achieve them. When you're inside your comfort zone, you have no desire to acheive something. This eventually leads to boredom, or depression. Progress is power, and sometimes you need to actively seek adventure and adversity if you truly want to grow and eventually contribute. Today, I want you to do two things:

1. Watch Tony Robbins' video (link at the top).
2. Take a few moments and write down all six needs, and how you tend to meet them on a daily basis.
3. Figure out if you'e meeting these needs in a way that is positive or negative. Then replace the negative with positive activities.

Have a great Monday everyone, and let's make this week great!

Invest in Yourself to Give to Others

My theme in life is "invest in yourself". It's the most important thing I believe you can do, yet so many people choose not to. One reason is because certain people think its selfish to choose to spend time and money on yourself, rather than others. But I think there's a lot more to it. Selfish people focus only on giving to themselves and completely disregard the needs of others and the world around them. That's not at all the case when you invest in yourself. In fact, you're essentially doing the complete opposite. I would argue that by investing time and effort on you and your passions, you will have more to offer to the world around you.

When we choose to not invest in ourselves , that means we might focus more on helping others. Doesn't sound bad right? But when we choose to invest the majority of our time helping others meet their needs and fulfill their goals, our needs don't get met. When this happens, our identity becomes based on being a "nice person" and essentially catering to every need of others. This turns you into a pushover, and when people take advantage of you, or at least don't appreciate what you do enough, it can get real ugly real fast. This concept is explained is much more detail in Robert Glover's book "No More Mr. Nice Guy", but essentially you are indirectly being selfish when you cater to others needs, because you expect to receive love and appreciation in return, which rarely ever happens. This ends up killing your confidence, which in the long run becomes negative for both yourself and the people around you.

Now, let's say you choose instead to dedicate at least 2 hours every day investing in yourself (i.e. Working out, reading, practicing something). Over time, you'll eventually become much more confident in yourself and increase your health, wellness and skill sets. Now, you have much more to give and share with the people around you. While you may be too busy to cater to every persons need, you'll be able to help them significantly more when you are available, AND you'll also still have more time to continue investing in yourself and meeting your own needs.

For example, I'm an accounting major. I've spent almost 4 years studying accounting and investing time in reading textbooks, practicing problems, etc. Since I spend a lot of time investing in my studies, other people who need help with accounting courses or doing their taxes can come to me for advice that most others can't help them with. This is how investing in yourself can make you feel significant, while also helping others in a special way. I've also had unique experiences, and I share my thoughts and ideas on this blog so others can benefit in a special way. Almost any able-bodied person can help me move, drive me to work, or babysit my dogs, but it takes a special person with a specific skill-set to tutor me in school, or help me figure out what's wrong with my car. You want to be the person everyone needs because you're skilled at it, not just because you're always available.

The whole idea is that you shouldn't be 100% selfish or 100% selfless. Both extremes lead to problems, but investing in yourself puts you at the optimal level of both. If you find yourself being too selfish, definitely evaluate yourself, and use your skill set to help others. On the other hand, if you're being too selfless, that's when you need to invest in yourself, so you can be more effective on both ends of the spectrum. I also want to point out the difference between investing and giving. When you're selfish, you give to yourself and only fulfill your present needs. When you invest in yourself, you will sacrifice a lot of pleasure-filled activities now, and therefore be more effective for your future self and for others. 

What is something you can start doing each day to invest in yourself? 

How can you use the skills and knowledge you've developed to help others?

4 Factors of Self-Motivation

What motivates you each day?

You've probably have heard this question before in an interview. You likely responded with something about how your friends and family inspire you to work hard, or you feel like you’re making a positive impact on the world through your work, or even that you simply work hard for monetary incentives. While there may be some truth to your answer, there are certain factors that trigger instant motivation, regardless of how tired, lazy or overwhelmed you may be that day. We will be focusing on 4 factors that cause you to be motivated, and how you can use these factors to stimulate self-motivation. 

1. Social Pressure

We’ve all experienced social pressure to some degree, and whether we were aware of it or not, we’ve used it as a motivational tool either in a good way or a bad way. The most common example I can think of is being involved in a sports team. Especially if you’re new to the club or team, there’s a good chance you aren’t quite as experienced or skilled as the other team members. Hence, there is a high amount of pressure to work hard and be better or at least as good as the others. If you were training on your own there isn’t nearly as much social pressure to perform or improve, and therefore you are much less motivated. This also occurs if you're in military basic training and feel social pressure from your instructor and fellow trainees to work until exhaustion. 

Simply put, you need to put yourself in a position to feel social pressure in order to increase your motivation. If you’re trying to motivate yourself to get good grades, join or start a study group. If you’re trying to improve your fitness, join or start a workout group. By being around others with similar goals as you, you will feel the excess motivation that will help you get to the next level.

