What Motivates You?

When asked this question, most would say that there are different answers for different kinds of people. I would like to contest this idea. I believe there are things like money, success, and fame that might appear to motivate people, but what happens when these goals are reached? Where does motivation come from once we are rich, successful, and famous?

My favorite motivational speakers Matt Foley has a talk he calls, “Go For It.” He starts with this question: “What do you want to do with your life?” It’s a good question, but honestly Matt has to be the worst motivational speaker around considering he lives in a van down by the river and lives off of a steady diet of government cheese. (You’ll have to watch the SNL sketch www.hulu.com/watch/4183/saturday-night-live-down-by-the-river ) Even though Matt is only a fictitious character he asks a great question. Chris Farley, who created and played the beloved Matt Foley, died of a drug overdose in 1997 despite being rich, successful, and famous, not to mention one of my favorite comedians.

Studies show that people who have a planned purpose for their lives live longer. They live longer because they are motivated by what life has to offer. Purpose and motivation go hand in hand. Suzanne Bates writes in her latest book "Motivate Like a CEO" that, “Purpose is necessary, critical really, to a healthy, happy and successful life.”

When we find purpose in our work we can use it to energize ourselves to accomplish great things, overcoming obstacles that would stop those who have no purpose. Of course the trick is finding purpose in what we do. You might say, I make cookies for a living, I check parking meters, I make and sell mattresses, (wait, that’s me). It is pretty hard to see the life-giving purpose that brings motivation when we look at our jobs as just the task we are doing. For me, yes, I work for a company that makes and sells mattresses. How can I gain a sense of purpose from this that will motivate me in life? My role at Custom Comfort (www.customcomfortmattress.com) allows me to have influence on our personnel. The positive changes I can help bring about in them are where I find much of my purpose. I also get to help customers find the right bed. I view this as helping them find good rest and move toward better health, which is very different from just selling them a mattress. I’ve even changed my initial greeting from, “How may I help you” to “How may I serve you.” This slight change gives more purpose to what I am doing when interacting with the customer.

What is the greater purpose in your job? When you focus on this purpose your job will become much less of a task and much more meaningful. We all want to make a difference. When we believe in what we are doing and that it truly matters, it will bring us motivation which will ultimately stimulate our passion and creativity.