A lot of my subscribers ask me how I get motivated to do my work
\n… but the truth is: I think the whole idea of motivation is
\noverrated.<\/p>\n
My subscriber RM writes: “Bob, thanks for balancing out the
\noften severely unrealistic optimism that often comes with
\nmotivational literature … you’re keeping it real.”<\/p>\n
A whole mini-industry, motivational speaking and publishing, has
\nevolved to help people worldwide find their motivation.<\/p>\n
But I believe you can do what you must do to succeed whether you
\nfeel motivated or not.<\/p>\n
In an attempt at humorous marketing, an actor reading the script
\non a radio commercial pauses and asks his producer, “What’s my
\nmotivation here?”<\/p>\n
The producer’s deadpan answer: “We’re paying you.”<\/p>\n
JH, a successful novelist, says that the secret to his success
\nis that he writes every day whether he feels motivated to or not.<\/p>\n
“Writing is my job,” says JH. “If I work in the chicken plant,
\ndo I not go to the chicken plant today just because I don’t feel
\nlike it?”<\/p>\n
I also don’t place overly much importance on positive thinking
\nor optimism.<\/p>\n
The book “The Secret” says that if you keep thinking positive
\nthoughts, you will get or become what you think about.<\/p>\n
Note: I well understand the Law of Attraction. Please do not
\nwrite to me suggesting I do not and offering your explanation. I
\nwas listening to Earl Nightingale when many of my readers were
\nin diapers.<\/p>\n
The Law of Attraction notwithstanding, my experience is that
\nideas, visualization, affirmations, and positive thoughts alone
\nare next to nothing. It is action that gets you the results.<\/p>\n
I am by nature a pessimist. Dr. Martin Seligman, a psychologist
\nand author of the book “Learned Optimism,” says that an
\nadvantage of pessimists is that they see things realistically.<\/p>\n
As a negative sort of person, I do at times wonder whether, in
\nmy large body of how-to writing, I may have failed to
\nsufficiently motivate my readers. My writing tends to be long on
\nactionable ideas and short on rah-rah talk.<\/p>\n
Many info marketers motivate by promising outrageous results in
\ntheir promotional copy and their products. A lot do so by hyping
\nthe business opportunity they are selling in their writings.<\/p>\n
But unless the buyer follows the instructions given in the
\nproduct and keeps at it, he is unlikely to achieve the results
\nhe wants.<\/p>\n
I like what my colleague info marketer FG says: “I make no
\npromises about your results. That’s up to you.”<\/p>\n
Nike’s iconic ad campaign encapsulates my advice to you: “Just
\ndo it.”<\/p>\n
Nike has it right. What matters most is not what you think or
\nsay; what matters most is what you do.<\/p>\n
Thomas Carlyle said it this way: “Produce! Produce! Were it but
\nthe pitifullest infinitesimal fraction of a product, produce it
\nin God’s name! ‘Tis the utmost thou hast in thee: out with it,
\nthen.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A lot of my subscribers ask me how I get motivated to do my work … but the truth is: I think the whole idea of motivation is overrated. My subscriber RM writes: “Bob, thanks for balancing out the often severely unrealistic optimism that often comes with motivational literature … you’re keeping it real.” A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":911,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905\/revisions\/911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}