2. Comfort

More specifically, discomfort, this factor refers to the level of comfort you are feeling at any given moment. If you are 100% uncomfortable in a certain situation, then chances are you’ll end up working much harder to escape it. The reason for this? You don’t feel threatened by anyone or anything if you’re 100% inside your comfort zone, and are 100% certain that nothing bad will happen if you don't act.. Any outside threats from any source will force you to act, usually quickly. This is human nature. To move from an area of discomfort to an area of comfort. For example, imagine you’re given an assignment that is to be completed by the end of next month. Chances are, you’re not too worried about it, and may or may not even work on it, depending on how you’re feeling that day. There’s no consequence of not finishing this assignment, but you might find some benefit of doing so, or maybe not. 

On the flip side, lets say you’re given another assignment that needs to be completed ASAP, and in this case your manager is threatening to fire you if it’s not done exceptionally well. Now, you’ll probably freak out a bit, but you will likely spend the entire night perfecting this assignment. The reason for this, is because you are very uncomfortable, and feel threatened by an outside force, that force being your manager. You are also in desperate fear of losing your job, so any other distraction won’t stop you from focusing on that assignment and making it perfect. This is why you often see people who grow up in broken homes or with abusive parents/siblings end up becoming extremely successful. It’s because they were constantly uncomfortable with their life. Their natural tendency was to move into an area of comfort, that which could only be found by achieving success in the long-term. They couldn’t find comfort in going home at the end of a long day, they could only find comfort if they truly worked for it day after day. 

Sure this is great info and all, but how can I use this to motivate myself?

What you need is the will power to force yourself into uncomfortable situations, and in turn, force yourself to work hard. If you want to get things done, force yourself to do your work in an uncomfortable location. You’ll get a lot more done sitting in a wooden chair than you will by lying in your bed. A great idea is to make sure that your designated “work space” isn’t a memory foam cushion that’ll encourage you to slack off, and make sure your workspace is used explicitly for work. Then your productivity will skyrocket! Remember, the amount of hours you work doesn't matter as much as what you put into those hours does!

3. Possibility

If something doesn’t seem possible, then you won’t work to achieve it. Why would you invest the time and effort if the chances of success were so little? You wouldn’t. We are naturally driven towards challenges that are difficult, but possible to achieve. 

Talk to any little kid what they want to be when they grow up. Chances are they’ll say something like: Superhero, NFL player or something crazy. I remember on my career day in elementary school, there were at least 10 of us wearing a football uniform, wanting to be an NFL player when we were older. As these kids get older and start to realize the impossibility or unlikelihood of fulfilling their childhood dreams, their answers will change to something else, such as doctor, lawyer or engineer. After they become adults, even fewer people achieve these goals. The issue is that they probably could have achieved the goals they originally had, but they didn’t see their dreams possible, or else they set their standards too high.

Many of us have goals that may seem difficult or even impossible at times. To stay motivated, and make these aspirations feel more achievable, the best thing you can do is to set realistic goals with smaller sub-goals that can be achieved with near certainty. The natural tendency is to “shoot for the moon” with your goals, but this can actually have a negative effect, causing you to be doubtful if you fall short, even if you improved significantly from where you were to begin. So be sure to set your goals high, but also make them realistic. 

4. Time

Even if you’re under social pressure, uncomfortable, and see your goal as possible, you will likely procrastinate and wait until the last minute if given a huge time frame. All of us who were in school can relate. If you were given two months to complete an assignment, 9 times out of 10 you didn’t even look at the instructions until 2 weeks before the due date.

The natural tendency is to focus on urgent tasks that need to be completed soon, rather than important ones that don’t have to be dealt with until later. This is described more in-depth in Steven Covey’s bestseller “7 Habits of Highly Successful People”, but your focus should be on the more important tasks, and to complete those before they become urgent (i.e. due the next morning).

In order to motivate yourself over a long span of time, you must incentivize yourself by creating mini due-dates for your long-term goals. If you’re goal is to graduate college in four years, reward yourself for completing each semester. If your goal is to lose 50 pounds, reward yourself after each 10 pounds. Make sure there are actual incentives such as a celebration or buying yourself something nice.

Do it Yourself

The above factors are just four of many more possible ways to trick yourself into being self-motivated. Utilizing these factors takes time to master, especially if you’re not used to motivating yourself. Self-motivation is a fantastic character trait, which can (and will) transfer into you becoming a leader in your field, whatever that may be. Remember, the best time to get started is now!

I want you to make a list of your biggest goals in the next year or so. Leave enough space between each, because for each goal, you're going to write down everything that inhibits your motivation to work towards that goal daily. To the side of each inhibiting factor, write down how you can use the four factors to motivate yourself daily. Now get started, and you'll notice how you, and you only, are in control of your work ethic.